Spammers invade Google+

Cyber criminals have reacted in typically speedy fashion to the unveiling of Google's new social networking service by spamming out fake invitations in an attempt to promote pharmaceutical Web sites, reports V3.co.uk.

Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley warned Web users not to trust the fake e-mails, which have been crafted to imitate the real messages people may receive from friends who are already signed up to Google+.

“Clicking on the links will not take you to the new social network, but to a pharmacy Web site set up to sell the likes of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra to the unwary,” he said in a blog post.

Facebook is reportedly about to unveil a new video chat product powered by Microsoft-owned Skype, reveals The Register.

The move follows company founder Mark Zuckerberg's comments last week that Facebook would have an “awesome” new feature to shout about on 6 July.

TechCrunch, citing an insider with knowledge of the partnership, reports Facebook will release a new Skype-based video chat product that works within the browser.

US technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) rolled out its TouchPad tablet computer on Friday, seeking to dethrone the dominant Apple iPad and revive its slumping fortunes, writes AFP.

The TouchPad went on sale in major US retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart, as well as on Amazon.com, HP said in a statement.

It is expected to go on sale shortly in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Canada, and later this year it will become available in Italy, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.

Google said yesterday it has temporarily disabled its Realtime search function in the wake of the introduction of its social network Google+, notes Cnet.

The feature was developed to integrate real-time data from Twitter and other social networking sites. The option for the feature has been removed from the right side of Google's search bar, and the feature's Web page now contains a 404 message.

“We've temporarily disabled google.com/realtime. We're exploring how to incorporate Google+ into this functionality, so stay tuned,” the company said on its Google Realtime Twitter feed.