Malicious software can be hidden

Miscreants could hide their malicious software on a Window PC by using overly long registry keys, security experts have warned.

CNET reports these keys are stored in the Windows Registry, a core part of the operating system that stores PC settings.

Some anti-virus and anti-spyware products scan the registry for malicious programs, but this new weakness allows hackers to hide the presence of their applications, according to security vendor StillSecure.

"It can be used to hide malicious programs on a system that would go undetected by security software or registry scanning tools," says Mitchell Ashley, CTO of StillSecure.

A new way to borrow audio books from the library involves no CDs, no car trips, no fines and no risk of being shushed, reports CNN.

Rather, public libraries from New York City to Alameda, California, are letting patrons download Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, Arabic tutorials and other titles to listen to on their computers or portable music players, all without leaving home.

Librarians say such offerings help libraries stay relevant in the digital age.

"This is a way for us to have library access 24/7," says Barbara Nichols Randall, director of the Guilderland Public Library in suburban Albany.

There`s still one hitch, though: the leading library services offer Windows-friendly audio book files that can`t be played on the Apple`s iPod.

Microsoft has signed a deal with two film studios to make a movie based on its popular space-based video game series Halo, said a spokesman for Universal Pictures.

ExtremeTech reports Universal and Twentieth Century Fox agreed to pay Microsoft $5 million plus a percentage of movie ticket sales, with the total price being paid capped at 10% of domestic box office receipts.

The deal ends months of speculation over which studio would win the right to make a Halo film, which came to Hollywood last spring highly touted by Microsoft and its representatives at Creative Artists Agency.

Universal spokesman Paul Pflug said the studios are aiming for a summer 2007 release of a movie based on Halo and Halo 2, a science fiction series about an alien-fighting warrior named Master Chief.

Sirius Satellite Radio has said it will introduce a small portable device for its subscription radio service that can store 50 hours of music, news and programs from Sirius channels, a move to narrow the gap with its larger rival XM Satellite, reports Reuters.

The new player, roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, is the company`s first device to be used outside the confines of cars and trucks.

Sirius`s player, dubbed the S50, underscores the trend of converging consumer electronics devices, specifically satellite radio with digital music players.

The announcement of the S50 comes a month after Samsung said it would sell a digital music player that can receive satellite signals from Sirius` larger rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings.