There's a clear benefit from everything from PCs to cellphones to smart cars, smart fridges and iPods being connected to the net. You can access internet stuff anywhere, anytime, and easily share it (and don't laugh at the fridge bit - there are now more machines with IP addresses than people-controlled PCs). Cellphone viruses have so far been confined to the lab. But now comes the worrying news from Apple that the first iPod virus has emerged.

Mac-heads will chuckle that the virus, RavmonE.exe, only affects Windows-connect iPods. But once the concept's out there, it could quickly spread to all platforms. Apple says a small number of Video iPods that shipped after September 12 were sent to customers with the virus, which will only attack your Windows PC, not the iPod itself. RavmonE.exe can infect any attached storage device, so Apple suggests recent iPod purchasers get those scanned, too. Apple says any up-to-date version of Symantec Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus or any other major security product should eliminate the virus.