Scarlet Pruitt

Mass-mailer viruses like Bagle, Netsky and MyDoom are so pass

Zombies, or Internet-connected computers infected by worms or viruses and under the control of a hacker, are used to launch denial of service (DoS) attacks, or send spam or phishing e-mails. An average of 157,000 new zombies are identified each day, and 20 per cent of these are in China, security company CipherTrust Inc. reported this week.

Europe is creating a thriving e-business environment by driving broadband growth and investing in public and private Internet initiatives, according to a report released Wednesday. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its sixth annual ranking of the "e-readiness" of 65 countries, rating them on factors such as Internet access, mobile penetration, innovation and investment.

Intel Corp. is contributing to global warming, the company admitted Thursday. Not the bad kind, though. Two employees at Intel Russia have erected what may be the world's most northerly Wi-Fi hotspot 130 kilometers from the North Pole.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. has identified itself as the U.S. retailer at the center of a scare over stolen customer data. The company said late Thursday that some of its customers' credit card information may have been "misappropriated."

HSBC Bank PLC has sent letters to more than 180,000 of its credit card customers, warning that their card information may have been stolen during a security breach at a U.S. retailer.

In an effort to jump-start its economy and diminish its dependence on natural resources like oil, Russia has made local IT development one of its top priorities, with plans for infrastructure growth, regional "technoparks" and industry-friendly legislation.

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to make all of the main changes to the version of Windows without Windows Media Player (WMP) requested by the European Commission, the company said Tuesday.