microsoft

Microsoft has convinced a judge to grant it legal ownership of 276 web domains previously used to control networks of infected PCs. It's the first time this has happened, and the company believes it could be used as a legal weapon. The case involves ... a botnet , created from computers infected with the Waledeac worm . A botnet is short form for "robot network" -- or quite simply, a network of infected computers controlled by one or few individuals. Botnet Sends 1.5 Billion Spam Email Messages Per Day At one point an estimated 80,000 computers were under part of the botnet and were ... (view more)

Microsoft is preparing another large Patch Tuesday security release this month, issuing nine bulletins that address a total of thirteen vulnerabilities. These patches target flaws affecting the Windows operating system (OS), Internet Information ... Services, and popular business suite Microsoft Office. Importantly, four of the nine bulletins have been designated "critical," Microsoft's most serious rating. The other five are all marked "important" by the company's Security Response Center blog, Microsoft's second-highest rating. Windows XP Users Most At-Risk All three of the Redmond-based firm's ... (view more)

Recently, Microsoft raised a few eyebrows by partnering with old rival Yahoo on the search and advertising front. Now, Microsoft once again looks to blur the line between friend and foe with plans to introduce their first application for Google's ... Android platform. The application will offer a host of typical Bing features: image search, movies, maps, local news and driving directions. Microsoft Flaunts Bing via Google App It seems as if Microsoft is trying to purposely highlight functions that Google does not currently offer, while flaunting their features on an Android-based (Google) ... (view more)

With Microsoft's latest mobile Windows finally shipping to manufacturers, handset makers are deciding whether it's worth paying a licensing fee for the software when free alternatives (such as Google's Android) are available. However, Microsoft ... argues that the hidden costs of open source systems mean Windows represents better value. Windows 7 Phone License Fee Cheaper Than 'Free' Manufacturers that want to install Windows Phone 7 on their handsets will have to pay a licensing fee to Microsoft, just as computer makers do with Windows. The fee is understood to average around $15 a handset. That ... (view more)

Microsoft has issued an automated Windows tool designed to limit the effects of a recent DLL bug . The company has also noted it is only classing the problem as an "important" rather than "critical" risk. Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL) Bug As ... noted previously, the problem involves dynamic link libraries (DLLs), a type of shortcut that allows multiple applications to access the same code in Windows. Many applications are set to automatically open any DLLs stored within their program folders. It's now emerged that it is easier than previously thought to create bogus files that can exploit ... (view more)

Microsoft yesterday announced it was resurrecting one of the most popular Windows 7 deals to date: the Family Pack discount. The deal, which gives consumers the ability to purchase a trio of upgrade licenses for their shift from XP or Vista to ... Windows 7, will again be available in early October. It's easy to see why the Family Pack Windows 7 deal was so popular: for three licenses the cost is just $150 (or $50 per upgrade), the same as it was last year. Microsoft put the package together for several weeks following the operating system's October 22, 2009 launch, and seems ready to celebrate a ... (view more)

Microsoft Process Monitor 2.92 Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process / thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, ... and adds an extensive list of enhancements. http://technet.microsoft.com Spiffy 0.5.4 Spiffy is an advanced Gmail notifier for Windows that is free and completely customizable. It supports free Gmail and Google Apps mail, allows you to check up to 5 accounts, and provides users the ability to customize the interface, alerts, icons and more. http:// ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it plans to make the PC and Mac editions of Office 2011 as compatible as possible. According to Kurt Schmucker, one of the leading figures in Microsoft's Mac division, the goal is simple: you should be able to print out the ... same document in Office on both systems, put one sheet on top of the other, hold them up to the light, and not spot even the slightest difference. Mac Excel Gets Sparkling Makeover One example of this is a new Excel feature named Sparklines. This is designed to allow users to automatically produce small graphs and charts that appear beside the ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned users of its Windows Home Server technology that they could have problems using newer hard drives. It follows earlier warnings that the drives are also problematic for Windows XP users. Drives Use Advanced Format Technology The ... situation involves sectors, the individual chunks into which a hard drive is divided. The standard size of each sector has traditionally been 512 bytes, but some drives are already using a 4 kilobyte sector, and this will become the standard size for all drives after 2011. The new drives are referred to as having "Advanced Format" ... (view more)

Microsoft says its Windows Phone 7 developer tools have already been downloaded more than 300,000 times. The firm hopes this means there will be plenty of apps available to help the new system compete with rivals such as the iPhone and Android. ... Microsoft confirmed that the final edition of the developer toolkit will be released on September 16th, 2010: a package that should contain everything developers need to make sure their apps work when the phones go on sale. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Thus, we now have the clearest indication yet that phones carrying the new operating system should be ... (view more)