Zombies threaten US national security

More than a million PCs under the control of spammers are threatening US national security, its economy and information infrastructure, according to the FBI, says ZDNet.

The discovery was made by Operation Bot Roast, an initiative aimed at revealing the scale of the botnet problem and prosecuting those responsible. It is being carried out in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft and the International Botnet Task Force.

Botnets are collections of computers - known as bots or zombies - whose respective owners have no idea their PCs have been hijacked and are being used for identity theft, denial-of-service attacks and the transmission of malware and spam.

Microsoft has unveiled the latest version of its Internet television software platform, which it promises will offer features that will set the telecommunications companies apart from the cable providers, reports CNN.com.

The company is the key vendor to the highest-profile Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, deployment in the nation: AT&T (T) U-verse service. But the roll-out has met with frequent hiccups, and Microsoft has largely been blamed for the problems.

Microsoft is changing the name of the platform to Microsoft Mediaroom from Microsoft TV IPTV Edition. It's the third version of the software platform. With the latest edition, the company believes its problems are behind it.

Yahoo Japan has entered into an agreement with Apple to allow users to download songs from the US computer and consumer-electronics company's Japanese iTunes Store when searching for music on Yahoo Japan's Web site, says WSJ.com.

The move allows visitors to the music section of Yahoo Japan's Web site to have access to Apple's iTunes Store.

The companies will also develop exclusive content from popular artists, they said. The collaboration is part of efforts by Yahoo Japan to boost its content by tapping into the success of Apple's music-download service and its iPod line of portable digital audio players.

Anyone doubting the ever-increasing prevalence and considerable social influence of the Web 2.0 phenomenon need only look toward the unfolding presidential race in the US to see how social networking is confidently ramming its roots deep into the willing and opportunistic soil of society, says Monsters and Critics.

Google-owned and hugely popular YouTube, the often-contentious video-sharing Web site, is about to occupy top billing with current Democratic presidential candidates senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York) and Barrack Obama (Illinois) as the service's user base submit video questions for the two Democratic front runners to field on air.

The nationally televised debate is co-sponsored by major cable television news network CNN. It is billed as an opportunity for the public to reach out and have their questions and concerns addressed by both competing candidates while also providing a platform for YouTube's users to showcase their visual and technological prowess.