Feds: Cyber Criminals Hijacked 4 Million Computers

An Eastern European pack of cyber thieves known as the Rove group hijacked at least four million computers in over 100 countries, including at least half a million computers in the U.S., to make off with $14 million in "illegitimate income" before they were caught, federal officials announced today.

The malware allegedly used in the "massive and sophisticated scheme" also managed to infect computers in U.S. government agencies including NASA and targeted the websites for major institutions like iTunes, Netflix and the IRS -- forcing users attempting to get to those sites to different websites entirely, according to a federal indictment unsealed in New York today.

Heavy Meth Use Linked to Schizophrenia

Heavy methamphetamine use may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a new study.

It also confirmed previous research showing a possible link between marijuana dependence and schizophrenia.

Angry Birds-style games will see market double to $53bn

The global digital games market will more than double over the next five years: analysts

The global digital games market will more than double over the next five years to be worth $53 billion in 2016, according to analyst firm Ovum.

In a new forecast, the independent telecoms analyst predicts that revenues will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent from $24 billion at the end of 2011.

Market for digital games 'to grow 17% a year'

The digital games market will grow at 17% a year for the next five years, making it worth $53bn (£33bn) in 2016, according to consultants Ovum.

They count digital games as those played online on PCs and consoles, as well as on tablets and smartphones.

They said that games that needed online passes were reducing the ability of gamers to buy second-hand games.

5 Auto Maintenance Procedures You Don't Need

P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute," before the dawn of mass-produced automobiles, but peddlers of bogus mileage-enhancers and proponents of unnecessary auto maintenance procedures are carrying on Barnum's tradition. Everything from magnets to vortex generators to water injectors and useless "ectoplasm traps" are hawked in the marketplace, and unnecessary tune-up processes can further bleed consumers' wallets. The best defense is to read your owner's manual and bone up on your car's needs, but in the meantime, here's a 5-point list of dubious or unneeded engine-enhancing procedures.

The 10 Worst Excuses For Missing Work

We all have to pay the bills, but sometimes the office is literally the last place in the universe you want to be. The reasons can run the gamut, but life has a way of occurring just when a deadline looms large. So employees can sometimes be led to creative extremes to find a way to take a day off.

Alien Invasion Not Imminent, White House Says

Well, perhaps not an invasion, but the White House has issued an official statement saying that there is no evidence that life exists outside of Earth.

The statement came in response to two petitions on We The People, the White House’s experiment in crowdsourced petitioning and public opinion. Any petition that gains at least 25,000 signatures will be passed along to a top policymaker for a response. The petitions asked the White House to “formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race” and to “immediately disclose the government’s knowledge of and communications with extraterrestrial beings.”