Microsoft Windows users need to watch out for several flaws in non-Microsoft media players, security experts said.

Apple Computer and RealNetworks have both issued fixes for their Windows software to patch serious security vulnerabilities. Apple released Quicktime 6.5.2 on Wednesday to plug two holes in its Windows media player. On Tuesday RealNetworks advised users of its RealPlayer 10, RealPlayer 10.5 and RealOne Player software to use the “Check for Updates” feature to download the latest patch.

Source: News.com

America Online Inc. said Thursday it had filed a federal lawsuit accusing numerous unnamed defendants of violating federal and state laws by sending bulk messages known as “spim” to instant message accounts and Internet chat rooms.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., marked the first time AOL has expressly targeted spim in a legal action.

AOL and its Anti-Spam Alliance partners — EarthLink Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. also said Thursday that they had filed another series of lawsuits targeting spam, the bulk e-mail messages that can clog e-mail inboxes and annoy some users. The lawsuits were filed in courts in Georgia, Virginia, Washington and California.

Web-based caller I.D. spoofing is back, and this time it’s available to everyone.

A new website offer subscribers a simple Web interface to a caller I.D. spoofing system that lets them appear to be calling from any number they choose.

Called “Camophone,” the service functions much like the Star38.com site that struggled with an abortive launch last month: a user types in their phone number, the number they wish to call, and the number they’d like to wear as a disguise. The system instantly dials back and patches the call through with the properly-forged caller I.D.

Read full article at: Security Focus