Researchers at Royal Philips Electronics are developing new "fingerprinting" technology that could automatically identify and block transmission of digital-video files, potentially handing movie studios a new weapon in its war on peer-to-peer networks.

Fingerprinting first appeared in the peer-to-peer world when a federal judge ordered the original Napster to block trades of copyright songs through its network in 2001. The company used early versions of audio fingerprinting technology to identify songs, which ultimately helped make the network all but unusable.

The trick is to make that identification process work even if the file is compressed, turned into a different computer file format or otherwise changed slightly.

Deep in the basement of a dusty university library in Edinburgh lies a small black box, roughly the size of two cigarette packets side by side, that churns out random numbers in an endless stream.

The machine apparently sensed the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre four hours before they happened - but in the fevered mood of conspiracy theories of the time, the claims were swiftly knocked back by sceptics. But last December, it also appeared to forewarn of the Asian tsunami just before the deep sea earthquake that precipitated the epic tragedy.

Although many would consider the project's aims to be little more than fools' gold, it has still attracted a roster of 75 respected scientists from 41 different nations. Researchers from Princeton - where Einstein spent much of his career - work alongside scientists from universities in Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.

It is possible - in theory - that time may not just move forwards but backwards, too. And if time ebbs and flows like the tides in the sea, it might just be possible to foretell major world events. We would, in effect, be 'remembering' things that had taken place in our future.

Planetary rovers may soon have an eight-legged mechanized side-kick to help them explore distant planets. The Scorpion robot is able to descend steep cliffs, climb rough terrain, and squeeze into crannies that are inaccessible to larger, wheeled vehicles.

Walking robotics is a relatively new field, and engineers are taking cues from biology to give these machines versatile locomotive capabilities. The Scorpion, for example, moves by following an internally generated pattern based on the movement of its real-life counterparts. "The program has the flexibility to allow [the robot] to adapt to the environment," says Colombano. Essentially, he says, it has "reflexes that take over at the point when the motion is somehow obstructed".

One of the only BitTorrent hubs willing to battle the major movie studios has been shut down by Hollywood.

"The operator of that site, Edward Webber, agreed to not only pay a substantial settlement with even greater financial penalties for any further such actions, but by Court Order must provide the MPAA with access to and copies of all logs and server data related to his illegal BitTorrent activities, which will provide a roadmap to others who have used LokiTorrent to engage in illegal activities," the MPAA said in a statement.

LokiTorrent had been one of the only major BitTorrent hubs to stay up and running after the MPAA sent out a flood of lawsuits. The hubs serve as meeting grounds for file-traders looking to pick up software, music, movies and other content.

In the first case of its kind, a California video game maker is suing an entire community of software tinkerers for reverse engineering and modifying Xbox games that they legally purchased.

According to the complaint, Greiling and Glynn were webmasters of ninjahacker.net, an online forum dedicated to creating custom content and modifications for certain video games.

The lawsuit claims the ninjahacker.net users decompiled the code to several Tecmo titles, including Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive 3, and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and figured out how to create their own "skins" that change the appearance of game characters.

"Most of the skins posted on the Message Board by defendants show Tecmo Characters with appearances that are different from the original Tecmo designs," the complaint notes. "Several... are designed to make Tecmo Characters appear naked."

"Hackers, if they're allowed to do this kind of thing, will be allowed to hack into any game, anywhere," Pfeiffer warns. "We spent millions of dollars to develop these games, and people are coming in and changing the code to their liking, and that's illegal."

Tecmo's Pfeiffer says the company is seeking $1,000 to $100,000 in damages for every custom skin swapped over the website.

If you've always wanted a front projector that you could take with you anywhere, the upcoming PocketProjector from Mitsubishi might just be what you've dreamed of.

Certainly rating as one of the smallest projection units out there, the new Mitsubishi PocketProjector is a tiny 14oz powerhouse of a projector. A unit small enough to fit in your hand, run off batteries or car adapter, yet create a 20" screen with only one foot of throw.

The PocketProjector can drive 800x600 SVGA resolution through its Lumileds tri-LED DLP system, rated at over 20,000 hours of lamp life. And it sports composite, s-video, and VGA connectors, great for visualizing anything from a laptop presentation to a portable DVD player.

The first piece of malware to attack Microsoft's new prototype anti-spyware product has emerged. The BankAsh-A Trojan disables Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta in an attempt to suppress any warning messages the package might display. It also deletes files within the program's folder. Unlike other items of malware, BankAsh-A makes no attempt to turn off anti-virus apps.

The main function of BankAsh-A is to steal online banking passwords from unsuspecting Windows users. The Trojan targets users of UK online banks such as Barclays, Cahoot, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, and Smile. The malware records passwords and keystrokes once users of infected machines visit targeted websites.

A so-called expert witness in an Aussie anti-file sharing case has admitted that some key prosecution evidence does not show piracy taking place.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the music industry got a court order to see all the log files from the file sharing outfit. In court they claimed that these were proof that music had been illegally swapped.

However, during cross-examination the prosecution's expert witness Gilbert & Tobin IT consultant Shane Pearson conceded that the logs did not show anything.

All they proved as that people actually visited the site and searched for files, it did not indicate that they had shared music.

Any download would happen from other sites via links and the log would not show this happening, Pearson said.

He said that log files could also be skewed by certain factors including proxy cacheing and dial-up failure.

According to Detroit News, politicians are starting to listen to groups who are terrified about the effect of selling games such as Grand Theft Auto series, Halo 2 and Mortal Kombat have on children. They think that there is a direct line between video games as Grand Theft Auto and crime.

So far legislation that banned sales of the games to minors has been struck down in the courts on free-speech and other grounds.

Other problems with such a law is if a store refuses to sell a game, the kids often come back with their parents to buy it.

Owners of vehicles with onboard computers should brace themselves for an onslaught by hi-tech criminals who are causing havoc by infecting the devices with viruses.

Those with systems such as satellite navigation have been warned to secure the devices, after reports last week that the on-board computers of several Lexus models in the United States had been infected via cellphones.

Melamed said about 150 000 cars in the US had been affected last week.

"Many of the vehicles also had their security codes breached," said Melamed, a former computer expert with Interpol. "And with our high car theft and hijacking rate, it is only a matter of time before car owners in South Africa become targets. It is only a matter of time before these criminals (in the US) brag about their achievements on the Internet and spread the information on how to spread the virus or breach a vehicle’s computer security code."

Many of the vehicles had satellite navigation systems linked to hands-free phone kits, via wireless Bluetooth technology and this was likely how the on-board systems of the cars had become infected, said Melamed.