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The billions of dollars spent on Aids prevention programmes based on HIV vaccines, wide-scale testing and the promotion of condoms or sexual abstinence have turned out to be less effective than a simple surgical operation to remove the foreskin.

Some of the world’s most distinguished scientists have warned that the “central pillars” of HIV prevention - from condom use to HIV vaccines - have crumbled in sub-Saharan Africa.

On the 25th anniversary of discovery of the virus, the researchers warned that a quarter of a century of research into HIV vaccines and anti-viral creams, along with health programmes, have all failed to stem the Aids epidemic in Africa.

The scientists said there was an urgent need to reappraise existing strategies by looking at how to expand male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa, where the heterosexual Aids epidemic has spilled into the general population, rather than being confined to high- risk groups.

Daniel Halperin, of the Harvard School of Public Health, a co- author of the study, said that the time has come to look at male circumcision as the most important tool there is to limit the spread of HIV within the world’s worst-affected regions.

Less than 1 per cent of the funds spent by the UN programme has gone on male circumcision yet the other, more expensive strategies have failed to live up to expectations. “We need a fairly dramatic shift in priorities, not just a minor tweaking,” added Dr Halperin.

In circumcised men, the risk falls by 60 per cent, but even in women there is a knock-on effect. “Male circumcision, which has been called a ’surgical vaccine’, would probably protect more women, albeit indirectly, than nearly any other achievable HIV prevention strategy,” the scientists say in the journal Science.

“Modelling suggests that male circumcision could avert up to 5.7 million new HIV infections and three million deaths over the next 20 years in sub-Saharan Africa, many of these among women,” they said.

Professor Malcolm Potts, of the University of California, Berkeley, said: “It is tragic that we did not act on male circumcision in 2000, when the evidence was already very compelling.”

Copyright c 2008 Independent Newspapers UK Limited. All rights
owned or operated by The Independent.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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Guests from Logitech and Sunbelt Software,
Inc. will appear on radio talk show Let’s Talk Computers. Logitech
International is a Swiss public company traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange
(LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Sunbelt Software,
Inc. is a leading provider of Windows security and management software with
product solutions in the areas of anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-spam and
vulnerability assessment.

Alexis Richard, Logitech Director of Global Product Marketing Manager for
Notebook Solutions, talks about the Logitech diNovo Mini palm-sized
keyboard with media remote and ClickPad, The diNovo Mini is designed for
people who like to attach a laptop to their flat-screen TV so they can
enjoy Internet browsing, music, and video from the comfort of the couch.

Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt Software, talks about their new Antivirus /
Anti-spyware program VIPRE and why a whole new technology approach was
needed to trap new Internet, spyware, and malware threats.

To Find Out About “VIPRE - A New Approach To Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware
Software,” and to read the complete transcript go to:
http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/ltc/20080510

Listen to the interviews at:

Logitech http://www.lets-talk-computers.com/guests/logitech/dinono_mini

Sunbelt Software, Inc.
http://www.lets-talk-computers.com/guests/sunbelt/vipre

ABOUT LET’S TALK COMPUTERS

Let’s Talk Computers, http://www.lets-talk-computers.com , ranks as one of
the longest-running computer radio talk shows and can be heard weekly in 5
states and 24 hours a day on the website. New shows are uploaded in
RealAudio and NetShow formats by Friday, 12:00 PM Central — radio
broadcasts begin airing the following day. Past interview segments are
also available on the website.

To assist in evaluating both hardware and software under genuine working
conditions, Let’s Talk Computers utilizes the expertise and facilities of
Total Solutions Intl. http://www.total-solutions.net

Support our Sponsors:
Survivalist Knife and Tool
 http://www.survivalist-knife-and-tool.com
Your one stop store for all your knives and accessories.

Let’s Talk Computers is a trademark of the Let’s Talk Computers Tennessee
partnership. Any use of this trademark without written authorization is
strictly forbidden and a violation of state and federal law.

Contact:
Sandra Lee
Program Manager
Email Contact

Let’s Talk Computers
488 Saddle Drive
Nashville TN 37221
Phone: 615-662-0322

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

BitDefender®, a global provider of
award-winning antivirus software and data security solutions, announced
today that malware packers have gained even more popularity in the month of
April, as three of the positions on BitDefender’s April 2008 Top Ten
Malware list are occupied with malware packed by such software. According
to BitDefender Labs, the three are all packed with the same type of packer
(NSAnti) which has caused problems in previous months.

“It seems repacking malware to attempt avoiding detection, rather than
spending time and energy writing new viruses from scratch is a technique
that’s here to stay,” said Sorin Dudea, Head of BitDefender AV Research.

Straightforward packers aren’t the only tools used for this purpose. The
fourth position on the list is a sophisticated malware loader, dubbed by
BitDefender researchers as “Loader.N.” Loader.N runs decrypts and enables
two other packed pieces of malware (a Trojan, Kobcka and a Trojan,
Downloader.Agent) which transforms the infected machine into a spam relay.

“The loader serves two purposes: the encryption prevents antivirus software
from detecting the payload in transit, while the unpacking and loading part
ensures that at no point does the payload get written to disk –
eliminating another inception point,” Dudea explained. “Of course, the
exercise is pointless, as we can still detect the decryptor itself.”

The rest of the top ten is, yet again, pretty well-populated with mass
mailer viruses, with the Cutwail Trojan, another tool turning machines into
spam bots, appearing in the 6th position.

BitDefender’s April 2008 Top 10 malware list includes:

1.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.AD        33.71%
2.      Win32.Netsky.P@mm                7.48%
3.      Win32.Worm.Sohanad.NAW           4.56%
4.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.AG         2.86%
5.      Trojan.Loader.N                  2.25%
6.      Trojan.Dropper.Cutwail.F         2.04%
7.      Win32.Netsky.AA@mm               1.98%
8.      Win32.NetSky.D@mm                1.98%
9.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.Z          1.87%
10.     Win32.Nyxem.E@mm                 1.65%
11.     OTHERS                          39.62%

About BitDefender®

BitDefender is the creator of one of the industry’s fastest and most
effective lines of internationally certified security software. Since our
inception in 2001, BitDefender has continued to raise the bar and set new
standards in proactive threat prevention. Every day, BitDefender protects
tens of millions of home and corporate users across the globe — giving
them the peace of mind of knowing that their digital experiences will be
secure. BitDefender solutions are distributed by a global network of
value-added distribution and reseller partners in more than 100 countries
worldwide. More information is available at www.bitdefender.com .

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