Be warned, a cabal of Russian cyber criminals is on the loose and actively pillaging vast expanses of the internet. The gang slyly assumes the administrative responsibilities of large corporate and government networks and then quickly plants malicious tools on thousands of computers in that network. Security analysts reckon this to be the most well coordinated, systematic use of administrative tools for malicious purposes.

The group’s activities came to light when Joe Stewarts of Atlanta-based computer security firm SecureWorks found that a central program belonging to the Russian bandits was running at a Wisconsin-based Internet hosting facility. He estimated that 100,000 computers had been compromised. He promptly notified a federal law enforcement agency that proceeded to boot of the central program. But the gang, unfazed, quickly relocated the tool to a network in Ukraine.

According to a report, its central program called Coreflood infects computers with spyware that logs keystrokes and screen information. This puts sensitive financial data of users at great risk. The Coreflood software running at the Wisconsin facility accrued 500GB of sensitive data, according to Stewart.

Have you had your financial information like online banking passwords stolen and subsequently misused? If the answer is yes, you have your suspects.

Microsoft and Havok have further cemented their longstanding association with each other. The two reached an agreement whereby Microsoft Game Studios and its development partners world over will have access to Havok’s Physics, Animation and Behavior products and all future offerings.

Those Microsoft’s internal studios and development partners that license Havok Physics will also get Havok Animation. If this agreement provides easy access to Havok’s innovative products to Microsoft’s game developers, it also guarantees a loyal consumer base to Havok, which will allow it to push its new and lesser known products – other than Physics - far more easily.

Google has rolled out a new analytical tool called Google Insights for Search. It allows AdWords publishers to perform a more in-depth analysis of search trends. Once a search term is entered, it spills out vital information related to that particular information.

This information ranges from the regional interest in a search term to related search terms that are gaining in popularity. Additionally, users can narrow down the scope of their analysis to suit their needs – and for greater precision - by specifying a specific time, country and/or category.

Google Insights for Search doesn’t seem to be all that difficult a tool to use. AdWords publishers would quickly want to make acquaintance with it in a bid to make the most of their future search ads campaigns.