McAfee answers Microsoft`s OneCare challenge

Microsoft`s recent release of the Windows Live OneCare security offering has reset the rules of the security software business, reports TG Daily.

Now traditional security software developers are forced to upgrade their products.

McAfee is among the first to answer with a beta version of its next-generation security suite that addresses new and emerging threats such as identity theft and rootkits.

Sony`s PlayStation 3 (PS3) has gone on sale on the Web, despite not being launched until November, reports the BBC.

The next-generation consoles are on offer as "pre-orders" to Europeans for lb550 at online shop play.com. The Web site says that because of an expected European shortage, it cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas.

The PS3 is the successor to the best-selling PlayStation 2 and will compete with Microsoft`s Xbox 360 and Nintendo`s Wii.

A new, yet-to-be-patched, security vulnerability in Microsoft`s Excel has been exploited in at least one targeted cyber attack, experts warned on Friday, reports CNet.

A malicious Excel document is sent as an e-mail attachment or otherwise delivered by the attacker to the intended victim, Microsoft said in a posting to its Security Response Centre blog.

Microsoft said it has received one report from a customer who had been hit by such a problem.