AOL has released a new version of Active Virus Shield that runs like a dream on Vista. But it’s not available on the official download site. However Neowin and Softpedia seem to have the updated version. You’ll also need to sign up for a free activation code. But we recommend doing that after you download the file (which should be AVS_v25.exe, not AVS.exe), just to make sure you don’t accidentally download the wrong file from AOL. Of course, if you’re running Windows XP, download any version you like.

The FBI and Department of Justice have arrested three individuals accused of assembling botnets, a network of compromised PCs.

The move is part of a larger, government crackdown on the practice, dubbed Operation Bot Roast.

James Brewer of Texas, Jason Michael Downey of Kentucky and Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle have been charged with infecting thousands of computers nationwide.

Brewer allegedly operated a botnet that infected Chicago area hospitals, among other targets. Downey is accused of using botnets to overload systems and then take them offline. Soloway, meanwhile, allegedly sent spam e-mails with advertisements for his Web site, which infected its visitors.

Eastman Kodak Co. said on Thursday it has developed digital camera technology that nearly eliminates the need for flash photography, part of the company’s effort to make money from its deep patent portfolio.

The world’s biggest maker of photographic film says its proprietary sensor technology significantly increases sensitivity to light. Image sensors act as a digital camera’s eyes by converting light into an electric charge to begin the capture process.

A teenage boy in southern China, “heavily addicted” to the Internet, killed his mother and severely injured his father with a kitchen knife after he was refused money to go to a cybercafe, state media said on Thursday.

Wang, from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, stabbed his mother to death at home during a heated argument, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

“After his father got home, Wang hacked at him causing serious injury. Seeing what he had done, Wang went to his room and sat on his bed,” the paper said.

Wang’s father ran bleeding to his brother’s house, who then alerted the police, it said.

Wang had resolved to kill his parents a month earlier, and had once prepared to kill his father with an iron bar. He had also recently bought sleeping pills, the paper said.

Wang, who was “less than 16″ but had left school a year before, would spend his spare time in Internet cafes when not working for his father who made a living selling barbecue food in their neighborhood.