The Associated Press, the legendary news organization responsible for thousands of articles worldwide, has filed a lawsuit against digital news site All Headline News for allegedly stealing their headlines and stories. The suit alleges that AHN is guilty of violating the “Hot News Doctrine,” a nearly 90-year old agreement that says breaking news is the property of whichever news organization reports it first. By linking to several of their hot news properties without paying the syndication fee, the AP argues that the AHN is violating the accepted Hot News Doctrine and therefore, guilty of plagiarism. Many reporters are openly questioning the merits of the lawsuit, saying that the hot news standard is, at best, a draconian concept that has outlived its usefulness. Neither the AP nor AHN have issued a statement on the matter.

Elsewhere, Italian outlaws have found a new way to communicate: Skype. According to a new report by the BBC, many criminals have turned to the software-based phone system in order to avoid the well-publicized wiretaps officials have on their landlines. In a wiretapping case in Milan, for example, police overheard a reported cocaine trafficker tell his accomplice to “switch over to Skype” before reporting on his dealings. Many within the government say that Skype, in its refusal to reveal its top-secret encryption technique to the authorities, is essentially helping the underworld commit its crimes. Skype officials have not responded publicly to the controversy at this time.

In the past few months, we have seen malware pushers do everything from manufacture phony .doc files to invade President Barack Obama’s social network in order to spread their brand of virus-laced terror. We can now add “product reviews” to the list of acceptable targets. The fun begins when the user installs Anti-Virus-1, a malware suite designed to look like security software. After everything is installed, the user starts seeing a variety of “errors,” including a screen saver designed to mimic the infamous “Blue Screen of Death.” To take care of the problem, the mark user is advised to buy AntiVirus2010 . He or she is then taken to what appears to be a reputable tech site such as PC World or CNet, where he or she is prompted to buy the program for $30. (The “reviews” found on the sites mentioned are fake, of course. What is actually being displayed is a modified review for Norton Anti-Virus hosted on the AV-1 servers.) After the money is paid and the file is loaded, the problems seemingly stop, In reality, however, the poor end user has just paid $30 for a malware program that does nothing but further infect the host computer. As always, stay away from anything fishy and keep those real anti-virus programs running. After all, the last thing anyone needs is for PC World to sell you on the merits of loading malware.

In other paranoia inducing news, programmers have discovered a flaw in Adobe Acrobat that could allow hackers to take control of your system. According to published reports, many have already worked out ways to simply overtake a “flawed” computer without the user even knowing. Adobe has pledged to take several drastic steps in order to alleviate the problem, and is currently working with various anti-virus manufacturers to make sure that a similar situation never happens again. Unfortunately, the patch will not be ready until the middle of March.

And finally: Those little applications for the iPhone might not be as popular as once thought. According to a new poll conducted by Pinch Media, only 25% of the apps are used the day after it is downloaded. Out of that numbers, only 1% are used on a regular basis. Many within the industry “blame” the poor showing on the iPhone Store, which gives users access to software that was once not available to them. The survey is also considered by some to be a “warning” to programmers, quietly urging them to focus on improving the longevity of their products. True long-term effects on the “load it/ignore it” system are unknown at this time.