Phishing scams hit a new low: an e-mail scam claiming to come from a professional hit man hired to murder the recipient, who'll drop the contract for $80,000. ...

Oracle released its first security updates for this year, fixing 51 flaws, 34 of which can be exploited remotely. ...

Hewlett-Packard had a huge fourth-quarter jump in PC shipments, getting 18% of 4Q shipments, but it still ended up neck-and-neck with Dell for the year: Dell had 17.1%, and HP had 17%, IDC says. ...

Intel has manufactured its first chips using 45-nanometer process technology, under the name Penryn, which it hopes will allow the company to usher in improved power-efficient processors. CEO Paul Otellini says to expect full 45-nanometer production in the second half of this year. ...

Dell has launched its first rugged notebook, the Latitude ATG D620, starting at $2,499. ...

U.S. online sales will plateau at 10% to 15% of all retail sales, JupiterResearch says, though online browsing and research will influence 40% of all U.S. retail sales by 2011. The takeaway: Focus on the advertising and marketing value of Web sites, with clear links to offline channels. ...

Adobe Systems has released the Linux edition of its Flash Player 9.