Cursor hackers target Warcraft players

World of Warcraft players are being targeted by hackers exploiting flaws in how Windows handles animated cursors. The flaw came to light in late March and lets attackers take over vulnerable PCs via booby-trapped Web sites, reports BBC News.

Warcraft players seem to be one of the targets because accounts for the game are potentially worth significant sums of money.

Microsoft has issued a patch for the flaw early to combat the rising number of attacks. Security firms tracking how criminal hackers are exploiting the cursor flaw suspect there are many Web sites hosting the code that can be used to take over vulnerable PCs.

The patch Microsoft released on Tuesday for a critical .ANI vulnerability has some problems. Hackers have launched a spam campaign to take advantage of the flaw by promising nude pictures of Britney Spears to lure users to malicious sites, reports InformationWeek.

Deborah Hale, a handler with the Internet Storm Centre, says they are receiving reports of users having problems with the patch, which Microsoft pushed out a week earlier than its normal monthly Patch Tuesday release.

Microsoft confirmed a problem with the patch and provided a hotfix, or a patch for the patch, when the patch was first released.

Intel will this quarter release a Centrino Pro mobile processor that includes the company's vPro technology, which increases previous security levels and gives IT staff the ability to manage a notebook over a wireless network, reports ITNews.

Code-named Santa Rosa, the new package includes a Core 2 Duo processor, an improved graphics chipset code-named Crestline, and an 802.11n WiFi adapter.

The vPro technology includes Intel's Active Management Technology, which - in conjunction with third-party applications - provides for controlling PCs from a central location to fix problems. Also built into the platform is technology for discovering a PC even when it is powered off.