| Microsoft Readies Flood of Patches Sun 12 Oct 2008, 9:11 pm by Doctor Inferno Microsoft will issue 11 security updates next week -- the same number it shipped in August when pushed out the most patches in 18 months -- to fix bugs in Windows, Active Directory, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and Host Integration Server.
Four of the 11 updates will be labeled "critical," Microsoft's highest threat ranking, with six pegged "important," the next-lowest rating, and one tagged as "moderate."
As is Microsoft's practice, it released only the most general information about the upcoming security patches in the advance notification it posted last week. Among the details that the company provides are the affected software, the severity of the security problem and the components involved.
Seven of the 11 updates will address vulnerabilities that Microsoft acknowledged can be used to execute remote code, a description that generally means hackers could exploit those vulnerabilities to inject their own malicious code into vulnerable PCs, often by convincing users to open a file attachment or tricking them into visiting a rogue Web site. All four of the critical updates were marked with Microsoft's &q...
Comments: 0 Microsoft to Improve Vista's Problematic UAC in Windows 7 Sat 11 Oct 2008, 10:04 am by Doctor Inferno Microsoft plans to improve the much-maligned user account control (UAC) feature in the next version of its Windows client OS, acknowledging that the new security feature it built into Windows Vista has caused unnecessary problems for users.
On the company's Engineering Windows 7 blog, Microsoft called UAC one of the "most controversial" features of Vista, and said it will tweak UAC in Windows 7 so it works more closely with Microsoft's intended goal for the feature.
Microsoft added UAC to Vista in an effort to improve the security of the system and give people who are the primary users of a PC more control of its applications and settings. However, UAC turned out to be more of a headache for many users than a benefit.
"UAC was created with the intention of putting you in control of your system, reducing cost of ownership over time and improving the software ecosystem," according to the post, which is attributed to Ben Fathi, corporate vice president of development for Microsoft's Windows Core Operating System Division. "What we've learned is that we only got part of the way there in Vista and some folks think we ...
Comments: 0 Norton buys rival company Sat 11 Oct 2008, 12:08 am by Belahzur Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse.
US anti-virus software firm Symantec has agreed to buy web security firm MessageLabs for $695m (£401.2m).
Best known for its Norton range of PC security software, the move is set to allow Symantec to expand its internet services business.
MessageLabs produces security products for instant-messaging, e-mail and the internet.
Subject to regulatory approval, the firms hope the deal will be completed by the end of the year.
Analysts welcomed the acquisition, but some were cautious about Symantec's prospects in the face of global economic problems.
MessageLabs, which has regional headquarters in the UK, US and Australia, has more than eight million end users at more than 19,000 businesses.
California-based Symantec provides online backup, storage, and remote access products, which makes it possible for clients to access information and applications on their PCs from any location where there's web access.
Symantec said the deal would enable the two companies to cross-sell to each others customers.
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/76607...
Comments: 0 IBM brings 5-GHz chip to its top-selling Unix server Thu 09 Oct 2008, 10:38 pm by Doctor Inferno 'Hot' repair also offered
(IDG News Service) IBM spruced up its Unix servers on Tuesday with faster processors and new management software, targeting customers who want to use its hardware for virtualization and server consolidation.
The Power 570, IBM's top-selling midrange server, is now available with a 5-GHz Power6 processor, which was previously available only in IBM's high-end Power 595 system. The manufacturing yields for the 5-GHz chip have been good enough that IBM can now offer it in higher-volume systems, said Scott Handy, IBM vice president of worldwide marketing and strategy.
IBM also doubled the maximum density for the Power 570, so customers can put up to eight 4.2-GHz processors in each server node, or up to four 5-GHz processors. The nodes can be stacked four high, for a total of 32 4.2-GHz processors in a single box.
The enhancements boost the performance that customers can get from each square foot of server space and from each watt of power, making the 570 well-suited for virtualization and consolidation, Handy said.
IBM is also testing a new capability for its PowerVM virtualiz...
