A new variant of a malicious bot program is spreading exploiting a flaw in Symantec's antivirus software as well as through several holes in Microsoft code.

The worm, called 'Spybot.ACYR' by Symantec and 'Sdbot.worm!811a7027' by McAfee, seems to be targeting educational institutions, according to a blog item posted by Symantec. The security company said: "We are seeing a spike in traffic on port 2967 with activity only in the dot-edu domain. The impact of the attack is minimal thus far."

Security software developer PC Tools declared that up to 50 percent of new spyware threats originated from China and Russia aims specific information for identity theft.

The advice comes among a flood of terrible predictions, as fraudsters and malware writers gear up for a busy Christmas.

A new adware program like a ghost installs itself on Mac OS X systems and opens Web browser windows, said F-Secure.

The software, dubbed iAdware by the Finnish security company, is perhaps the first example of adware for Macs. It is particularly interesting since it doesn't require administrative privileges to lie on the computers, according to F-Secure.

In two recent studies of anti-phishing tools, one (sponsored by Microsoft) rated Internet Explorer highest, whilst the second (carried out for Mozilla) put the latest version of FireFox at the top of the list. Now a third, completely independent study has said that all phishing filters miss considerable numbers of suspect sites, are short on usability and suffer false positives.

Some customer are calling new software from Symantec Corp. "adware" for the reason that the security vendor covertly delivered it to their desktops. But the software is actually a new update notification service, a Symantec represenative said Thursday.

The new software, called "Norton LiveConnect," started reaching users earlier this week. After not finding any additional information about the software by searching Symantec's Web site, some users questioned if wasn't a poorly disguised promotion program that they hadn't agreed to accept.

The open question still remains whether the agreement between the FTC and Zango, formerly known as 180solutions, will reduce adware.

The Federal Trade Commission said Zango, a major adware distributor formerly known as 180solutions, and its two principals, Keith Smith and Daniel Toddhad of Bellevue, Wash., agreed to settle FTC allegations that the company used unjust and misleading methods to install and hinder the removal of adware on consumers' computers in violation of federal law.

The rising attractiveness of online video attracts the interest of malicious hackers and hi-tech criminals.Security firms are reporting more and more instances of infected Windows codecs - file compressors - required to play some video formats.

Some of the codecs let individuals play internet videos, but also have spyware and adware wrapped inside.

IObit has released Advanced WindowsCare Pro version 2, a dominant Windows 2000/XP software that analyzes and fixes Windows problems without human intervention, all the while protecting users from spyware and from threats to their privacy. Unlike difficult patch up and defense programs that are designed for network administrators and computer consultants, Advanced WindowsCare Pro lets home users and business people detect blockages, eliminate freeze-ups, and lock out privacy threats and spyware. After users install Advanced WindowsCare Pro, it works silently in the background, keeping their business and home computer safe.

Webroot Software , in cooperation with research solutions provider GMI presented a recent report which shows that young males aged 18 to 29 are at the highest risk of being infected with spyware.

After nearly two years in beta testing, Microsoft has at long last released the final version of Windows Defender, its free anti-spyware software. The tool is available now for Windows XP, and will ship as part of Windows Vista.