Minecraft fans, beware of what you install. Anti-virus makers Avast have announced that over the last 30 days, they have identified malware that has infected almost 50,000 Minecraft players, malware designed to "reformat hard-drives and delete backup data and system programs,".

It's hard to say exactly why children with autism are some of the greatest devotees of Minecraft, the computer game in which you build endless worlds out of LEGO-like blocks. Stuart Duncan, a father of two, believes it's because it's a perfect union of two opposites. On one hand, Minecraft offers structure - everything from the water to the doors to the falling lava behaves with a certain predictability that they need. On the other hand, it gives the player infinite freedom. There's no story, no levels, no bosses presenting participants with quests to complete. Behind the shield of their computer screen, players can do whatever they want to do in a sensory-friendly space - recreate the Taj Mahal, light up a house with torches, or hide in a cave.

As the parent of a young adult with Type 1 diabetes, I understand some of the challenges folks face when diagnosed with their condition. And, for some kids, it can be hard to teach them about what's happening in their bodies as they navigate the world of insulin, hypo- and hyper- glycaemia, monitoring your blood sugar and managing your diet. Magikcraft is leveraging Minecraft to help engage children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in making their way through this new world.

Everyone's favourite building game, Minecraft, is now up and running on the $US9 ($12) C.H.I.P. computer and its $US59 ($81) handheld counterpart.

Last year, Code.org and Microsoft launched a tutorial that teaches youngsters coding skills through Minecraft. There is now a new Minecraft coding tutorial available.

We already know that Minecraft can be used as a teaching tool; it has already been used to teach kids how to code. Now Microsoft has made Minecraft: Education Edition, specifically designed for classrooms, generally available in Australia.

When your kid shows interest in a popular phenomenon, usually there's not much to understand -- you just help them turn on the videos, and put the toys on their birthday wish list. But it's a little trickier when your kid comes home and insists that they need to play Minecraft. You have some learning to do.

For those who have been itching to play Minecraft in virtual reality (VR), you can now do so with Oculus Rift headsets through a free update to the game's Windows 10 Edition beta. Here's what you need to know.

There are few things that go together better than Minecraft and the Raspberry Pi, and the little microcomputer meant to teach kids coding can do even more with Minecraft. The folks at MagPi, the official magazine of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, have a free PDF that teaches you everything you need to know.

Minecraft has been a transformative title in the gaming sphere, but Microsoft's ambitions for the title goes way beyond simply blowing up creepers for fun.

The rumours have been confirmed: Microsoft is paying $US2.5 billion to acquire Mojang, the Swedish developer of Minecraft. That raises an interesting question: how will the deal change Microsoft's approach to Java?