Porn virus blackmails victims

A new type of malware infects PCs using file-share sites and publishes the user's Internet history on a public Web site before demanding a fee for its removal, writes the BBC.

The Japanese Trojan virus installs itself on computers using a popular file-share service called Winni, used by up to 200 million people.

It targets those downloading illegal copies of games in the Hentai genre, an explicit form of anime.

Sub-domains maintained by The Daily Telegraph Web site were defaced by a group of angry Romanian hackers on Thursday, reports The Register.

The two sub-domains - shortbreaks.telegraph.co.uk and wine-and-dine.telegraph.co.uk/site/index.php - were sprayed with identical digital graffiti by the hackers from the previously unknown Romanian National Security group.

Sunbelt Software reports that the group appears to be angry at the Telegraph's alleged racism against Romanians.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has made it clear that IT policy considerations are unlikely to form a major consideration in negotiations around forming the next government if polling on 6 May results in a hung Parliament, says Computing.co.uk.

He insisted at his manifesto unveiling that he genuinely wants to become prime minister and firmly resisted stating who he would back if the Lib Dems hold the balance at Westminster, leaving him to play the role of kingmaker.

If he did help the Tories back into office, the Home Office ID cards system and a biometric database would appear doomed, along with strict limits on DNA records and the scrapping of the controversial ContactPoint system for children.

Obsessive Ink has introduced the world's first 3D tattoo preview application, states CNet.

The Web site allows users to create a virtual image of themselves that can be modified with realistic tattoos. It lets users see what they would look like with a tattoo, through virtual avatars that appear like their own face and body.

The service can map an image of a face to a 3D head, and any tattoo art in the form of a JPEG image. Users simply upload a good, high-resolution shot of their face, map out where the nose, eyes and ears are, and it wraps virtual flesh around a virtual head.