Longhorn`s official name leaked

Microsoft`s new name for the version of Windows due in 2006 has been leaked ahead of the official announcement later today.

eWeek says according to sources close to the company who requested anonymity, Microsoft unveiled the name Windows Vista at an internal sales event in Atlanta yesterday.

The last major version of Windows, code-named Whistler, was eventually christened Windows XP.

A father`s attempts to abduct his infant son from a North Carolina hospital were foiled by a radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelet around the baby`s ankle, reports The Register.

Hospital security guards apprehended Walter Mitchell outside Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte.

The baby was already under the care of social services after his parents were charged with child abuse and neglect charges.

Presbyterian Hospital installed the RFID infant protection system when it opened its new maternity centre last September. The system contains a tiny radio transmitter designed to prevent infants from being removed from a healthcare facility without authorisation.

Every infant wears an RFID tag on the ankle or wrist, and exits throughout the hospital are electronically monitored to detect unauthorised removal of an infant. The use of electronic bracelets in maternity wards is commonplace in the US, but RFID tags represent a refinement of the technique.

IBM has begun participating in open source Java project Harmony and intends to contribute code to the initiative, reports News.com.

IBM says in the past week an employee has been dedicated to working with the proposed open source project at the Apache Software Foundation.

Harmony was launched in May to create an open source edition of the software needed to run Java programs on desktop PCs.

IBM has long made it clear that it would like an open source edition of Java, but Sun Microsystems has always argued that open source editions of Java could fragment the standard and cause compatibility problems. However, Sun has subsequently revised its licensing policies and granted access to Java code.

Visa USA and the US Chamber of Commerce have launched a nationwide campaign to improve data security, saying consumer identity theft can be reduced by a focus on the point of sale.

PC World says the announcement was made the day after Visa formally ended its relationship with the payment-processing company CardSystems Solutions, which reported a security breach last month that put account information of 40 million cardholders at risk for fraud.

The announcement says identity fraud does not always involve hackers breaking into a computer system. According to a 2005 survey by Javelin Strategies and the Better Business Bureau, 48% of identity theft victims reported that employees, friends, acquaintances, relatives, or their own carelessness was to blame. Less than 12% of identity theft occurrences were a result of computer-related crimes.

Visa and the US Chamber of Commerce have published guidelines for businesses on how to improve the security of sensitive data.

A flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer`s image-rendering capabilities may allow attackers to execute code remotely, a security expert has warned.

CNet reports that Michal Zalewski, a security consultant and author, has found a number of possible flaws in the way the Web browser software handles JPEG images. Zalewski says one of the flaws could be exploited for remote arbitrary code execution.

Zalewski has posted four proof-of-concept images on the Web that have the potential to crash IE 6, the latest version of Microsoft`s browser, even if it has been patched with Service Pack 2.

Zalewski says he did not report this bug to Microsoft before publishing it, due to the problems he claims to have experienced with the company`s bug-reporting process.