If you put pit laptops running on the Mac OS, Windows Vista, and Linux against hackers, which OS do you think would last the longest? Apparently, it's Linux. In this year's PWN 2 OWN contest, no one was able to hack the laptop running on the Linux OS. Which of the other two went down first? Better read the full article to find out.

Ever had your system accessed by unsavory elements? Well, let's hope it doesn't happen. Researchers from Indiana University, however, have pointed out that the number of unsecured Wi-Fi connections that have been popping up in various cities might make attacks on computer systems much more common than before.

Want to find out more about this? Check out the full article.

Most if us are already familiar with the standard mobile phone deal where you sign a two-year subscription with a service provider and you get a nice handset with either a large discount or totally free of cost.

There were some rumors being passed around, however, that Apple's hyped-up iPhone just might carry some different options.

Instead of the usual post-paid service where you rack up bills and get charged at the end of the month, the Pay As You Go and Pick Your Plan options could soon be made available.

The pre-paid Pay As You Go option allows subscribers to purchase credits and use them up as they go without having to worry about exceeding budgets and hidden charges.

The Pick Your Plan option on the other hand, lets users choose their own monthly allowable credit set, where they pay a fixed bill at the end of each 30-day cycle. The only drawback is that the phone of their choice may not come free. As a matter of fact, users will have to pay for the handset's full price.

Click on Full Article to read more on this rumor, plus the source of it all.

There have been rumors going around about a program called Fairuse4wm being available on the internet which is said to be capable of bypassing Microsoft's Digital Rights Management system. While this could be good news to some, it's definitely the opposite case for Microsoft and for online music stores.

For the benefit of those who do not know, DRM (Digital Rights Management)  is designed to restrict the use of purchased music online to ensure copyright is not infringed. Now we've heard that a message on the doom9.org forum put up links to an application called Fair Use for Windows Media, and is now being circulated among different websites. This application is said to be capable of circumventing the DRM system. How it works: the application strips Windows Media audio (wma) files of Microsoft's DRM 10 or 11 protection, and removes usage restrictions.

Senior product manager for Windows Client Division Marcus Matthias said "Microsoft is aware that a tool recently surfaced that circumvents Windows Media Digital Rights Management technology.Fortunately, the Windows Media DRM system has built-in renewability, we have an update to address the circumvention, and are working with our partners to deploy this solution." Other than that, Microsoft has remained unavailable for comment.

However, owners of websites that allow song downloads, such as Paul Myers of Wippit, think that perhaps this calls for legal unrestricted content being made as the norm for online music downloads, instead of it being the exception. Myers also thinks that the spread of the Fairuse4wm could encourage more hackers to attempt to breach Microsoft's DRM system. Hopefully, Microsoft is already working on a system upgrade to deal with future attempts to crumble their current DRM system.

In today's culture where mobile phones also double as PDAs which also double as PCs, hackers have apparently also found a way to extend their reach and infect mobile phones with malware which we originally thought can only be caught on a PC or laptop.

McAfee's Avert Labs has just identified a new kind of malware which is specifically aimed at mobile phones. The owner of the phone receives an SMS message which says something along the lines of "We're confirming you've signed up for our dating service. You will be charged $2/day unless you cancel your order at our Web site". The unsuspecting user, for fear of getting charged, would then click on the link and cause a Trojan to be downloaded into their phone. This Trojan allows hackers to control the handset and use it for malicious activities such as denial of service attacks, installing keylogging software and stealing personal account information. This last bit is to be noted carefully, especially by people who use their mobile phones to access their bank accounts, credit card information, or institutions such as PayPal which has recently offered mobile access for their users.

This phenomenon has been coined as "SMiShing", which is short for "phishing via SMS".

Experts warn to be wary of this kind of activity, and that, should anyone receive a suspicious message, treat it as one would treat a suspicious email: by not clicking on the links provided, not providing any sensitive personal information, and deleting the message as soon as possible.

When we see someone giving his PC a rap, we immediately think he either needs a new computer or he needs to enroll in an anger management class. Now there's a third possibility. He could be locking his screen or telling his PC to play the next track on his mp3 player.

The knocking commands are made possible by a Linux program called knockAge. In 2003, IBM rolled out Lenovo, the laptop formerly known as ThinkPad, equipped with integrated accelerometers. The accelerometer was originally designed to protect the HD in case of an accidental collision with the floor. This is where some talented hackers came in. They developed modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of these sensors.

Using an updated Linux kernel with the Hard Drive Active Protection System (HDAPS) driver and knockAge, you can generate knock codes that will run commands such as screen locking/unlocking, on-screen display orientation, desktop switching, game control and real-time 3D models of the tilt of the laptop. The possibilities are endless.

We prefer to use the keys but hey different strokes for different folks. Check out the video to see knockAge in action. If you want to know how you can knock up your Lenovo you can see the different command codes in the full article.

The digital age has brought con games and rip-offs that grifters like Johnny Hooker and Henry Gondorff (from the 1973 classic, The Sting) could never have imagined in their wildest dreams.

The latest involves sending an SMS text message to victims' cellphones, which thank them for subscribing to a non-existent "dating service." The message states that $2.00 a day will be added to their phone bill until their subscription is cancelled on-line.

According to Websense, the security company who issued the warning, this message has appeared in comments sections of several on-line bulletin boards.

Once the victim logs on to the fictitious "dating service" web site, they are prompted to download a file that turns out to be a "trojan-horse/4559" id="tag" title="">Trojan Horse" - a "virus" masquerading as a legitimate file. Once the Trojan Horse is installed, it turns the victim's computer into a "zombie," which can be controlled remotely by hackers. These machines become a part of a "bot" network, that are then used to launch cyber attacks.

"This is definitely the first time we've seen this specific approach," said Ross Paul, a Websense development manager. "Basically, they're taking a social engineering attack vector with a lot of users."

Websense is monitoring the situation, but at present, cannot divulge suspects' identities (who are "organized rings of people," according to Paul), or whether they are working with law enforcement.