Carlo Orlando

It seems as if Microsoft investors will be receiving more than just dividend checks in the near future. The company will soon give shareholders the opportunity to voice their opinion on executive salaries. Shareholders will be allowed to vote every ... three years on the fairness of financial compensation doled out to Microsoft executives. The first vote is set for the company's annual meeting in November. "Say-on-Pay" Votes The decision to adopt the system, known as "say-on-pay" votes, comes after a call for more shareholder involvement in certain aspects of the company's affairs, ... (view more)

Microsoft is hoping to cleanse the Internet of malicious advertisements after filing a series of lawsuits against five companies accused of tricking innocent people into installing malware and spyware onto their computers. Microsoft has targeted ... DirectAd Solutions, Soft Solutions, qiweroqw.com, ote2008.info and ITmeter, claiming that these companies have used their advertisements to "distribute malicious software that peddles 'scareware' to unsuspecting Internet users." (Source: networkworld.com ) Scare Tactics Trick Users In a nutshell, scareware ads are dubious messages that "scare" ... (view more)

The next time you complain about a slow broadband connection or a lengthy file upload time, remember the people of Durban, South Africa. In an attempt to circumvent their slow broadband connection, a financial service company recently let their ... time-saving creativity take flight... literally. The experimental, but surprisingly evenly-matched, competition pitted a homing pigeon bearing a 4GB USB stick against the local Durban broadband connection to determine once and for all which form of data transfer was the fastest. The estimated distance between the two offices was 80 km. (Source: pcpro. ... (view more)

At the Jefferies Annual Technology Conference on September 15th, Microsoft Exec Charles Songhurst was quoted as saying that Windows 7 is a "compellingly good product", and even went as far as to say it will "renew belief and innovation in the ... Windows franchise." (Source: zdnet.com ) With sentiments like these, you better believe that Microsoft will do everything in their power to make Win7 succeed and, most importantly, turn a tidy profit. Big Payday Incentive It has been rumored that Microsoft is set to collect, on average, $50 per copy of Windows resulting from higher-end PC sales. ... (view more)

In an ongoing effort to evade malware detection, hackers have started to hide their 'command and control' instructions in legitimate sites like Twitter and Google Groups -- and with limited fear of being discovered. Recent Google Groups Trojan News ... of a recent attack broke after security specialists at Symantec followed a Trojan horse programmed to visit a private "Google Groups" newsgroup called escape2sun. After visiting the page, PCs were instructed to download encrypted instructions and software updates for malware. Experts call these 'command and control' instructions and are used to ... (view more)

The latest case of malware infestation is once again targeting Facebook , this time masquerading as a virus removal kit designed to rid the computer world of a bogus "Fan Check" bug. Fan Check: Valid App, but 'Bug' is Bogus While the Fan Check "bug" ... does not really exist, Fan Check is in fact a valid Facebook application used on Facebook.com. The purpose of the Fan Check application is to rank friends based on how often they interact with your Facebook pages. (Source: facebook.com ). The new malware, however, is rather devious because it pretends to defend against a made-up virus, ... (view more)

New spyware disguising itself as a Flash plug-in for the Mozilla Firefox web browser is infiltrating computers in an attempt to monitor the search patterns of victims worldwide. The nameless spyware is being called "sneaky" because it also appears ... as legitimate. According to Sophos, everything about the new spyware is designed to dupe users. It even shows up in the list of Firefox extensions after download completion under the faux name "Adobe Flash Player 0.2". (Source: pcworld.com ) New Spyware: Anything but Legitimate However, what's installed is anything but legitimate. The spyware is ... (view more)

While many tech insiders anxiously anticipate the release of Windows 7, throwing a party in honor of the new operating system might seem a tad ridiculous to some. However, Microsoft feels that their latest OS offering should be cause for ... celebration, announcing that it might be willing to help those who want to throw a little party come October 22. In an effort to generate even more interest in the product, Microsoft has teamed with House Party to reach out to the average end-user. House Party is a community-based site that helps people around the world host parties. The news of a Windows 7 ... (view more)

In an effort to expedite stolen personal identities and financial records of unsuspecting users, online deviants are using an Instant Messaging component of their attack software, coupled malware. According to RSA Security, the Zeus Trojan informs ... hackers when their desired information has been poached. With Zeus, hackers can act faster in completing their time-sensitive illegal acts, which could lead to even more victims being targeted. Internet security firms are very familiar with the Zeus Trojan, blaming it for an endless trail of online bank account heists. Most believe Zeus is the ... (view more)

According to an anonymous Microsoft insider, the company has been holding special, secret meetings with what could be the least secretive codename, ever: "Screw Google!" As often as once a week, Microsoft is initiating what are being referred to as ... "Screw Google" meetings aimed at discrediting the corporate advancements of Google. Attending these meetings: a blend of Google rivals and third-party professional groups hired to develop the strategies needed to take down the current web search leader . The leak to the public has caused more than a few Microsoft affiliates to sweat. Law ... (view more)