John Lister

Security firm Symantec estimates that 93% of computer users who wind up with ' scareware ' on their machines have intentionally downloaded it. Symantec also believes some people distributing the scareware could be earning more than a million dollars ... each year. Scareware involves giving Internet surfers bogus scans of their machines, often triggered by pop-up messages on Internet sites falsely claiming the user's PC is infected. The user is then encouraged to buy a fake antivirus / security program to remove it, though usually this program will be of little use. Symantec says it has found more ... (view more)

A marketing firm has offered Twitter $500,000 USD to carry a banner advertisement for just one day. However, the ad to be carried by Twitter is not guaranteed to be accepted because the advertising firm in question has a controversial reputation. ... The CEO of uSocial, Leon Hill, said of the offer "While half-a-million dollars may seem like a large amount to invest in one banner for one day, we believe that the investment will be more than worth it." (Source: adoimagazine.com ) However, Twitter does not currently carry advertising; therefore, even if it wanted to take up this offer, it's ... (view more)

According to a new study, almost 9 out of 10 PCs currently used by businesses are capable of running Windows 7. That's almost double the equivalent proportion when Vista launched. The figures come from IT assessment firm Softchoice. Rather than ... conduct an opinion poll, it gathered the information from the actual set-ups of 248 clients with a total of more than 450,000 Windows computers. The research found that 88 per cent of the computers met the minimum specifications for running Windows 7. That compares with a similar study the firm carried out on Vista's release which found just 50 per ... (view more)

T-Mobile is taking a huge financial hit in the fallout over the Sidekick data loss . But Microsoft, which bears at least part of the responsibility for the mistake, is paying the price with its reputation. As reported earlier this week, the phone ... network had to admit that some users' data had been permanently lost due to a problem with a server run by Microsoft-owned company, Danger. The handset works by storing data such as contacts and appointments on a remote computer rather than on the phone itself. Microsoft Recovers Lost Data BBC news reports today that Microsoft has in fact recovered ... (view more)

Apple has been criticized over its refusal to refund users who buy iPhone applications ("app") that don't work properly. In most cases, the firm only gives refunds if the app fails to download correctly, but not if the app itself is faulty. The ... issue gained attention when it was raised by New York Times blog writer Eric Taub. He complained that the refund policy means users don't have any opportunity to try an app and get their money back if it is of poor quality. (Source: nytimes.com ) Apple Refusing Refunds for Broken Apps However, David Coursey of PC World notes that in some ... (view more)

Users of the Sidekick range of smartphones have been warned that technical problems may mean some of the data they stored on the device has been permanently lost. The story follows a period of around a week during which no users of the device were ... able to access any data services. The phones are carried by the T-Mobile network in the US, and are produced by Danger, now a subsidiary of Microsoft. One of the key aspects of the devices are that they work on cloud computing , meaning most data is stored remotely at a Microsoft owned server rather than on the device. In theory this make for a ... (view more)

It looks almost certain that Microsoft will be redesigning European editions of Windows 7 and its predecessors to offer users a clearer choice of which Internet browser they'd like to use. However, the changes won't be introduced until well past the ... October 22 launch of the new operating system (OS). The European Union will soon begin official testing of a menu system designed by Microsoft. The new menu is meant to answer criticisms that the Redmond-based firm has an unfair advantage by including Internet Explorer as the only browser shipped with Windows. If approved, it could mean the ... (view more)

A security researcher claims a virus probably led to the compromising of 30,000 email passwords. However, most other sources continue to blame phishers. The email details appeared in two lists published by a user on a legitimate website designed for ... developers to share code. The first list included details of 10,000 Windows Live Hotmail accounts , while the second boasted 20,000 . Mary Landesman of ScanSafe says that while investigating a piece of malicious software in August she discovered the people controlling it had around 5,000 Hotmail user names and passwords which appeared to have been ... (view more)

Computer manufacturers have been accused of excessive shipping charges for a supposedly free Windows 7 upgrade scheme. The fees mean some buyers could wind up paying as much as $17.03 for shipping: far more than the actual costs of delivering the ... upgrade. According to the free Windows 7 deal, people who buy Vista machines before the Windows 7 release date of October 22nd, 2009 will be able to get a "free" copy of Windows 7 upon its release. The aim of the scheme was to minimize the drop in computer purchases over the summer among people who'd otherwise have waited for the new system rather ... (view more)

Bloggers could face fines of $11,000 for failing to mention free samples and other payments they receive from advertisers. In theory, the rules could even affect people writing on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, though officials indicate they ... are unlikely to be targeted. The rules have been issued by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, which says it is merely clarifying existing principles for the Internet age. The relevant guidelines had not previously been updated since 1980. In explaining the changes, the FTC said "the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review ... (view more)