Trojan armed with anti-piracy control

The latest version of the Zeus do-it-yourself crimeware kit goes to great lengths to thwart would-be pirates by introducing a hardware-based product activation scheme similar to what's found in Microsoft Windows, reports The Register.

The newest version with bare-bones capabilities starts at $4 000 and additional features can fetch as much as $10 000. The new feature is designed to prevent what Microsoft refers to as "casual copying" by ensuring only one computer can run a licensed version of the program. After it is installed, users must obtain a key that's good for just that one machine.

"This is the first time we have seen this level of control for malware," according to an analysis of the latest Zeus version published this week by SecureWorks.

Social media activists are up in arms over plans by the UK's police watchdog for a project with the same name as an existing Web initiative, says the BBC.

MyPolice.org was set up in mid-2009 to funnel feedback from victims of crime and others to police forces.

But Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has unveiled plans for a project based around a site called Mypolice.org.uk.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez on Saturday called for Internet regulations and demanded that authorities crack down on a news Web site he accused of spreading false information, writes CNet.

"The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. No, every country has to apply its own rules and norms," Chavez said during a televised speech, according to reports by Reuters and the Associated Press.

Chavez singled out Noticiero Digital, a Venezuela news Web site he said falsely reported the assassination of one of his ministers.

Google appears increasingly likely to shutter its Chinese-language search engine, a step that would remove one of the last major foreign players from the world's most populous and fastest-growing Internet market, states The Wall Street Journal.

A person familiar with the situation said on Saturday that Google is likely to take action within weeks.

Separately, Chinese authorities on Friday told local news Web sites that Google's Chinese site is likely to close and that, if it does, the news sites will be required to use only official accounts of the situation, rather than publish stories from anywhere else, according to a person familiar with the order.