Symantec AV is flawed, say researchers

Researchers say Symantec`s anti-virus software suffers from a flaw that lets hackers seize control of computers to steal sensitive data, delete files or implant malicious programs, reports USA Today.

The report says if the vulnerability is confirmed, the threat to computer users would be severe because Symantec security software is so widely used. According to Symantec, its anti-virus products are installed on more than 200 million computers.

However, the researchers who discovered the vulnerability say there should not be any exploits until a patch is produced for the problem that affects Norton Anti-virus Version 10, including its corporate editions. Symantec says it is investigating the matter.

Dell computers are to be supplied with Google software including several personal computer applications, a Google toolbar and a co-branded homepage in terms of a new deal announced by the companies.

BBC News says the deal could mark a major turning point for Google and mark a serious threat to rival Microsoft.

Instead of selling the software to make a profit, Google makes money by selling advertising to firms that want access to those who use its free products. Microsoft has identified this sort of software as a key threat to its business.

Although Oracle continues to dominate the database software market, analysts say challenges lie ahead from open source, reports News.Com.

In reports on global sales of relational database management systems, research firms IDC and Gartner both say the biggest threat to Oracle`s dominance of the market could be open source competitors like MySQL, which have shown a 47% growth in the past year.

The analysts say acceptance of open source software could change the way pricing and licensing is determined in the database market, but Oracle maintains the open source challenge is not a problem because open source vendors account for less than 1% of the market.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is planning more handsets that are focused around a single, major feature, reports CIO Tech Informer.

The decision comes in response to positive consumer reaction to Walkman-branded cellphones. Sony Ericsson says it has sold three million Walkman handsets since introducing the product to the market in August 2005.

Sony Ericsson is also focusing on putting higher quality cameras in its phone handsets for the multimedia market and enabling others with BlackBerry functionality for the business market. The company says although new handsets are likely to combine several functions, they will be tuned to one primary use.