Monthly Archives: March 2008

Teen made computers ‘zombies’

March 2, 2008 – 11:26 am

CHEYENNE — A local teenager has been charged in connection with an elaborate computer virus scheme that officials say turned thousands of personal computers into “zombies” and used them to rip off banking and credit card information.

Jason Michael Milmont, 19, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of unauthorized access to a computer to further a fraud, according to the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

Federal prosecutors allege that Milmont spread the virus, called the “Nugache Worm,” through junk e-mail and by tricking people to download a phony copy of a peer-to-peer software program called Limewire.

Once the virus was inside a computer, Milmont could order the machine to turn over valuable banking and credit card information, court records allege.

“All the data stored on the compromised machines would be available to (the) defendant, including, but not limited to, credit card information,” according to court documents filed by prosecutors.

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Japan Stocks Fall in U.S.

March 2, 2008 – 11:25 am

July 2 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s stocks fell in the U.S. after auto sales plunged in June in the world’s biggest vehicle market, diminishing the earnings outlook for Japanese automakers.

U.S.-traded receipts of both Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Japan’s two largest carmakers, sank 0.9 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo yesterday. Toyota and Honda get more than half of their operating profit U.S. sales.

The Bank of New York Japan ADR Index, which tracks Japanese companies’ American depositary receipts, slid 0.2 percent. Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in September last traded at 13,505 in Chicago, 0.3 percent higher than the close of 13,460 in Osaka and 0.2 percent up from 13,475 in Singapore yesterday. The Nikkei dropped 0.1 percent to 13,463.20 yesterday, a ninth-straight decline, the longest streak since September 2004.

“Stocks have fallen to a level that may prompt investors to buy,” Hiroichi Nishi, a Tokyo-based equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’ll see a rally for the meantime, though the outlook remains hazy.”

Auto sales in the U.S. plunged in June as consumers turned away from gas-guzzling trucks and found small cars in short supply. General Motors Corp. reported a 19 percent decline, and Toyota’s sales dropped 21 percent.

Commodities

Crude oil for August delivery rose 97 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $140.97 a barrel. The price gained 38 percent between April and June, the biggest quarterly jump in nine years.

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