Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Industry group attempts to agree on a definition for spyware The Anti-Spyware Coalition has proposed a solution to the tricky conundrum that is how to define spyware, and is inviting public comment. The Coalition, which is made up of industry members including AOL, EarthLink, Yahoo!, Computer Associates, McAfee, Trend Micro and Microsoft (for a full…

After months of discussions the Chinese government has signed up to the London Action Plan on Spam China has become the latest country whose government has signed up to the London Action Plan on International Spam Enforcement Collaboration – an international action plan designed to encourage communication and cooperation between countries in tackling spam and…

VB offers VB2005 delegates the opportunity to discover Dublin through a guided walking tour of the city’s famous pubs and bars. Virus Bulletin is offering VB2005 delegates the opportunity to discover Dublin and its traditional music through a guided walking tour of famous pubs and bars in the city’s Temple Bar area. The tour will…

Suspended sentence for Sasser author Sven Jaschan, the young German man who admitted to writing the Sasser worm, has been given a 21-month suspended sentence for his crimes. Jaschan, who also admitted to creating Netsky.A, was tried behind closed doors this week by a juvenile court in Germany, since he only turned 18 the day…

Liberty Alliance, puts together team to create service interface specifications for content messaging, in an attempt to safeguard the privacy of mobile device users. Liberty Alliance, the global consortium for open identity standards and identity-based web services, has put together a team whose aim is to create service interface specifications for content messaging, including both…

Microsoft is back in court continuing its fight against spammers. Microsoft is back in court continuing its fight against spammers, this time in Germany. The software giant has filed a case against a company in the North Rhine- Westphalia region of Germany and its managing director. According to Microsoft, customers of its Hotmail email service…

Trend Micro Inc. acquires IP filtering and reputation services specialist Kelkea (formerly known as Maps). Trend Micro Inc. has acquired IP filtering and reputation services specialist Kelkea (formerly known as Maps). The acquisition of the non-profit company, which currently serves large-scale ISPs such as AOL, is part of Trend’s expansion into the anti-spam arena alongside…

Computer Associates is considering changing its name in a bid to rid itself of the negative perceptions that have resulted from its highly publicised accounting scandal. In September last year the company’s former chairman and CEO was charged with securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with the multi-billion dollar accounting scandal. The…

Microsoft completes its acquisition of security firm Sybari Software and announces its plans for Sybari’s products. Microsoft completed its acquisition of security firm Sybari Software last month and announced its plans for Sybari’s products. Microsoft intends to discontinue sales of the company’s anti-virus solution (Antigen) for Unix and Linux platforms, while its other products, including…

AV firm fights for the right to detect adware AV firm Symantec has filed a lawsuit against Hotbar.com, Inc., in an attempt to win the right to detect some of its programs as adware. Symantec seeks a court ruling that will support its right to detect and label certain Hotbar program files as adware, and…