Trend Micro is warning of a serious security flaw in several of its products that could cause a vulnerable PC to crash or be hijacked. The flaw in its antivirus scan engine could be used to trigger a buffer overflow using a corrupted UPX file, the software maker said in an advisory issued earlier this week. For example, an outsider could send an email with the malicious file to a computer loaded with the affected antivirus software. As a result, the PC could suffer a "blue screen of death" or allow the attacker to remotely execute code and take control of the system, Trend Micro said.

IBM wants to encourage more of its business partners to use its open-source, low-end application server and its free entry-level database by giving those companies access to IBM sales, marketing and technical expertise at no charge. Partners who use IBM’s WebSphere Application Server Community Edition or the vendor’s DB2 Express-C database will be able to directly tap IBM staff for advice on integration, scalability, testing and support issues and won’t have to pay for the privilege, IBM said Wednesday.

It could be as simple as a smartphone dropping out of a CEO’s pocket. From there, countless pieces of data fall from a pants pocket into the wrong hands. With that in mind, companies need to secure network access and have the proper procedures in place to secure their mobile workforce, industry insiders said at the RSA Conference in early February.

The word "rootkit" often send chills up the spines of IT security professionals. But not all rootkits are launched by cyber-criminals bent on stealing personal information, industry experts said at a panel discussion at the RSA Conference Feb. 6. Although Sony no longer uses the software, its attempt to use rootkit technology in the name of business signals that it is not just hackers who have an interest in using the technology.

A pair of security researchers speaking at the ongoing RSA Conference Feb. 7 demonstrated their techniques for catching botnet operators who use secret legions of infected computers to distribute malware programs and violent political propaganda. The botnet experts, both of whom are employed by anti-malware software maker FaceTime Communications, detailed how they identified and pursued individuals believed to be responsible for running a pair of sophisticated botnet schemes, which have been subsequently shut down or significantly scaled back.

Online criminals are turning away from threatening companies with massive cyberattacks in favor of encrypting a victim’s data and then demanding money to decrypt it, an antivirus expert has claimed. Eugene Kaspersky, head of antivirus research at Russia’s Kaspersky Labs, told the RSA Conference Tuesday that the use of so-called ransomware Trojans is a key trend for 2007. This malicious software infects a PC, encrypts some data and then displays an alert telling the victim to send money to get the decryption key needed to access their data again. Such malicious software isn’t new. Early examples include Cryzip, discovered in March 2006, and GPCode, discovered in May 2005.

IT professionals concerned about their job being outsourced or offshored now have access to practical advice from www.theitjobboard.com on protecting their careers. The online recruitment specialist’s new Outsourcing Survival Guide advises technologists to be rational about the current situation, which is not as threatening as many may fear.

IBM and Raytheon have created an open platform for the Navy specific to the development of weapon systems. This open platform will help reduce the number of crew members needed to sail on Navy destroyers, improve application performance and reliability while cutting application maintenance costs, and will lower the life cycle costs for weapon systems. The US Navy is consolidating and integrating applications for command and control, navigation, targeting, weapons control and radar systems. The platform consists of IBM WebSphere software and IBM BladeCenter servers running on RedHat Linux.

CommonTime announced support for the generally available Palm Treo 750 with Lotus Notes wireless push email. The Treo 750, previously available on Vodafone’s 3G/UMTS network since September 2006 in the UK and across much of Western Europe, will be made generally available across Europe via Palm’s online store and from retail outlets in the coming month, beginning Feb. 6. mSuite mobilizes Lotus Notes email, contacts, calendar, tasks, Lotus Sametime instant messaging and Domino applications; providing on-device security, over-the-air end-to-end security, centralized management, remote wipe for lost/stolen devices, data compression, and disaster protection with load-balancing and failover. With over 60,000 businesses running Lotus Notes and Domino worldwide the market for the Treo 750 and mSuite globally is substantial.

Stock in Dell was rising Monday on news that founder Michael Dell plans to remain as CEO for several years, trim the number of managers reporting directly to him and eliminate bonuses. Dell pointed to several problems with the company, including an overgrown bureaucracy and operating expenses that had grown too fast.