Technology in your hands.

AOL has released its last ever update for Netscape Navigator and is encouraging its remaining users to switch to Flock or Firefox..

“Users will see the following major upgrade notice, released as Netscape 9.0.0.6,” said Tom Drapeau, director of AOL’s Netscape brand, in a company blog.

“When the Netscape 9.0.0.6 upgrade is accepted and run, the following notice will appear, denoting the end of support date and the recommendations of Flock and Firefox.”

The pop-up offers users download links to a choice of the Flock or Mozilla’s Firefox browser.

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Malware writers are increasingly tailoring attacks to specific regions, languages and applications..

Security firm McAfee warned that locally targeted malware comprises up to half of all attacks in some areas.

Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Avert Labs, said: “You have the guys that are local for their region, and then you’ve got the bigger organisations.

“The situation is still developing, but we could not have had this conversation two years ago.”

An example of localised malware can be found in Japan. Financially motivated malware throughout the rest of the world is overshadowed in Japan by malware which focuses on destruction and data theft via peer-to-peer applications.

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The power of human touch will soon be used to transmit data.

Telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) is planning a commercial launch of a system to enter rooms that frees users from the trouble of rummaging in their pockets or handbags for ID cards or keys.

It uses technology to turn the surface of the human body itself into a means of data transmission.

As data travels through the user’s clothing, handbag or shoes, anyone carrying a special card can unlock the door simply by touching the knob or standing on a particular spot without taking the card out…

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The hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow has released a tool that should make Google hacking a little easier for novices.

Called Goolag, the open-source software lets hackers use the Google search engine to scan Web sites for vulnerabilities.

This is something that hackers have been doing for years, but it can be tricky work– involving custom scripts and tools that sift through the mountain of data available via Google.

The Cult of the Dead Cow is best known for creating the Back Orifice software 10 years ago, which could be used to remotely control a Windows machine.

Like Back Orifice, the software could be used by both legitimate security professionals and criminals. Goolag comes with an easy-to-use graphical interface. It is based on techniques developed by Computer Sciences Corp. researcher Johnny Long, a well-known computer hacker who has spent years documenting the way that Google’s search engine can be used to uncover security vulnerabilities in the Web sites it indexes.

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On Thursday, Microsoft removed the beta tag from the Windows Live SkyDrive service. More importantly, it upped the amount of free online storage to 5GB, giving users roughly the same amount of storage that comes on a new Eee PC. That’s up from a recent cap of 1GB.

The service allows for personal folders as well as ones that are shared with a select group of friends, or the public at large. Microsoft is also expanding the service to 38 countries or regions including large swaths of Europe, Central and South America, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan.

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Web search leader Google plans to start selling ads to appear in web videos and has signed up 20 customers, as it aims to do for videos what it has done for text. Partners include YuMe, an online video advertising network, Brightcove, an Internet TV platform, and comedy site MyDamnChannel. Brightcove, whose customers include CBS Corp, Time Warner Inc and Discovery Communications Inc, will begin offering the technology to its clients. YuMe, a Redwood City, California-based start-up, said on Thursday, it will serve InVideo overlay adverts as part of Google’s AdSense for video beta advertising program.

Google has traditionally used AdSense for text-only advertising but said the video program extends its offer to targeted, contextually relevant video graphical ads and text overlays.

Google has been working on ways of developing advertising revenue for online video since it bought YouTube, the video-sharing site, in November 2006.

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In a move that could shake up control of the $1.4 billion online advertising sector, Google’s acquisition target, DoubleClick, confirmed yesterday that it planned to launch an eBay-style auction system in Australia to sell online adverting space.

The commercial networks have periodically toyed with the idea of setting up their own auction platforms in the $3.7 billion TV sector but have considered the structural change too dramatic for the industry.

While some critics fear the rapid emergence of automated trading exchanges for online advertising will hand too much control globally to the likes of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!, all three companies are pressing ahead with plans to establish auction systems in key adverting markets around the world. The exchanges work by publishers listing their advertising space for buyers to bid on in real time.

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A new silicon chip developed in Melbourne is predicted to revolutionise the way household gadgets like televisions, phones and DVD players talk to each other.

The tiny five-millimetre-a-side chip can transmit data through a wireless connection at a breakthrough five gigabits per second over distances of up to 10 metres. An entire high-definition movie from a video shop kiosk could be transmitted to a mobile phone in a few seconds, and the phone could then upload the movie to a home computer or screen at the same speed.

The “GiFi” was unveiled today at the Melbourne University-based laboratories of NICTA, the national information and communications technology research centre.

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The high definition disc format wars could be over after reports revealed that the main backer of HD DVD, Toshiba, is preparing to fall on its sword.

The move would mean consumers won’t have to worry about choosing a format that could eventually become obsolete. But the reduced competition could eliminate incentives for the rival Blu-ray camp to keep prices low.

A Toshiba source, speaking to Reuters, confirmed earlier reports that the company was planning to concede defeat as early as this month.

Earlier, a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK said Toshiba would soon discontinue all HD DVD production and close factories in Japan. It estimated the move would cost Toshiba hundreds of millions of US dollars.

It follows a series of defections to the Blu-ray camp by major US retailers, which came on the back of already disappointing sales and movie studio support for HD DVD.

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Ben Edelman’s Valentine’s Day missive to C-NetMedia is definitely not a love letter. In a detailed report posted on Thursday, the spyware researcher, attorney, and assistant professor at Harvard University accused the Alabama-based anti-spyware company of deceptive business and marketing practices, and of selling ineffective security software.

C-NetMedia could easily be confused with CNET Networks; in fact, the two companies have nothing to do with each other.

As Edelman points out, C-NetMedia profits from confusion. It had paid for a sponsored link that appears on Google searches for “spybot.” SpyBot Search & Destroy happens to be a popular anti-spyware tool. C-NetMedia’s sponsored link leads to SpywareBot.com/SpyBot, a Web link that could easily be mistaken for the official SpyBot Search & Destroy site. C-NetMedia’s ad text — “Official Site – Search & Destroy Spyware. Download Spyware Bot Now!” — magnifies the confusion.

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