Anti-spam screensaver removed, for now

Lycos Europe says it has removed its anti-spam screensaver from its Web site in order to handle its hosting and management issues.

The company says more than 100 000 people have downloaded the bandwidth-targeting screensaver, which has literally crippled its Web site.

The "make love not spam" initiative targets spam-sending Web servers and, with the screensaver, it decreases 5% bandwidth to the servers, which in return delays millions of spam e-mails. The screensaver has so far managed to take down two Web sites located in China, CoolTechZone reports.

However, anti-virus company F-Secure has discouraged users from taking part, as the initiative could be construed as a distributed denial-of-service attack, which is illegal.

Lycos does not know when it will offer its screensaver again, but has posted a "stay tuned" message on its site.

Consumer group Which? has recommended that people do not buy third-generation (3G) mobiles in the UK, BBC reports.

According to the group, UK network coverage for 3G is too limited to make the cost of the phones worthwhile, and phone users should stick to existing handsets until 3G coverage improves outside big cities.

However, network operators have questioned the findings, and Vodafone spokesman Ben Taylor insists the company`s coverage is adequate.

"In terms of our coverage, we obviously haven`t just thrown a network together. Our coverage reflects the areas where we know people are most likely to use new types of service."

Microsoft has filed class action lawsuits against vendors of sexually explicit commercial e-mail, Washington Times reports.

The company has filed seven suits against the anonymous defendants, and will use messages sent to clients of Microsoft`s Hotmail e-mail service as evidence.

Microsoft`s Internet safety enforcement attorney Aaron Kornblum says the messages violate the Federal Trade Commission`s (FTC) CAN-SPAM Act, which requires sexually-oriented commercial e-mail messages to identify themselves as such in the message`s subject line.

"Our customers have complained about these types of messages, which are so graphic that there`s no question they violate the FTC`s rules."