NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 13 July
13-07-2007
by Emmet Ryan
Viruses reach 25-year milestone | Cardholders warned to beware of charitable fraudsters
Last year saw the 25th anniversary of the PC, and this month sees its mortal enemy reach the same milestone. Elk Cloner, the first known computer virus, was born in July 1982 and generally caused more annoyance than actual harm. Phil Higgins, a senior partner with IT security firm Brookcourt Solutions, said that the viruses of today are far from the almost benign malware of 1982. "Back then it was just a prank. Today's malware is frequently malevolent and coded by criminals and hackers who are intent on extracting money from, as well as destroying the data of, innocent computer users and the organisations they work for," lamented Higgins.
Oracle has launched a new database called Oracle Database 11g. The system has more than 400 features, and underwent 15 million test hours, and 36,000 person-months of development before release.
Mobile phones and laptops are being used to try and make schoolchildren more interested in learning the Irish language. The devices, along with chat rooms, are being used in a pilot project to motivate pupils, improve their communication skills in Irish and test the use of ICT in assessing pupils. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment said it is encouraged by the results of the trial to date.
Researchers at Symantec have warned debit and credit card account holders to be on the look-out for small, but unauthorised, charitable donations on their statements, as they could be a pre-cursor to serious fraud on the account. According to Symantec, fraudsters are making charitable donations from stolen cards in an effort to check whether the card is still valid.
And finally, a stark warning on this Friday the 13th for any readers of 'For the record' who are about to leave the office and plug in their MP3 player. Listening to an iPod in the current harsh weather may give users a nasty shock. In 2005 a Canadian jogger suffered chest and neck burns, ruptured eardrums and a broken jaw when lightning travelled through his music player's wires. A report on the injury has just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In a related incident, last summer a teenager in Colorado suffered similar injuries when he was struck by lightning while listening to his iPod as he mowed his lawn. (That's right -- a teenager was actually mowing a lawn.)
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 