Students in a Pennsylvania school district are getting a first-hand lesson in the right to privacy.

The Lower Merion School District found itself on the defensive this week after a parent accused the school system of spying on students by providing high schoolers with laptop computers equipped with webcams that could be turned on remotely.

Today I'm bringing you myrrh, job seekers. In January the U.S. Department of Labor challenged the nation to submit its favorite job-search tools. Voting ended on January 15, and the DOL is now reviewing the entries. In the meantime, they're sharing the submissions on its Website, http://dolchallenge.ideascale.com/ . Before you click, you should know there are 634 tools on the currently unfiltered list. You're welcome to sift through the list-that's why they're posted-or, alternatively, you can check out the following resources I hand-picked from the list.

Malware parading as antivirus software is turning up everywhere on the Web. Security vendor Symantec in mid-October counted 250 variations of this malicious code that pretends to scan users' PCs for viruses, but instead installs Trojans or other malware.

But few would suspect a CD that came with a webcam purchased at a well-known retail outlet would include a link to a site that downloads such malicious software.  According to an article by IDG News Service, a Web designer in Washington ran into that scenario after purchasing a Markvision webcam from Office Depot last week at the "door crasher" sale price of $10.