Comments: 1 Firefox add-on blocks 'clickjacking' attacks Fri 10 Oct 2008, 10:53 am by Doctor Inferno NoScript now stymies new class of exploits by revealing secret content
(Computerworld) A popular Firefox add-on designed to block scripts and plug-ins has been updated to stymie the new "clickjacking" class of attacks, the extension's developer said today.
The latest version of NoScript, a free extension for Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox browser, now boasts something that Italian developer and security researcher Giorgio Maone calls "ClearClick" to protect users from clickjacking attacks.
"Rather than relying on frame/plug-in blocking, which were already available, I decided to move on and add a brand new feature, developed from scratch, for people who couldn't bear blocking frames outright," said Maone in an interview conducted via instant messaging.
In a blog post earlier this week, Maone spelled out what ClearClick does in greater detail. "Whenever you click or otherwise interact, through your mouse or your keyboard, with an embedded element which is partially obstructed, transparent or otherwise disguised, NoScript prevents the interaction from completing and reveals [to] you the r...
Comments: 0 Microsoft promises huge patch day next week Fri 10 Oct 2008, 10:52 am by Doctor Inferno Slates 11 updates for Windows, IE, Active Directory, Office and Host Integration Server
(Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. today said it will issue 11 security updates next week -- the same number it shipped in August when it pushed out the most patches in 18 months -- to fix bugs in Windows, Active Directory, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and Host Integration Server.
Four of the 11 updates will be labeled "critical," Microsoft's highest threat ranking, with six pegged "important," the next-lowest rating, and one tagged as "moderate."
As is Microsoft's practice, it released only the most general information about the upcoming security patches in the advance notification it posted Thursday. Among the details that the company provided are the affected software, the severity of the security problem and the components involved.
Seven of the 11 updates will address vulnerabilities that Microsoft acknowledged can be used to execute remote code, a description that generally means hackers could exploit those vulnerabilities to inject their own malicious code into vulnerable PCs, often by convincing us...
Comments: 0 Mozilla Adds Geographic Tagging to Firefox Fri 10 Oct 2008, 10:52 am by Doctor Inferno Mozilla has released an add-on to Firefox that enables the browser to automatically pinpoint a user's location by communicating with Wi-Fi signals so Web sites can provide customized content to users.
The add-on is now available through the Geode project from Mozilla Labs, according to a blog posting about the technology.
Geode is based on a W3C specification called Geolocation API, which provides "a set of verbs and commands that a Web site can use and a browser can understand" to exchange geographic information, said Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox development at Mozilla.
Once Geode is installed, users will be asked to provide location information when they browse to a site that can communicate with the Geolocation API. They can choose to provide an exact location, a neighborhood, a city or no location at all, depending on their preference, Beltzner said.
A Web site can then use that information to provide customized local content, such as a list of local restaurants or other relevant businesses. Eventually, Mozilla hopes to expand this capability to allow, for example, an RSS feed to determine whether a per...
Comments: 0 Google's Gmail Goggles: Goodbye to Web rage Thu 09 Oct 2008, 10:39 pm by Doctor Inferno Gmail's new feature may save you from those hasty/nasty/vindictive/drunk e-mails you really shouldn't send
(CIO) Gmail, Google's free consumer e-mail, added a unique new feature to the service Monday: Mail Goggles, which gives you the ability to double-check whether you are really sure you want to send an e-mail message, particularly late at night. But the feature might also help business users of enterprise Gmail make better decisions about sending vindictive or hastily composed e-mails to co-workers.
The talk on the blogs and news sites that cover Google centered around the notion that Mail Goggles would prevent you from sending e-mails to ex-girlfriends or boyfriends while drunk on the weekends. In fact, the Google developer who made Mail Goggles used that as an example in his blog post announcing the new feature.
But his post, the name of the feature itself and the ensuing witty blog discourse might undersell another e-mail faux pas that Mail Goggles could prevent: Web rage, which often occurs late night and often not under the influence of eight shots of Patron.
Here's how Mail Goggles works: It allows you to...
