Spammers and scammers alike have been churning out emails designed to ensnare fans looking for news about the death of the King of Pop. Some security researchers describe the surge in malware as, “bad bad- really, really bad.”

One of the greatest challenges of Twitter has always been managing connections that number in the hundreds or even thousands. These new features may not be a silver bullet but will have the Twitterati breathing a sigh of relief.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea has launched a Flash game to teach young people about the dangers of North Korean spies. Subjects of the indoctrination are eligible for prizes like a laptop or a total frontal lobotomy.

In a bizarre, self-inflicted assault on Wikipedia’s credibility, Founder Jimmy Wales has actively prevented information about an American journalist kidnapped by the Taliban from appearing on the site. Now Wikipedia is not only behind traditional media in terms of authority, but also timeliness.

Web designers have banded together on Twitter to call for Web standards support in Microsoft Outlook 2010. Microsoft’s response is that the company welcomes the development of email standards, but won’t concern itself with well-formed HTML or other new-fangled Web standards.

The HTC Hero will be the first Android phone to integrate Flash movies and Web navigation, moving to the head of the pack in supporting standards on the mobile Web. The good news for iPhone lovers is that maybe eating dust will be enough motivation to get Apple on board the Flash train.

Scientists examining the email recovered from Enron suggest that we can can predict corporate meltdowns by looking at communication patterns within the organization. Others suggest counting the number of emails that read, “Oh sh-t!”

Microsoft Bing’s fight for market share and relevance in the search arena is turning into a feature-for-feature slugfest against industry stalwart Google. Might Microsoft’s engineers be ready to outfox and out-maneuver Google’s famously-brilliant minds?

Collecta’s new real-time search engine has an impressive interface that allows for amazingly fast delivery of results. The problem is that in such a short timeline, the results can lose context and relevance to users.

A recent report from Pew Research showed that broadband usage grew to 63 percent of U.S. households from 55 percent. So why are 21 percent of American adults shaking their fists angrily because they don’t want Internet at home?

The Web has been buzzing with speculation as to who might acquire Twitter and realize the dream of a real-time search engine from a top search company. Now Facebook is gearing up to eat Twitter’s lunch yet again by revamping its search to include recent posts.

Microsoft is set to release a beta version of its free antivirus software codenamed Morro. The company intends to patch its own gaping security flaws and wipe out a multi-billion-dollar antivirus software industry  in one fell swoop.

Google maintains a playful appearance with its offices and products decorated in primary colors, however its latest tool comes as a serious upgrade for small businesses and a real threat against Microsoft Exchange. Now companies can cut out the expensive email servers and use Google Email, Contacts and Calendar from Microsoft Outlook.

Anyone who has logged onto Twitter has seen the countless B-list celebrities and bloggers hyping their latest work using the social media machine. What you probably didn’t know is that sharing vacation or travel plans on Twitter could make you the target of a home invasion.

China has long been known to block access to any Web site deemed objectionable by officials. Now the Chinese government has decreed that all new PCs sold in the country will include a firewall to block certain sites to maintain a more harmonious Internet experience.

The early alpha builds of Google Chrome for Mac and Linux are available, though they’re lacking important features such as support for plugins and options. Google’s advice to the faint of heart is not to download them.

Sony Ericsson is launching its new GreenHeart initiative, pushing to make mobile devices more eco-friendly. The new C901 GreenHeart and the Naite are made to draw less power, use recycled plastic and come with a built-in electronic user manual.