June, 2006 Issue

Napster has quietly begun offering customers a branded digital music player when they subscribe to Napster's service for a year, according to the company's Web site.

Microsoft on Wednesday shuffled around several more executives as part of its ongoing restructuring of the company.

A pair of unpatched bugs in Microsoft's popular Internet Explorer browser may soon be in play, as proof-of-concept code has gone public for both.

Security vendor is ready to compete with the software giant, CEO says.

AOL Active Security Monitor helps manage the security of multiple PCs. How well does it work?

Search giant seeks dismissal of case involving search index results.

School's out for summer, but it looks like Google isn't taking any breaks.

Search giant will test its GBuy online payments service, says The Wall Street Journal.

Oracle is aiming to reassure nervous PeopleSoft users, concerned the software giant might force them to switch to Oracle's own set of applications

Two very different news articles crossed my desk today. First, there was a report that open source developers on 32 projects fixed 900 bugs in two weeks that were reported by an automated scan program from Coverity, sponsored by a grant from U.S. Homeland Security. Second, a presentation was given by a Microsoft security official who said that rootkits, phishing, trojans, spyware, and other forms of malware had gotten so bad on Windows that IT departments needed to come up with a fast way to "nuke the systems from orbit", i.e., wipe out the hard drive and start over. He goes on to say that phishing is a problem because "there really is no patch for human stupidity".

New app, coming in September, is designed to protect against e-commerce and banking fraud.

If you haven't updated Windows recently, your PC could be vulnerable.

Computer code that exploits a "critical" vulnerability in Windows has been released on the Internet, prompting Microsoft to issue a security advisory.

Warner Bros. Entertainment on Monday began selling full-length feature films and TV shows over the Internet via Guba, one of a legion of companies presenting amateur-videos on the Web.

Microsoft on Tuesday is expected to officially launch a community-building Web site where it will share code with developers.

New dual-core blades with updated software and virtualisation support will cut the cost of deploying a blade farm, ClearCube says

Analysis: Later today, Microsoft will reveal plans to grab a stake in the emerging market for products that bring together voice, email and video communications

Having a multitude of email addresses, I thought of simplyfing my life and workflow one day. I realized I’ve been wasting too much time checking up on my email from various places. There are the different Gmail accounts, Yahoo mail accounts, and even those from my own domains.

The Internet search giant wants to concentrate on its own Chinese operations

Business Intelligence is "too expensive and doesn't have high traction" says Microsoft's head of platform strategy

Search giant appears to be testing waters for new ad revenues.

SAN FRANCISCO--Google does not plan to use ads to pay for the free wireless Internet service it's offering in its hometown of Mountain View, Calif., and there's no secret plan to monetize the service, a Google Wi-Fi product manager said Wednesday.

The Australian government is taking a pro-active stance over email filtering

Users would get a single sign-on for both the company's Active Directory and its Windows Live Web-based services.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The major Web browsers are getting facelifts as they increasingly become the focal point for handling business transactions and running programs over the Internet rather than simply displaying Web sites.

Version 9 of the alternative Web browser will be launched today, blogger says.

Disguises itself as pictures from nonexistent 'Naked World Cup.'

Online payment company PayPal reported that it has fixed a Web site glitch through which the operators of a phishing scheme had been attempting to steal personal data of the company's customers.

Imagine a world with Windows-powered robots that can perform house chores, schedule appointments or walk the dog.

Free Web hosting service was being used by hackers trying to steal money.

Scripting flaw makes fake page with valid security certificate possible.

An appeals court agrees that Microsoft's method of linking its Access database and Excel spreadsheet infringes on technology patented by a Guatemalan inventor

A new vulnerability has been found in Microsoft Corp.'s Excel spreadsheet program, just a few days after the company fixed problems with several of its applications in its monthly patch distribution.

Bill Gates will withdraw from his day-to-day work as Microsoft chairman in 2008, to spend more time on his charitable foundation

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) said it fixed a security hole that allowed an email virus to spread among users of its Web-based Yahoo Mail service Monday, ending the virus' ability to spread.

Government-mandated wiretapping could cause serious Internet security problems, they say.

Microsoft's Hardware Group is playing a significant role in the development of Windows Live Messenger, with more LifeCam products on the way this autumn

Malware writers have wasted no time in targeting the latest weaknesses in Microsoft's software

Antivirus firm Sophos says our e-mail is safer than it was last year.

Skyline Software Systems claims Google's app infringes upon its patents.

The lines are being drawn in the search wars, with Yahoo and Microsoft squaring off against Firefox and Google

Yahoo and other big portals may have to team with the likes of MySpace to take advantage of their growing influence on Web surfers, analysts say

Data on how customers use Microsoft products, automatically gathered when the software 'phones home', will be sold on to partners and corporate customers

A new version adds much higher resolution and integration with 3D modelling software

Mass-mailing worm exploits a vulnerability in the Web-based e-mail, but its impact is low.

Video game companies that want to market to female gamers need to provide a way for players to become acquainted with their characters, according to a prominent game designer

It's nothing, I'm sure. No really, I mean it. It's just that, well, I noticed that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) insiders are continuing to drop shares on the public at a rate that boggles the mind. Here's just a brief peek at the latest tallies.

The encryption specialist plans to move into the identity management market, which will grow to over £2bn in the next three years, according to analysts

New utility does not work with other browsers, including Internet Explorer.

Court upholds ruling requiring Internet phone providers to offer wiretapping capabilities to law enforcement agencies.

The majority of spam servers are physically located in Taiwan, according to CipherTrust.

Does utility track activity after verifying Windows is a legit copy, user asks.

Search engine handles nearly 60 percent of Web's queries, study shows.

Both Internet Explorer and Firefox contain a JavaScript vulnerability, but don't expect to see any patches rushed out

This is your chance to see how Microsoft's next operating system measures up against its rivals

The search giant will start offering a free wireless service in its home town within weeks

Firefox, Thunderbird users urged to update to patch serious flaws.

Theft of more than 200,000 credit card numbers reported.

Microsoft endorses Brew technology for gameon mobile phones and other handheld devices.

A rogue Web browser that was removed from the Internet after security researchers found it was serving up child porn advertising has suddenly reappeared, with a peculiar twist.

Microsoft's desktop antivirus software now available for purchase.

Microsoft is looking into a report of a Windows flaw that could cause certain applications to crash, the software maker said Thursday.

Google executives held a live question-and-answer Webcast with analysts to give more insight into the company's business and strategy

The communications package also includes an integrated Webcam and microphone, noise isolation earbuds, and a mobile broadband antenna

SAN MATEO, Calif.--Symantec is readying a new security product designed to protect consumers as they do business online.

The industry’s biggest third-party publisher has unveiled new titles for the next-gen, current-gen, mobile, and handheld platforms at E3. Along with new game announcements, the company has also pledged a renewed focus on original and wholly owned intellectual properties that it says will drive gameplay innovation forward.

With Steven Sinofsky moving to head Windows development, Microsoft has said it will split its Office development in two units and has named executives to head each one.

Legal battle over image compression technology will continue, as Forgent Networks plans to appeal.