John Lister

Security firm Sophos tells PC World that two security measures introduced in Windows Vista and expanded in Windows 7 have had a marked effect on levels of infection on computers. Nevertheless, several online security professionals have reminded ... users of Windows 7 that while the new operating system (OS) offers enhanced security over its predecessors, it's not invulnerable. They note that human vulnerabilities will always leave people at risk to hackers. Two New Security Features Mark Improvements Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) partially randomizes the order in which data is stored ... (view more)

Former Microsoft head Bill Gates has said technology can help the world's poorest people survive and even thrive amidst the economic downturn. But he warned that innovations are often only driven by the prospect of a profitable market. Gates, who ... quit Microsoft two years ago to concentrate on philanthropic work, made the comments in his annual letter to supporters of his charitable foundation. He opened by arguing that innovation "can make the difference between a bleak future and a bright one." (Source: pcworld.com ) Tech Projects Must Be Self-Sustaining The letter warns that without ... (view more)

China has flat-out denied any involvement in recent hacking attacks on Google . China also said its regulation of Internet access and content is justifiable and fair. Google's Gmail email servers recently came under attack. It's speculated that ... hackers sent email to targets containing links to websites which contained a specially-crafted exploit in order to bypass Operating System security. Chinese Deny Google Attack There's no evidence to indicate who carried out the attacks. However, because the victims are believed to have included political activists, suspicion fell upon the Chinese ... (view more)

Microsoft has admitted it knew about the latest Internet Explorer zero-day flaw more than three months ago, news that's likely to prompt criticism about the way the firm prioritizes security issues. The bug, which involves an invalid pointer ... reference, was first reported to Microsoft by Israeli security expert Eyal Gruner on August 26. He says that because it was so easy to discover the vulnerability, he expected less scrupulous people would also find it and develop ways to exploit it. MS Confirmed Flaw in September Microsoft says it received this warning and confirmed it in early September. ... (view more)

A change made to Windows in 1993 may have opened up a security hole that, surprisingly, remains unpatched today. The issue is unlikely to affect home users but could pose a risk to corporate networks. The problem stems from Windows NT version 3.1, ... which was one of the first 32-bit operating systems. As with the recent development of 64-bit operating systems, this meant some compatibility problems with older software. At the time, Microsoft added a feature known as a Virtual DOS (Disk Operating System) machine to run 16-bit applications on the system. The feature has been a fixture ever since ... (view more)

The New York Times is considering a fee for frequent visitors to its website. The plan would make it arguably the most high-profile newspaper to charge for online access. According to a source quoted in the Wall Street Journal, it's almost ... inevitable the Times will indeed introduce some form of online access fee. At this stage the only decision is between two methods of doing so. Limits, Premium Articles Amongst Options The first is to limit the number of articles people can read each day without charge. The second plan would be to have some articles free and the rest exclusive to online ... (view more)

The German government has issued an official warning that citizens should avoid using Internet Explorer. It's a response to a recently discovered flaw in the browser that is believed to have been exploited by hackers attacking Google in China. ... Germans Expect Flaw to be Widely Exposed Soon The warning comes from the Federal Office for Information Security, known locally as the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI). The warning, which was translated via Google Translate, read: "The BSI expects that [the Internet Explorer] vulnerability will be used [very soon] for attacks on ...<a href="/news/5401/avoid-internet-explorer-says-german-government" class="more-link">view more

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says his company will not pull its operations out of China. The issue arose after Google said it could be forced to leave the country after deciding to no longer censor website results. Ballmer did not discuss the ... censorship issue directly, but told CNBC that "We've been quite clear that we're going to operate in China." He added that "I don't understand how [pulling out] helps us and I don't understand how that helps China." (Source: washingtonpost.com ) Questioned about recent hacking attacks on Google that appear to have originated in China and may have prompted ... (view more)

Microsoft has uncharacteristically spoken out against Google over the two firms' free online storage offers. The comments follow Google's announcement that it is extending the size and type of files eligible for free back-up. To date, users of ... Google Docs had been severely limited in the amount of data they could store online. Storage could only be used for specific types of document file, namely: word processing, spreadsheet and presentation files. Free Google Docs Storage Balloons to 1GB The firm now says users will be allowed 1GB of free storage, with extra space available for 25 cents per ... (view more)

The CEO of Facebook has sparked a new debate by claiming the site's users no longer see privacy as a priority. Mark Zuckerberg says recent changes that make more user data public by default represent the site reflecting a "social norm." Speaking at ... an awards ceremony in San Francisco organized by the TechCrunch blog, Zuckerberg said, "In the last five or six years, blogging has taken off in a huge way. People have really gotten comfortable sharing more information and different kinds but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that's evolved over time ... (view more)