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News

• Ubuntu Linux boosted by 10,000 seat PC win

  Canonical has taken the wraps off a morale-boosting deal that has seen German insurance giant LVM Versicherungen convert 10,000 PCs to use Ubuntu Linux across the company's operations.

• Zomm smartphone security alarm arrives in UK

  The tiny Zomm smartphone security 'leash' has finally been launched in the UK with the company earnestly promoting it as the best way to never leave an expensive device behind.

• Google Chrome gets malware download alert

  Google has started experimenting with a small but interesting upgrade to Chrome designed to make it harder for users to download malware without realising they are doing so.

• Twitter delays revamp after service glitch

  Problems launching a heavily revamped homepage are being blamed for a major glitch that hit the Twitter service on Tuesday evening.

• UK BlackBerry users get Protect security app

  The BlackBerry Protect remote security app previewed to users last year has become available for UK consumer users for the first time in a beta version, the company has announced.

• Vodafone red faced after blog site hacked

  Anti-corporate campaigners have embarrassed phone giant Vodafone, gaining access to blog accounts run by the company to post copy critical of its claimed policies on UK tax.

• Google launches Chrome 10 to battle rivals

  Google has pre-empted the forthcoming Firefox 4 and IE 9 with a new version of Chrome offering users a battery of tweaks including faster apps, interface improvements and better security.

• Twitter's 'dark side' growing once again

  The number of Twitter accounts suspended for suspected criminal activity started to rise again during 2010, security company Barracuda Networks has reported.

• Police ask UK citizens to forward every scam email

  For the first time ever UK email users are being asked to forward messages they believe might be connected to fraud or phishing directly to the police for as a way of gathering realtime data on criminal threats.

• Seagate still looking into Momentus XT drive problems

  Seagate has played down technical problems experienced in recent weeks by users of the company's Momentus XT hybrid hard drive despite ongoing queries to its support forum.

• Avast Antivirus 6.0 combats Trojans with virtualisation

  Czech security company Avast Software is adding virtualised security to the forthcoming version of its paid antivirus software in an attempt to woo consumers worried about attacks on online banking by Trojans such as Zeus/SpyEye.

• Hotmail users get 'aliases' to battle spam

  Hotmail has stolen a rare lead on Googles Gmail with a new security feature that lets webmail users create temporary email addresses which can later be discarded.

• Mac malware threat still tiny, report suggests

  Virus writers finally paid some attention to Apple Macs in 2010, with several new types of malware appearing to puncture the myth of the platform's security invulnerability, security company Intego has reported in its annual review.

• World now in 'third era' of cybercrime, says report

  The year 2010 was a hugely significant one for computing criminality and could turn out to mark the beginning of a 'third era' of cybercrime, security expert Graham Cluley of Sophos has said in advance of the company's latest threat review of the year.

• Credit card fraud is falling, survey finds

  Seven per cent of UK credit card holders were hit by plastic fraud in 2010, a survey by credit protection company CPP has found, which represents an encouraging three per cent fall compared to 2009. Average fraud losses were also lower.