Microsoft

Wed
03
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Critics Wary of Microsoft's Waledac Botnet Takedown

Microsoft recently administered a devastating blow to the Waledac botnet , one of the world's biggest networks of compromised computers and as such a huge contributor of spam and malware to the world wide web. One would think this was good news for ... Internet users everywhere (and in many ways, it is) -- however, some critics are wondering if the end justified the means. Microsoft Sidesteps ISPs According to Richard Boscovich, Microsoft's senior attorney within its Digital Crimes Unit, the attack on Waledac began when Microsoft filed a formal complaint with the U.S. District Court of Eastern ... (view more)

Tue
02
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

MS Browser Ballot To Have Little Impact, Survey Says

The Microsoft Windows browser ballot campaign is officially under way. As of yesterday morning, the Redmond, Washington-based software company began asking European Union (EU) users which browser they wanted to be designated their default web tool. ... The browser ballot is Microsoft's response to European Commission allegations that its Windows operating system, which has typically shipped with Microsoft's own Internet Explorer as the default web browser, is violating antitrust law. Microsoft last year said it would appease its critics by offering a selection of the most popular web browsers for ... (view more)

Tue
02
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Judge Tosses Out Windows Vista-to-XP Downgrade Lawsuit

A Seattle judge has dismissed a "downgrade" from Windows Vista to Windows XP fee lawsuit that alleged antitrust violations. The class-action suit was filed by Emma Alvarado of Los Angeles in February 2009 after she was charged $59.25 to downgrade ... the operating system (OS) on a newly purchased Lenovo laptop. Alvarado alleged that Microsoft abused its monopoly by trying to cash in on the popularity of Windows XP over Windows Vista. Lawsuit Failed to Prove that Microsoft Received 'Unjust Enrichment' Judge Marsha J. Pechman, of U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, said ... (view more)

Mon
01
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

MS Shuts Down Whistleblower Site after 'Spy Guide' Leak

In response to claims of copyright infringement, web site "cryptome.org" was recently (and temporarily) shut down after the site posted an internal document outlining details on how Microsoft manages logs of user activity. (Source: sfgate.com ) Web ... proprietor John Young filed a counterclaim a day after Microsoft filed its Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice, arguing that he had a fair use to publish the document, a full day before the deadline was set by Network Solutions, his hosting provider. Cryptome.org Temporarily Shut Down Network Solutions shut down Cryptome.org ... (view more)

Fri
26
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Support For Early Editions of Windows XP, Vista Ending Soon

Microsoft is reminding users that support for several editions of Windows will end beginning April 13, 2010. It will mean no more security updates, though users can easily upgrade to supported editions without charge. The affected editions are ... Windows XP with the second service pack (SP) and Vista with no service pack applied. In other words, if you haven't already installed at least Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Vista Service Pack 1, your computer will be exceedingly vulnerable to security exploits (and hackers). Service packs are collections of security and software updates which are ... (view more)

Thu
25
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Decade-Old Windows Flaw Results in Blue Screen of Death

A recently discovered decade-old denial-of-service condition could cause the instantaneous crash of a system and present users with the now-infamous blue screen of death, says a group of researchers. The condition was discovered this week by a ... collection of researchers in Malta, the tiny southern European archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean. According to Paul Gafa, CTO of 2X Software, if a user launches an application containing the malicious code, they could find their systems crashed. "You can be the least privileged user on the system and still crash it," Gafa said. (Source: ... (view more)

Wed
24
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows 7 Early Adoption Rate Doubles Vista

Windows 7 has been available to the wider public since October 22, 2009, a period of five months. According to a new report, in that time it has accumulated twice as many users as its predecessor, Windows Vista, over the same amount of time ... following its release in late January, 2007. The findings are provided by California-based web analysts NetApplications.com. They found that Windows 7, as of this past Sunday, accounted for about 9 per cent of all operating systems (OS) being used online. By contrast, Windows Vista had just a 4.5 per cent share of the OS market five months after its ... (view more)

Wed
24
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Outlook to be Integrated with LinkedIn

Microsoft is trying to harness the power of social networking for its own connectivity tool, email program Outlook. But rather than start its own network, Microsoft is aiming for an easier way to manage existing accounts. The firm has announced a ... beta program to integrate LinkedIn directly with Outlook. It's also announced partnerships are in the works for both Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn is a primarily business-oriented tool for tracking networks. As well as acting like an online resume, it's designed for people to be able to make new business contacts through shared contacts. The site ... (view more)

Tue
23
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Security Experts Fearful of Win7 Browser Ballot

The Microsoft " browser ballot ," which is meant to promote fair competition amongst web browsers by offering choices aside from Internet Explorer (IE), will debut via an update March 1. However, at least one security company is warning that the ... process could open doors for hackers to attack. For those unaware of the browser ballot, it's Microsoft's response to accusations by the European Union that the software company's traditional bundling of Internet Explorer with its Windows operating systems was a violation of antitrust laws. Thus, Microsoft agreed that it would eventually offer users ... (view more)

Mon
22
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Critics Debate: Windows Phone 7 Fee or For Free?

Microsoft has been recently criticized for suggesting that it may charge phone companies to use its newly-unveiled mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 (previously known as Windows Mobile 7). However, other analysts argue that charging for the ... operating system is both reasonable and sensible. The charge was led by the Business Insider website, where a columnist estimated that Microsoft's annual revenue from licensing the Windows Phone 7 system will be around $300 million. That's clearly no trifling sum, as Dan Frommer argues, but it's a tiny part of Microsoft's annual income of around $66 ... (view more)

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