MS PowerPoint attack confirmed

A zero-day vulnerability in a widely used Microsoft Office software application is being used in targeted hacker attacks for the third time in two months, reports eWeek.

First it was Word, then Excel, and now the latest attack exploits a previously undocumented flaw in MS PowerPoint that affects most versions of Windows. Microsoft has confirmed the flaw, but described the attack as "extremely limited". However, the company is expected to issue a pre-patch advisory on how to block potential attacks.

The attack is launched in the form of an e-mail that arrives from a Gmail address with a PowerPoint attachment. If the attachment is opened, a Trojan executes a variant of Backdoor.Bifrose.E, a keystroke logger that is used to steal sensitive information. The Trojan also overwrites the malicious PowerPoint file with a new clean copy of the document in an attempt to hide attacks.

Ricoh is preparing to release a hybrid optical component that reads both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs next year, in an attempt to diffuse the battle between rivals Toshiba and Sony over next-generation DVD formats, reports Forbes.com.

Toshiba and its allies have been pitting the HD-DVD format against Sony`s alternative Blu-Ray standard, raising market fears of a repeat of the VHS vs Beta battle over the format for video tape recorders in the early 1980s.

Ricoh`s new component uses a diffraction plate designed to adjust the laser so that light focuses properly for each disc format, allowing a drive to read all formats.

Microsoft has developed a tool to clean search engines of Web sites that pollute search results in an attempt to reduce spam on the Web.

News.com says the new Strider Search Defender tool is designed to identify Web pages that are a front for spam Web sites. The tool developers say such Web pages typically reside on blogging sites and other services that provide free Web space.

The tool does not find spam in the traditional way of looking at the site`s content. Instead, it uses search engines to find links to potential spam pages. Strider then checks the Web pages and compiles a list of sites to be ignored by search engines.

Palm, Microsoft and Vodafone have announced plans to release a new GSM Treo by the end of the year on Vodafone`s European networks.

Treo Central says the new device will run Windows Mobile and have a 3G/UMTS radio. It is also expected to have no external antenna and to be thinner and lighter than current Treos.

The new Treo will represent the first major form factor change to the Treo line in three years. Some analysts have identified the lack of a suitable form factor for the European market as an inhibitor to Palm`s success in the region as well as the a lack of a 3G GSM radio.