Alleged cybercriminals behind an internet worm, which spread via Facebook and other social networks, have been named.

The suspected gang were tracked down to St Petersburg after an investigation by Facebook and cybersecurity researchers. The worm gave the gang control of hundreds of thousands of computers.

While not the largest such network of hijacked machines or "botnet", the so-called Koobface worm is notable for its targeting of social networks.

Hackers are increasingly targeting child-focused gaming websites, according to a leading anti-virus firm.

Avast says it detected malware threats at more than 60 sites that contained "game" or "arcade" in their title, in the 30 days running up to 12 January. It says the pages tried to download Javascript infections, redirectors and potentially unwanted software.

The Czech company says that young children are often less careful than adults about what they click on.

Cyber-attackers have struck Zappos, the Amazon-owned fashion e-retailer.

The company has reset the passwords of 24 million customers and asked them to choose new ones. It said names, email addresses and other personal information may have been exposed, but not full credit card numbers.

Google has renewed a deal to remain the default search engine within Mozilla's Firefox web browser.

The non-profit foundation said it had "negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement" with Google for the next three years. Some analysts had predicted Google would back out of the deal as it tries to grow the market share of its Chrome browser.

Singer Lady Gaga has been the victim of a targeted attack on her Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Multiple messages, seemingly from the singer, offered "free iPad2's to each one of you". Attached links directed more than 100,000 of her followers to a site requesting personal details, possibly as part of a phishing scam.

While fragmentation is a rare(r) problem on iOS there's still quite a few users rocking older versions on their devices.

Unfortunately for them, ever since a recent update on the 16th they haven't been able to download any new apps from the App Store straight to their devices.

Thousands of iPhone owners have joined forces with a team of hackers to help them find new ways to jailbreak Apple's phone software.

Jailbreaking involves unlocking a device so that it is not restricted to running software officially approved by the manufacturer. Mobile phones that run Google's Android operating system do not face this restriction and Microsoft allows its Windows Phone 7 operating system to be unlocked. But Apple has always fought very hard to prevent anyone jailbreaking its devices.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?

Well, in an attempt to keep its tenuous grip on the browsing crown, it's borrowing some tricks from its plucky upstart competitors.

Google has removed 22 applications from its Android Market after they were discovered to contain fraudulent software.

Apps posing as popular third-party software such as Angry Birds tricked users into sending premium text messages. Unlike some other app services, Android Market apps are not vetted prior to being added to the store.

Google's takeover of Motorola Mobility faces a delay after EU regulators suspended their review of the deal.

The European Commission has revealed that it halted the approval process last week, and requested more information. Motorola split in two earlier this year. Google subsequently offered $12.5bn in August for the part that makes phones and tablet computers.

Google just acquired RightsFlow, a company that specializes in helping artists and labels licence and get paid for copyrighted music.

Google plans to integrate RightsFlow’s database and technology into YouTube, making it that much easier for Right Said Fred to collect his two bits from that“Too Sexy” manga mashup you keep watching.

A series of private pictures of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have been posted online by "hackers" to highlight a bug in the social network.

In total 14 pictures of Mr Zuckerberg were posted to image site Imgur under the headline: "It's time to fix those security flaws Facebook". The bug related to tools designed to allow users to report inappropriate images.

Facebook says it is looking into reports that pornographic and violent images have been posted to its website.

The pictures are reported to have shown up in users' newsfeeds. According to the technology site, ZDnet, the material is being spread via a "linkspam virus" which tempts members to click on a seemingly innocuous story link.

Iran has confirmed some of its computer systems were infected with the Duqu trojan, but said it has found a way to control the malware.

Security organisations had previously identified Iran as one of at least eight countries targeted by the code. The spyware is believed to have been designed to steal data to help launch further cyber attacks.

Facebook has removed several rape joke pages from its social network.

The group pages, which included "You know she's playing hard to get when you're chasing her down an alleyway" had been criticised by victim support groups. The network said: "There is no place on Facebook for content that is hateful, threatening, or incites violence."

A malicious piece of software designed for iPhones and iPads has been created to show that Apple's app store is not immune to malware.

The code was designed to look like a stock price tracker, but was also able to steal data. Experts said that the proof-of-concept program was a "significant threat" to the app store. Apple declined to comment. It also removed the app and barred the developer from its store.

A German data protection authority contends Facebook is tracking users even after they delete their accounts, and it wants the company to respond to this potential privacy violation by Monday.

Hamburg's Data Protection Authority (DPA) has published a report about how Facebook uses cookies, or small pieces of data stored in a person's Web browser that record browsing behavior, said Johannes Caspar, head of the agency.

Researchers have spotted one way in which the recently publicized Duqu malware spreads: via a zero-day vulnerability in the Windows kernel. When an infected Word file is opened, the malware makes itself at home, gaining access to systems that can alter user permissions and allowing an intruder to operate undetected.

The Duqu malware that became widely known last month is exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the Windows kernel to infect systems, according to the Hungarian group CrySyS.

It's been a long and winding road for Internet Explorer, Microsoft's venerable web browser, and for over a decade it's been the browser of choice for most netizens.

According to Net Marketshare's latest numbers, however, IE now enables just under half of the world's total -- meaning mobile and desktop combined -- web traffic after owning 95 percent of the browsing market seven years ago.

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique capable of stealing personal information from Facebook.

Using 'socialbots', computer programs that mimic real Facebook profiles, the researchers were able to harvest vast quantities of personal data. Socialbots are increasingly being used by internet criminals and are being offered for sale on the internet for as little as $29 (£18).