[H]ardNews 4th Edition

Hackers Lurk in AMD's Web Site:

According to this PCWorld report, AMD has confirmed that its support forums have been compromised and that the site is being used in an attempt to infect visitors with malicious software. AMD says the problem is being worked on and corrected.

Users of Advanced Micro Devices' microprocessors may want to think twice before looking for technical support on the company's Web site. Customer support discussion forums on the forums.amd.com site have been compromised and are being used in an attempt to infect visitors with malicious software, an AMD spokesperson confirmed Monday.

Patent Spat Forces MS Office Upgrade:

It looks as though Microsoft has to upgrade MS Office customers with a patch as a result of a patent infringement lawsuit. While upgrading for smaller companies is a snap, imagine being a huge company that has to invest tons of man hours and resources to patch office.

It was recently decided in a court of law that certain portions of code found in Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003, Microsoft Office Access 2003, Microsoft Office XP Professional and Microsoft Access 2002 infringe a third-party patent, Microsoft said in an e-mail to customers. As a result, Microsoft must make available a revised version of these products with the allegedly infringing code replaced.

Rhode Island Data Theft:

If you have registered a vehicle online or bought a permit online in Rhode Island, keep an eye on your bank account because over 4,000 credit card numbers were stolen from the company that runs the state website. Oops. Thanks to Brandon Rice for the link.

Thousands of credit card numbers were stolen from a state government Web site that allows residents to register their cars and buy state permits, authorities said Friday.