Apple patches OS X

Apple Computer has issued "highly critical" security updates to address more than a dozen vulnerabilities in its Mac OS X operating system, reports News.Com.

The report says 13 security flaws were found in areas related to the Apache 2 Web server, curl technology and the Safari browser.

The vulnerabilities ranged from potentially letting an attacker launch a denial-of-service attack to taking control of a user`s system remotely.

Sun Microsystems is giving away more software in another attempt at building a volume business based on commanding market share among developers, reports The Register.

Software developers can now download unsupported copies of Sun`s Java Enterprise System (JES), SeeBeyond integration suite, tools for C, C++ and Fortran, and N1 grid engine and systems management software.

Sun is sacrificing revenue from both licensing of products like SeeBeyond and more than $100 million in subscriptions derived from JES for income from services.

A Dutch company has introduced a Linux-based media player designed to give Internet users easy access to content from a variety of peer-to-peer networks, reports News.Com.

The LamaBox is a VCR-size player that enables users to choose from a collection of audio and video as well as burn downloads to DVD.

The report says the LamaBox`s ability to access networks where copyrighted material is routinely shared raises legal issues. However, LamaBox has shifted the responsibility to content providers and users, saying the device only makes such material accessible.

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer`s office has berated Sony for failing to remove spyware-installing CDs from retail outlets, reports Information Week.

Spitzer said in a statement that it was unacceptable that CDs containing Sony`s controversial copy protection software were still available for sale.

It is now more than three weeks after serious security vulnerabilities were revealed and Sony BMG announced it was pulling all copies of the 52 audio CDs which installed a rootkit or code usually used by hackers to hide their malicious software from anti-virus programs.