Another security hole found in Excel

A hole in Microsoft Excel has been identified that could allow attackers to take control of a computer, the third vulnerability affecting the popular spreadsheet program to surface in less than a month, reports ZD Net Asia.

The flaw is due to a memory corruption error that occurs when handling or repairing a document containing overly long styles, the French Security Incident Response Team said in an advisory.

The flaw, which affects Excel 2000, 2002 and 2003 and Office 2000 and XP, "could be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary commands by convincing a user to open and repair a specially crafted Excel file", the advisory said. A Microsoft representative said the company is investigating the reports and was not aware of any attacks related to it.

Although people have been "googling" for years, the verb was technically slang, until recently. Many regularly used technology words are now getting the stamp of approval from English-language dictionaries, reports CNet.

Dictionary Merriam-Webster has added new science and technology words to the dictionary including agritourism, biodiesel, mouse potato, ringtone and spyware.

And google is defined as a transitive verb meaning: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (a person) on the worldwide Web". While the entry retains capitalisation in explaining the word`s etymology - "Google, trademark for a search engine" - the verb google is lowercase.

Apple will begin selling a version of its iMac PC for US$899 (R6 430) to the education market, as it bolsters its business aimed at students and teachers, reports Stuff. The campaign is being piloted in New Zealand.

The company said the iMac will have a 17-inch LCD and will be powered by Intel`s latest-generation chip, known as the Core Duo.

The computer, available immediately to students and teachers in New Zealand, replaces Apple`s eMac, which had a bulkier display using older technology. It comes with multimedia applications for creating Web sites with Web logs and photos and has the latest Macintosh operating system.