Comments: 0 Mozilla locks in Firefox 3.1 feature list Thu 09 Oct 2008, 10:39 pm by Doctor Inferno Privacy mode, address bar changes to come later, but Beta 1 slated to ship next week
(Computerworld) Mozilla Corp. will use a several-week delay it recently added to the Firefox 3.1 schedule to build a private browsing mode and beef up the browser's address bar, the company said today.
Three weeks ago, the company said it would insert four to five more weeks into the timetable, part of a reaction to changes in the browser market, including the introduction by Google Inc. of its Chrome browser. Then, Mozilla said it would probably use the time to add a privacy mode and to punch up its TraceMonkey JavaScript engine performance.
A private browsing mode and fast JavaScript execution were touted by Google last month when it launched Chrome.
In meeting notes published on its Web site today, Mozilla said it planned to add the privacy feature in Beta 2, which would likely be released in November, according to Mozilla's current schedule.
Dubbed "porn mode" by some, privacy tools limit or entirely eliminate what the browser records as it travels the Internet. Typically, URLs are not recorded in the history, cookies...
Comments: 0 Analysts: Spin-off puts AMD back in the fight with Intel Wed 08 Oct 2008, 9:52 pm by Doctor Inferno Wall Street welcomes news that a Middle East firm is taking a load of debt off AMD's back
(Computerworld) By splitting off its manufacturing operations into a separate company, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. could be on track to become the nimble, innovative company that once had Intel Corp. on the run.
AMD this morning announced plans to spin off its manufacturing operations into a separate company. With this dramatic turn, struggling AMD not only rids itself of the financial burden of running fabrication plants, it gains a hefty influx of cash from its partner in the deal, Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC).
"I don't think this will give us a whole new AMD, but the industry will be dealing with an AMD that's a good deal more nimble because they won't be dealing with the same financial burdens or dealing with the fab plants," said Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research in Cave Creek, Ariz. "Because this lowers the break-even point for AMD, it gives them staying power in the market and will help them focus on design and sales again."
Early in the decade, AMD had grabbed a solid footi...
Comments: 0 Google Chrome = Dead, Google Search = Hot Wed 08 Oct 2008, 10:50 am by Doctor Inferno People don't think, 'I need a new browser so I can search the Internet better.' They go to Google.com and start typing.
Last week, Computerworld reported that Chrome's market share has slipped again -- now fighting for a fourth spot with the Opera browser. That means IE, Firefox, and Safari are trudging on the fledgling Google browser, which has just a .7 market share, according to Net Applications. I think the browser has now almost become inconsequential, a bright blip that has faded faster than my summer tan.
But was there really any hope? I wrote about all of the challenges facing Chrome recently, but I think the biggest challenge by far is compatibility. Web developers know that you had better make sure your site works with IE, and it probably better work with Firefox. Adding another one to the list is a losing proposition -- how many more hours of coding should they do for a browser with a .7 market share? I understand WC3 support, but in the open market of Web browsers, it's about more than just standards. The fact is, anytime a user tries to fire up Cinemanow.com and finds that Chrome doesn't work, it's like a stop sign on the Internet...
Comments: 1 Sony's Latest OLED TV Prototype Is 1 Millimeter Thin Mon 06 Oct 2008, 5:03 pm by Doctor Inferno Sony has unveiled a prototype OLED (organic light emitting diode) television that's less than a millimeter thin -- that's one third the thickness of its current OLED television and a tenth that of its thinnest LCD (liquid crystal display) set.
The TV measures just 0.9mm and is based on a prototype 0.3mm screen that Sony first showed earlier this year. The prototype set was on show at the Ceatec 2008 electronics expo in Japan and attracted a steady stream of curious attendees, with many of them snapping pictures of it.
OLED is an emerging flat-panel display technology that uses an organic material that emits its own light, so no backlight is needed and that means displays are much thinner. The screens also consume less power than competing technologies, handle fast-moving images better and offer good color reproduction.
Sony's first OLED TV, the XEL-1, was launched at Ceatec 2007 and instantly became one of the most talked-about products at the show thanks to its bright and vibrant picture and thinness of just 3mm. The 11-inch set, which was also the first commercial OLED TV from any manufacturer, was accompanied on Sony's Ceatec 2007 sta...
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