Two new worms that effect Microsoft MSN messenger have surfaced. The two worms are called Kelvir.a and Kelvir.b and both of them include links in instant messages which if clicked will download and install a Trojan horse program. MSN messenger is a good target for cracker activity because it’s embedded into Windows, just like Internet Explorer, presumably this was done so that Microsoft could defend potential anti-competitive lawsuits by claiming they can’t remove it because it’s “part of Windows”. The advice is the same though, make sure you are running an up to date anti-virus application, (see here if you want a freebie.) and make sure you have all of Microsoft’s critical updates installed. (Open IE, go to “tools” and select “Windows update”, the only reason anyone with any sense would run IE nowadays). TheInq have more on the Virus issue.
In other MS news, apparently Microsoft have created their own version of Mrs Weasley’s family clock (from the Harry Potter series). This has incensed many Harry Potter fans, some of whom have been suggesting legal action. This brings up something I’ve been thinking about lately, the Star Trek series came up with many ideas that in the fullness of time have come to fruition, like the communicator or voice interaction with computers for a couple of examples. Can a company that actually creates working models of these ideas patent them as their own? Does fiction count as prior art? The idea is a fascinating one, because if it doesn’t count as prior art, should authors start patenting the devices created in their fiction?
