Viruses: More of the same

New Bagle virus and Mybot worm variants are spreading but won`t pose a major threat if people take the usual precautions, say security companies.

CNET reports two variants of the Mytob and three iterations of the Bagle virus have already appeared this week.

However, Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering at Symantec Security Response, says there is no need to worry, as they are just more of the same.

"They are both, thankfully, fairly low-risk threats at this stage, in terms of their speed. We`re seeing a low number of infections," he says.

PC users can install the latest updates for their anti-virus software and should use caution when opening e-mail attachments, say security providers.

Developing nations are being struck the hardest by spam, which is sucking up capacity and resources of Internet service providers (ISPs) and discouraging consumers from using the Web, reports Internetweek.

While more advanced countries are also affected, these countries spend proportionately less on fighting junk e-mail from marketers and scammers, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported.

To attack the problem, the OECD recommends that nations with developed economies help the poorer nations develop and build a legislative and regulatory framework to fight spam. There also needs to be co-operation among law-enforcement agencies to investigate international spam gangs and enforce laws.

"Once ISPs and users in a developing country are educated and aware of anti-spam and Internet security issues, enforcement of anti-spam laws in that country becomes much easier than in a country where awareness of these issues is hazy," the OECD said.

Compact discs being shipped by Sony have been armed with copy-protection technology provided by UK-based anti piracy firm First4Internet, reports Chinaview.

The new technology, called 'sterile burning`, allows users to only make a limited number of copies and is an attempt to put an end to 'casual piracy`. It also stops copies of the original copy being made.

Casual piracy is when CD purchasers make copies of discs and then pass them on to friends.

"The casual piracy, the school yard piracy, is a huge issue for us. Two-thirds of all piracy comes from ripping and burning CDs, which is why making the CD a secure format is of the utmost importance," says Sony`s chief of global digital business Thomas Hesse.

The Toyota Motor Corporation aims to start selling robots that can help look after the elderly or serve tea to guests by 2010, reports Reuters.

The Japanese automaker sees a declining birth rate and aging population leading to a growing demand for robots that can help with tasks such as child and nursing care.

Toyota will soon set up a liaison committee to develop the technology for the robots.