The service hasn't even launched yet, but the unapologetically defiant torrent site The Pirate Bay has already received over 100,000 registrants for its new anonymity service, IPREDator. About 113,00 and counting are in queue for the IPREDator service, 80 percent of which are from Sweden, and comes as a slap in the face to Sweden's new IPRED anti-piracy law, for which the service was named after.

Expected to cost about $6 per month,the IPREDator service is a virtual private network (VPN) allowing users to connect to the internet anonymously by hiding their actual IP address and showing only a second IP addy provided by the VPN. Currently in beta stage and by invite only, The Pirate Bay says it will store no traffic data.

IP hiding sites and services have become increasingly popular in Sweden as of late, ever since country's new anti-file sharing measures went into effect.

No rest for the weary, especially Windows users. Following the Conficker.c scare that, up to this point, hasn't lived up to the hype, a Microsoft Security Advisory (969136) warns of a newly discovered vulnerability in PowerPoint.

"Microsoft is investigating new reports of a vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint that could allow remote code execution if user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file," said the advisory. "At this time, we are aware only of limited and targeted attacks that attempt to use this vulnerability."

Microsoft said the vulnerability is caused when PowerPoint accesses an invalid object in memory when parsing a specially crafted PowerPoint file. The security hole makes it possible for attackers to gain the same user rights as the local user.

No fix is currently in place, however Microsoft indicated it may release a patch before the next monthly security update. In the meantime, PowerPoint users are advised not to open or save Office files from un-trusted sources (thanks for that gem, MS!).

April Fools' Day might be all fun and games for some, but if you manage to fall prey to the Conficker worm, it's no laughing matter. As reported earlier this month by our very own Mark Soper, the third version of Conficker (Conficker.c) is set to wreak havoc tomorrow, April 1st. Here's what you need to know.

What is Conficker?

Conficker is one of the nastiest computer worms in recent history to go on the warpath against Windows-based PCs. First surfacing in October, 2008, Conficker targets Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2 Beta, and even Windows 7. To date, Conficker has infected over 9 million PCs, shut down French and British military assests, and prompted a $250,000 reward from Microsoft for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the worm's creators.

What Does it Do?

The first two versions of Conficker -- variants A and B -- exploit a vulnerability in the Server Service on Windows-based PCs to take advantage of an already-infected source computer. Once infected, the worm goes to work exploiting the network hole, cracking administrator passwords, prevents access to security websites and services for automatic updates, disables backup services, erases recently saved documents, and among other things, also leaves you vulnerable to other infected machines.

What Happens Tomorrow?

One of the scariest things about Conficker, including Conficker.c, is that its full potential isn't known. Come tomorrow, those infected might be prompted to buy fake sofware products, or it could start monitoring your keystrokes to lift sensitive information like banking passwords. Files could end up deleted, or it might transform your computer into a zombie PC while staying under the radar. Whatever it ends up doing, it won't be good, and you need to take proper precautions right now.

Join us after the jump to find out how to avoid infection, or what you can do if it's already too late. **Now with April 1st Update!**