Rootkit numbers rocket

Rootkits, used by hackers to hide malicious software, are on the rise and are becoming more complex, reports CNet News. Quoting anti-virus firm McAfee, CNet News says the number of rootkits seen by McAfee`s labs in the first quarter grew by 700%.

Its research into "stealth techniques" also covered cloaking technology bundled with commercial programs and with potentially unwanted software such as adware.

While the use of such techniques to hide activity on computers has been around since 1986, their number and complexity have accelerated over the last three years, according to the report.

In the first quarter alone, Avert Labs found more than 827 stealth techniques. That contrasts with about 70 found in the same period in 2005 and with approximately 769 for the whole of that year.

A new study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found Iceland had the highest concentration of broadband Internet users among OECD countries in 2005, but the US still leads in absolute numbers, reports TVNZ.

In Iceland, 26.7% of citizens - or 78 017 - have a subscription to an always-on broadband connection. The US, with 16.8% broadband penetration, counted 49.39 million subscribers in 2005.

The number of broadband subscriptions throughout the OECD countries grew to 158 million by December 2005 from 136 million six months earlier. This is an average of 13.6 subscribers per 100 inhabitants in the entire OECD.

Microsoft has issued a significant refresh to its Windows Defender Beta 2 anti-spyware software as it gets closer to official release, reports Internetnews.com.

The software runs on Windows XP and is expected to be incorporated into Microsoft`s future Vista operating system.

The first HD-DVD titles are expected to go on sale in the US today, as Toshiba players arrive at Best Buy stores, reports Reuters.

Sources say players were shipped out beginning Sunday and are scheduled to go on sale at all Best Buy stores and select Sears, Wal-Mart, Costco and Tweeters locations by week`s end.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is rushing recent box office disappointment "Serenity" to stores so it will join the two Warner Home Video titles to be available for sale today: The Last Samurai and The Phantom of the Opera.