New Technique May Stretch Flu Vaccine Supply; Brother and Sister Spammers Convicted; Phishers Get Sophisticated

New Technique May Stretch Flu Vaccine Supply

Researchers have found that injecting flu vaccine into the skin of healthy adults was just as effective in fighting the virus as injecting a full dose into the muscle. The New York Times reports that two research teams tested the intradermal injection. It was found to be less effective in tests involving people aged 60 and over. Combined, the studies included only 338 people. Dr. Mitchell L. Cohen, an infectious disease expert at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expressed guarded optimism, “I think it would be premature to start using an intradermal approach,” he said. “The studies are very promising but need to be repeated in larger populations.”

Brother and Sister Spammers Convicted

A brother and sister who spammed millions of America Online Customers were convicted Wednesday in the nation’s first felony spam prosecution. Jeremy D. Jaynes, 30, and Jessica DeGroot, 28, were found guilty on three counts each of sending e-mails with fraudulent and untraceable routing information. Jaynes was sentenced to nine years in prison. DeGroot was fined $7,500.

For more details, read the full Associated Press story in the Los Angeles Times.

Phishers Get Sophisticated

Online scammers have now developed a way to rip off unsuspecting Web users via phishing e-mails that automatically steal bank log-in details without requiring users to click on a website link. According to a report in The Register, e-mail filerting company MessegeLabs has reported a small number of these new e-mails. Users who simply open the fraudulent e-mails are susceptible to the risk. Users can defend themselves by disabling the Windows Scripting Host on their machines.

For more details, read the full article in The Register.