One of the great developments in access to the internet over recent years is its newfound mobility. A plethora of devices available on the high street, such as BlackBerrys and other PDAs, cell phones, and Apple's iPhone, offer users the capacity to get reliable web access from almost anywhere they also get telephone connectivity.

Many people view this sea change as the future of the internet, setting users free rather than keeping them chained to their computers or offices. This is not only the case in the developed world, with major telecommunications firms already expressing the view that the mobile internet access can provide people in developing countries with the opportunities previously denied to them. Access to computers or wireline internet is scarce in a large number of countries across Asia, South America and Africa, with a number of firms keen to improve their mobile penetration in these continents.

A new series of malware threats have emerged which attach to the Mac operating system.

Security firm Intego has discovered two new Trojan applications and a remote code execution vulnerability, reports vnunet.com.

The firm has identified a new threat which is found to pose as a poker game, which steals user names and passwords off the Mac and uploads them to a remote server.

Intego claims that the attackers would then "have the ability to remotely access and control the system".

Internet security experts have warned that competition between browsers has changed the online security landscape.

So-called "browser wars" between Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari have created security advantages as hackers and those who write malicious programs have had to adjust their tactics, reports vnunet.com.

A researcher for F-Secure, Sean Sullivan, wrote in a blog posting: "Many of the malware samples and scams that we currently come across are targeting browser applications.

"So enhancing browser security and an increase in competitiveness is a good thing."

The amount of malware viruses found on legitimate websites has risen by more than 400 per cent over the last year, according to a new report by ScanSafe.

In a security brief, the company has reported that more than 68 per cent of malware which it blocked in May was on legitimate sites. This represents a year-on-year rise of more than 407 per cent.

The brief is based on the ten billion requests that ScanSafe receives and scans each month from corporate customers.

Kaspersky has published a new report which analyzes the threat of malware programs being spread via instant messengers (IM).

The report, written by two of its virus analysts, says that IM can be vulnerable to attack from hackers.

Sometimes the susceptible elements can only be discovered by the program's developers after they have been compromised by the hackers.

A demonstration of the issues is highlighted in the report using the case of ICQ, which is a popular IM client across the world.

Hackers accessed ICQ numbers which stole the passwords of users of the program. People's passwords for email accounts and other secure sites were accessed together with their ICQ details.

Cybercriminals used a variety of methods to get users into clicking onto a link which spread the worm program on their computer. Users then received up to 20 unwanted messages every hour.

Kaspersky also recently released a report on the issue of botnets. It describes the commonly-known zombie networks as one of the "most serious information security threats".

IT security experts Kaspersky Lab has released a new report outlining the key malware threats facing the information security industry.

A new report, entitled Malware Evolution: January – March 2008, claims that the rate at which the number of malicious programs appear is continuing to increase, with thousands of new variants detected daily during the first quarter of 2008.

The company says that virus writers have started borrowing technologies from the antivirus world to combat antivirus products.

Researchers at Symantec have spotted that malware packages are being sold with an end-user license agreement.

On the company's blog it has highlighted that Russian malware developers are adding copyright rules to programs they sell on the internet.

The researchers have spotted a license agreement on recent copies of Zeus, a malware program, which carries the phrase "cannot be used for purposes other than which it was bought for".

Mobile device users need to be wary of malware designed to attack their gadgets that can come hidden in legitimate applications.

That is according to security researchers at McAfee, who have issued a warning after a recent attack involving a Trojan called WinCE/InfoJack which was designed to target Windows Mobile PocketPCs.

The Trojan was distributed across a variety of websites and contained genuine installation files including Google Maps, Newsfactor.com reports.

The authors of malware are increasingly producing programs which target local users, a security expert has warned.

In an interview with InformationWeek, Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager for McAfee Avert Labs, explained that hackers were beginning to abandon global malware, such as Blaster and MyDoom, and instead starting to focus on malicious code for local markets.

Mr Marcus explained that different communities had different internet usage profiles which meant that hackers were beginning to develop software to target these niche groups.

Reports suggest that the virus recently discovered is some digital photo frames sold at Best Buy could be more dangerous than previously thought.

Security experts have managed to identify the virus as the Chinese-made Mocmex Trojan house.

Speaking to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Brian Grayek of security vendor Computer Associates said the virus had so far been used to obtain passwords for online games. However, he warned that hackers could plan to use the worm for more sinister purposes in the future.