Skype can mask hacker attacks

Computer expert Jon Crowcroft says the voice over IP (VOIP) system used by Skype is a brilliant tool to carry out denial-of-service (DOS) attacks, reports The Inquirer.

The report says Crowcroft claims zombie networks could be controlled by messages hidden in VOIP traffic generated by programs such as Skype, saying it was easy to write code to use a VOIP overlay to hide control messages.

DOS attacks are usually shut down by tracing control messages sent by chat and instant messaging programs. However, according to Crowcroft, if a hacker were to use a VOIP overlay as a control tool for attacks, it would be much harder to find the zombie computers.

The state of Washington and Microsoft have filed civil suits against a New York company for violating the state`s anti-spyware law, reports Reuters.

Washington attorney general Rob McKenna accused Secure Computer LLC and its associates of marketing software that falsely claims a computer is infected with spyware in order to sell a program to clean the PC when in fact the software makes the computer more susceptible to attacks.

The 16-count suit, filed on Tuesday in US District Court in Seattle, is the first lawsuit under Washington`s new computer spyware Act. It represents the growing cooperation between the technology sector, lawmakers and regulators to limit unwanted tracking and advertising software.

Open source browser Opera has released a final version of its new browser for mobile phones and PDAs. Pocket-Lint reports that Opera Mini is suitable for all phones capable of running Java mobile applications and using an Internet connection.

Opera Mini promises fast Web access by compressing Web pages by up to 80% and reformatting them using something Opera calls Small-Screen Rendering for faster browsing on small, mobile screens.

For the end-user, Opera says, this means faster browsing and dramatically reduced phone bills for those who pay per KB in data traffic.

Google, Lenovo and Sun Microsystems are sponsoring a new coalition group called StopBadware.org that is aimed at fighting spyware, according to a ZDNet posting.

The group`s site defines "badware" as a broad range of malicious software that can subvert computers for the benefit of a third party, display unwanted advertising, or steal personal information.

A Google newsgroup has been established to discuss stopbadware.org and how it can work.