Banking virus 'has returned'

Hackers have created a "dangerous new" network of virus-infected computers in 2,500 businesses and government agencies around the world, a US Internet security firm warned Thursday.NetWitness dubbed the army of 75,000 zombie machines the "Kneber botnet" and said it was made using malicious ZeuS software that lets its masters steal information ranging from passwords to corporate or government secrets.ZeuS malware has been increasingly used to siphon cash from financial institutions, with kits for customizing the larcenous programs hawked in the cyber underworld.

Swine flu vaccines are still effective despite reported cases of mutations in the A(H1N1) virus, health experts in Europe and North America said Saturday.Bruno Lina, director of the national flu virus monitoring centre for southern France, said the mutation of the virus -- blamed for around 6,750 deaths so far worldwide -- came as no surprise."It was expected, it was announced, and it will happen again," Lina told AFP, adding: "That does not change anything with regard to treatment and vaccines."

A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to 9 million machines, according to a private online security firm.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to 9 million machines, according to a private online security firm....

US scientists have discovered a way to block replication of the hepatitis C virus, potentially leading to better treatment for the top cause of liver cancer in the United States, a study said Wednesday.In vitro experiments identified a protein that is essential to the reproductive cycle of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), the researchers said.An altered synthetic version of the protein was found to destroy the virus' ability to replicate, they added.

Pigs on a Canadian farm have been infected with the new swine flu virus -- apparently by a farm worker back from Mexico -- and are under quarantine, officials said Saturday. It is the first known case of pigs having the virus.

World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan revealed Tuesday that she has yet to be vaccinated against the swine flu virus, which has killed over 11,500 people world-wide."I have asked my medical service to enquire where I can go to get my vaccination," she told reporters in Geneva, pointing out that she has just returned from leave.The WHO director-general stressed that she would "of course" get vaccinated and that "many of my staff" at the WHO have already taken their jabs against the A(H1N1) virus.

Thousands of PCs have been paralysed by a routine anti-virus update from security software firm McAfee that wrongly labelled parts of Windows as a virus. The problem hit corporate users of Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack 3 operating system.