U.S. content companies are riding high this week after their courtroom victory over illicit file-sharing networks, and the popular BitTorrent software may be next in their crosshairs. BitTorrent, created by programmer Barm Cohen, is a file-sharing program that distributes large files quickly by breaking them into many pieces, sharing the pieces among a large number of users, and reassembling them upon delivery.

Consumers believed that e-mails from legitimate firms were phishing scams because the e-mails did not render properly or were in text format, a new study found. E-mail marketing software firm Lyris Technologies Inc., Berkeley, CA, conducted an informal study of 100 consumers to see whether they could distinguish fake or phishing e-mails from legitimate offers from real companies.

When Crest introduced a toothpaste line two years ago, it used focus groups to help pick three flavors: cinnamon, herbal and citrus. This time around, the new Crest flavors will be chosen by customers. Crest, a division of Procter & Gamble, is asking people to go to the Web to vote for their favorite from a short list of contenders: lemon ice, sweet berry punch or tropica exotica. Samples of the flavors are attached to some Crest products.

Insiders and some industry observers said Thursday a rumored deal between software giant Microsoft and online advertising company Claria is a long shot at best. Speculation that Microsoft is in talks to buy the controversial private Redwood City company started several weeks ago and heated up after a report in the New York Times on Thursday. But Claria board member Magdalena Yesil denied the rumor three weeks ago, and again this week.