The long-awaited PlayStation Home may be getting ready to launch by December 17, according to a report from Times Online. The story, which was published on December 7, stated the application “is slated for release in the next 10 days.” This isn’t official word from Sony, of course, but the company itself isn’t exactly denying the claim.

VideoGaming247 reports that a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe representative said, “we’re not commenting on that story, I’m afraid.” The story certainly seems plausible enough. Sony has repeatedly insisted that Home is slated for 2008, and opening it to a wider audience with the November Qore certainly seemed to be laying the groundwork for a fully open beta.

It’s also worth noting that, though the window of 10 days seems broad, this coming Thursday (December 11) is the only remaining one in that time frame. If this report is accurate, and if Sony plans to release Home on a Thursday like its usual updates, then we may be seeing it in only a few days. Don’t bank on that knowledge, though, because it comes with plenty of “ifs.” We’ll let you know when we hear a firm — and official — release date for the social networking tool.

If you’ve received a message like that through Facebook or MySpace, you may have been exposed to the “Koobface” virus. “Koobface” comes through an e-mail sent by one of your social networking site friends inviting you to scope out a video.

Once the URL is clicked, “Koobface” prompts you to update your Flash player before the video can be displayed. Therein lies the virus, cloaked in a “flash_player.exe” file. According to the Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus organization working closely with Facebook, “the worms transform victim machines into zombie computers to form botnets.”

The McAfee Security Blog explains that when “Koobface” infects your computer, it prompts a downloaded service named Security Accounts Manager (SamSs) to load on start-up. SamSs then proxies all HTTP traffic, stealing results from popular search engines and hijacking them to lesser-known search sites.

A clear eye for fraud will help you avoid this mess. You can usually spot phony e-mails by their titles. Kaspersky found the following: Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf On The Street; Examiners Caught Downloading Grades From The Internet; You must see it!!! LOL. My friend catched you on hidden cam; Is it really celebrity? Funny Moments. My own “Koobface” attack came in an e-mail entitled, lool, yoour blushingg afce is so funny! Checkk out. Obviously, Paris Hilton never threw dwarves, and in all likelihood, my 26-year-old friend knows how to spell more than two words. These are clear indicators you’re being attacked.

Facebook has posted instructions about how to remove the “Koobface” virus: give your computer an antivirus scrub-down and change your Facebook password.

This attack on the world’s most popular social networking site and its 120 million users comes just weeks after Facebook won an $873 million lawsuit against several people accused of hacking user accounts and spreading spam.

SOURCE: PCWorld.com