Tim Gray

An exploit code has popped up on several hacking Web sites for a critical Microsoft flaw only days after Redmond issued a patch for it. The patch, which addresses a vulnerability in the Windows Plug-and-Play system, automatically recognizes and configures devices plugged in to the computer. The exploit can lead to a remote system compromise, allowing an attacker […]

Security outfit PandaLabs said today a sophisticated “chain” attack, perpetrated through the SpamNet.A Trojan, is at work. The Trojan was discovered on a Web page hosted on a server in the United States but with a domain registered from Moscow. PandaLabs Director Luis Corrons said the attacks are highly complex and can infect a system […]

Former WorldCom finance chief Scott Sullivan was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in the largest accounting fraud scandal in U.S. history. “Every day I regret what happened at WorldCom,” he had told Judge Jones, according to a report published by the Associated Press. “I violated the trust placed in me. My actions are inexcusable.” He […]

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell has joined a private equity firm focused on media and wireless investments, the investment firm said Thursday. Powell will serve as senior advisor at Providence Equity Partners where he’ll focus on technology and regulatory issues in the media, communications and information industries. The announcement comes one month […]

America Online (AOL) said it will raffle some $100,000 worth of gold bars, cash and a fully-loaded sport utility vehicle seized from a major spammer. The company planned the 10-day-long give-away as a reward for members who helped bring down an infamous spammer who at his peak prompted 10,000 complaints a day. “Today, we’re putting […]

Former WorldCom director of accounting Buford Yates has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his part in the massive fraud that led to the telecom’s bankruptcy in 2002. Yates, 48, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court in 2003 to conspiracy and securities fraud charges for his role in a falsifying […]

Even the field of planetary politics is now the domain of Internet intrigue. It is possible that a hacker reaching for the stars last month ended up pulling in a planet, as well as a scientific community, when the sleuth forced the hand of a famed astronomer into releasing the discovery of the solar system’s 10th planet before […]

Apple iTunes has struck a chord with music fans in the land of the rising sun, selling more than 1 million songs in Japan since it opened its own iTunes Music Store last Thursday, the company said. “ITunes has become Japan’s number one online music store in just four days,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement. […]

Less than a week after sounding the warning bell regarding a barrage of threats coming through public Instant Messaging (IM) clients, Akonix Security Center said it has discovered another bug. The latest IM spyware worm, is named Chode-D, is moving rapidly over leading public IM networks, the security center said. The worm has been classified […]

Online powerhouse Yahoo is reportedly in advanced talks to buy a big chunk of China’s largest e-commerce site for $1 billion. Forbes.com is reporting that the search giant is set to snatch up 35 percent of Alibaba, making the deal the biggest investment ever in China’s Internet industry. The Hangzhou, China-based Alibaba, the so-called ‘Chinese […]

America Online purchased wireless technology firm Wildseed as part of its effort to expand its services to mobile phones and other wireless devices, the company said Monday. The Kirkland, Wash.-based Wildseed, best known for the SmartSkin interactive accessories that ran on the Curitel Identity handset, was founded by Microsoft alum Eric Engstrom. Terms of the […]

Microsoft’s Virtual Earth search beta is causing a virtual quake among Internet map users, as more cartography fans are going digital than ever before. The launch of its satellite mapping site made MSN Maps and Directions the number one mover in week-over-week unique audience growth during the last week of July, according to Internet media […]