Virus writer gaoled for two years

Simon Vallor, a twenty-two year old web designer, has been sentenced to two years in gaol at Southwark Crown Court, London. His viruses - Gokar, Redesi and Admirer - had infected 27,000 PCs in 42 countries. The Redesi worm - which purported to from Microsoft warning of cyber-terrorists deleted data from infected users' hard drives while the Gokar worm attempted to overwrite the main page on the Web sites of infected companies. ...more

Dixons profits low, expectations high

Dixons posted its half year results yesterday, and they were lower than expected in spite of strong Christmas sales and the offloading of ISP Freeserve. Operating profits, at ?74.2m, grew just one per cent, and turnover for Dixons and its subsidiaries Currys and PC World, increased 27 per cent to ?2. ...more

Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits album to be available on memory card

Robbie Williams' upcoming Greatest Hits album will be available on memory card, according to label EMI. While the card will cost nearer ?30, rather than the ?12.99 or so you might pay for a CD, the album contains video content accessible by a range of devices including the latest mobile phones and PDAs. ...more

Microsoft tackles XP counterfeiting with new replacement programme

Microsoft is hoping to track down counterfeit gangs in the UK with an initiative to help victims replace dodgy copies with originals. The company says it has experienced a deluge of high quality counterfeit copies of its flagship XP product - counterfeits of such exactitude that even the holographic logos are present. Now, under the Windows XP Counterfeit Project, victims of such counterfeits can send in the dodgy discs and have them replaced with the genuine article for free (although the cost of posting it in is borne by the sender). ...more

UK games chart: Madagascar finds its way back to the top

Brian Lara has been deposed by the cartoon New York animals at the top of this week's ELSPA UK games chart. Showing once again the power of the cinema when it comes to games releases, Activision's multi-format movie spin-off climbs back to the top. And the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory spin-off - despite critical maulings - bubbles up to number two. ...more