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FBI says computer virus spread by e-mails claiming to be from bureau

The FBI has warned that a computer virus is being spread through unsolicited e-mails that purport to come from the FBI.

The e-mails appear to come from an fbi.gov address. They tell recipients that they have accessed illegal Web sites and that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI's "Internet Fraud Complaint Center," the bureau said.

The messages then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions. The computer virus is in the attachment.

"Recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner," the FBI said in a statement.

The bureau is investigating the phony e-mails.

The agency this month shut down fbi.gov accounts, used to communicate with the public, because of a security breach. A spokeswoman said the two incidents appear to be unrelated.

If spam weren't bad enough, users of instant messaging services are facing a growing attack from "spim."

About 30 percent of online users of instant messaging services have received unsolicited spam for instant messaging, according to a survey released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

With IM growing rapidly, the volume of spim pitching everything from porn to knock-off prescription drugs almost assuredly will continue to grow just like e-mail spam.

Illegal spam and spim are different from traditional advertisements because e-mail and IM users can't escape them even if they want to. The unwanted ads flood users' e-mail in boxes and IM message lists, bogging down computers and causing security problems.

Nearly 17-million IM users said they had received spim, according to the Pew survey of about 2,200 adults 18 and older. The telephone poll, taken between Jan. 13 and Feb. 9, has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

But the growth of spim is probably even bigger, given that IM is highly popular today mainly among teenagers.

Spim also is expected to get worse as IM usage grows in the future and makes its way into more businesses. According to the Pew survey, only about 42 percent of Internet users 18 or older say they use instant messaging today.

Television has long been a favorite way to pass time. But an annual survey by Jupiter Research showed that last year American adults spent as many hours a week in front of another screen - their computer's.

The survey of 2,231 people found that consumers spent an average of 10 hours a week on the Internet in 2004, the same amount as the year before. TV watching declined to 10 hours a week, however, from 11 in 2003.

About 35 percent of the people Jupiter surveyed said they watched less TV because of their online habit. But people with low-speed dial-up Internet connections still put in about 12 hours a week in front of the tube.

TV watching wasn't the only activity that suffered, according to the survey. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they spent less time reading books, 28 percent cut back on magazines and 26 percent picked up a newspaper less frequently.

And while e-mail messaging provides another way to keep in touch with friends and family, that also seems to be coming at the expense of at least one older technology: 28 percent of the people Jupiter surveyed said they spent less time chatting on the phone because of the Internet.

Demonstrating a deep understanding of its computer-gaming audience, Sony has built the ability to order pizza into its latest online multiplayer game.

Type the command "/pizza" while playing Everquest II, a fantasy game with 330,000 active players, and get the Pizza Hut Web site, where you can place orders for delivery.

Chris Kramer, spokesman for Sony Online Entertainment, said he thinks this is the first time a game accepts orders for real-world items.

Sony plans to integrate the pizza function more tightly into the game, so players can charge pizza to their monthly game subscription bill.

"The goal for the future is to eventually let people do more things like this," Kramer said. "They could type /harry potter and get the new Harry Potter book delivered or /star wars and get the new Star Wars DVD."

Many games incorporate ads and product placements, but such opportunities are limited with fantasy games like Everquest.

Though the new pizza feature might satisfy appetites, caution is required as the game doesn't pause while you're ordering.

"You wouldn't want to order pizza in the thick of combat, but anywhere that's safe is a good place," Kramer said.

To make driving safer, Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is developing a car that swerves back into its lane on its own and features a video system that makes parking a breeze.

"Lane Departure Prevention" combines a camera and computerized devices that control braking for front and rear wheels, nudging the car in the right direction. The feature disengages when you hit the turn signal, so you can change lanes and make turns.

Nissan has a system to make squeezing into parking spots easier. Four cameras in the front, back and on the side mirrors relay live video.

Images from all sides are shown as they would appear from above, the car displayed as a computer graphic in the middle.

The automaker has yet to decide on when it will offer either system, and rival automakers have similar smart-car features in the works.

Nissan also showed a computerized system that controls the steering of front and rear wheels to stabilize driving when a car switches directions quickly.

New digital cameras, iPod prices and a quest for simplicity in tech have been in the news. Readers with questions or comments about tech news of the day can submit them for Times personal technology editor Dave Gussow at the Times' Talkback site (www.sptimes.com/talkback)

[Last modified February 25, 2005, 13:00:08]