Security experts are tracking a new piece of malware that appears to be compromising large numbers of Windows PCs. The attack uses a novel vector: embedded code hidden in graphics on Web pages and seems to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer.

Microsoft has been awarded a patent for using human skin as a power conduit and data bus. The patent describes a method for transmitting power and data to devices worn on the body and for communication of data between those devices.

Ontrack Data Recovery announced the availability of an upgraded version of its popular Disk Manager hard drive installation software. This new version, version 5.0, offers support for drives over 137GB in size.

MaX Compression from C2C is a product that automatically and invisibly zips and unzips email attachments sent/received, to companies spending too much money on storage management. MaX Compression has been shown to reduce server storage requirements by 55 percent.

The French government says it is looking to cut its software budget in half by opening up bids to providers of open source software that competes with Windows. A government minister says France doesn’t have a bias against Microsoft. It just wants to limit its reliance on a single vendor.

Microsoft confirmed it is entering the market for high-performance computing software and will be offering a new version of Windows Server 2003 specifically for this.

Microsoft confirmed that the Windows XP Starter Edition is, indeed, the new name for the Windows portion of the cut-rate Windows bundle it is offering to combat Linux in Thailand. Last summer, in response to the success that Linux was having in the Thai marketplace, Microsoft began offering Thai citizens a Thai-localized bundle of Microsoft Windows XP Home and Office XP Standard.

Security company Network Associates said Tuesday that there’s no truth to rumors that it is considering an offer to be bought by a large company, possibly Microsoft. The statement came after a trade magazine published an article quoting unnamed Wall Street sources and partners as saying that the company was on the block and considering a deal with Microsoft.

On Tuesday, a coalition of top Internet service providers advocated a set of technical guidelines designed to stem the tide of spam. Yahoo, Microsoft, EarthLink, America Online, British Telecom and Comcast announced a proposal of best practices for filtering and sending e-mail. Among the recommendations are technical methods for authenticating e-mail senders by Internet Protocol address or with digital content signatures.

Symantec has issued a fix for a DNS cache poisoning vulnerability in its Enterprise Firewall and Gateway Security software and VelociRaptor operating system.