Researchers at security firm Kaspersky Lab have discovered a virus that can infect Apple’s popular portable media player, the iPod. But users do not have to scramble for protection just yet. The virus would only affect players that run Linux instead of the iPod’s native operating system.

Currently, Linux-fueled iPods are a very small minority because they require users to do the system swap. The malicious program, called Podloso, might not present a real threat, but Kaspersky noted that it does demonstrate that it is theoretically possible to create malicious programs for devices such as the iPod.

Podloso is a typical “proof-of-concept” virus, which is created in order to demonstrate that it is possible to infect a specific platform. Although some users might find it odd that security researchers would ever whip up a virus, the type of concept code developed by Kaspersky is very common, and considered a preventative measure against future threats.

Google Inc. is out to make map-making simpler, giving away tools for ordinary users to pinpoint locations, draw routes and attach photos or video to existing online maps, the company said on Wednesday.

The Web search leader, which set off an explosion of creative map-making among professional programmers after introducing Google Maps two years ago, is now offering MyMaps, tools for everyday users to create maps in a few mouse clicks.

Let your imagination run wild, spatially speaking: Pinpoint your favorite restaurant locations. Return from a world tour and plot out landmarks along the way. Take photos from a recent hike and use MyMaps to illustrate locations along the trail.

“Who better to create maps than local experts?” Jessica Lee, product manager for Google Maps, said in an interview. “MyMaps makes map-making universally accessible to anyone.”

The World Bank has approved financing worth $164.5 million for Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar for high-speed internet connections, the bank said on Tuesday.

The region is the only place in the world not connected to the global broadband infrastructure, making telephone calls and Internet access very expensive, the bank said.

“Businesses are unable to compete in the global economy, university students suffer because they cannot access the Internet, and government agencies cannot communicate effectively with each other and their citizens because they are not connected,” the bank’s statement said.

The bank cited one Kenyan call-centre entrepreneur who has to pay $17,000 per month for 25 agents to make calls from the country compared to costs of only $600-900 paid by other call centers elsewhere in the world.

Following developments earlier this year in which Apple CEO Steve Jobs began publicly asking record companies to drop DRM requirements for iTunes sales, Apple has struck a deal with EMI to offer DRM-free music on iTunes. In announcing the Apple deal with EMI, Jobs made clear that the iTunes move toward DRM-free downloads will expand well beyond the EMI music library.

In a move that could have a big impact on online music, Apple and EMI announced Monday that iTunes would begin selling most of EMI’s library both with and without copy protection. The Beatles’ music, which has not been available for online sales, was specifically excluded from the deal.
The announcement means that at least some non-iPod devices will now be able to play songs from iTunes.

At a joint press conference in London, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and EMI CEO Eric Nicoli said that EMI tracks would be available worldwide in May without digital-rights management (DRM) and at a higher quality (256 Kbps versus the 128 Kbps of current iTunes songs).

With an official YouGov survey in the UK finding that one in 10 Internet users is a victim of some form of online fraud, security experts are warning that online fraud — from phishing to identity theft — can strike any user, regardless of the operating system.

One in 10 Internet users in the United Kingdom was a victim of online fraud last year, according to an official survey of 2,400 people, who were asked about their online surfing habits, level of security protection, and encounters with fraud and theft.
Approximately 6 percent had been hit by fraud while shopping online, 4 percent saw “general fraud,” and 3 percent were victims of crime related to banking and credit cards.

The survey was done by YouGov for Get Safe Online, a group created by law enforcement, private companies, and the government. One of the most notable aspects of the project was the discovery that many users did not take basic steps to protect themselves online, such as installing antispyware software.

About one-fifth of those surveyed said they had replied to spam messages, and 10 percent had clicked on a Web site link within a spam e-mail. About 25 percent said most of their online security passwords were the same, and five percent used the same password for every site.