microsoft

In 2003, a federal court ruled that Microsoft must pay $521 million to a Chicago-based Eolas Technologies company and the University of California. (Source: cnet.com ) Eolas sued Microsoft on the basis that the software giant infringed upon its ... patent that allows web browsers to embed and execute interactive programs -- what we know today as "ActiveX Technology" for Internet Explorer. Now almost three years later, the Eolas vs. Microsoft fiasco is finally coming to a close. According to Internet News , on Tuesday, April 11th, Microsoft will be releasing a patch related to the lawsuit that ... (view more)

Do you care if you get hacked? You should! Just think about all the things you do with your computer. At the very least, I would bet you use it to send e-mail, and surf the web on a regular basis. In fact, if you're anything like the average ... computer user, you probably use the Internet to buy gifts, manage your stock portfolio, and even pay your bills online. So what if your computer became compomised by a hacker? In that case, it's safe to assume that everything you do with your computer is no longer private. Not only that, but depending upon the sophistication of an attack, a hacked ... (view more)

From the earliest times of counting on our fingers and toes, to the use of the abacus to desktop calculators -- working with numbers has come a long way. And what's more: you can ramp up your Windows XP calculator with Microsoft Calculator Plus, and ... run applications your old pocket calculator never dreamed of. Best of all, this utility offered from Microsoft is absolutely free! The Calculator applet that comes with Windows XP is basically the same as the one that came with Windows 3.0. If you've always wanted an updated Calculator applet with some more advanced features, you owe it to ... (view more)

" What the heck is a blended threat? " I'm glad you asked ;-) According to searchSecurity.com a blended threat is "a computer network attack that seeks to maximize the severity of damage and speed of contagion by combining methods, for example using ... characteristics of both viruses and worms, while also taking advantage of vulnerabilities in computers, networks, or other physical systems." (Source: searchSecurity.com ) Now that's a mouthful! In more simpler terms, a blended threat is an attack that combines two or more vulnerabilities or attack methods on a remote machine. Blended threats are ... (view more)

Recall -- A few weeks back I wrote about 8 versions of the new Windows Vista (the successor to Windows XP). It appears that this was misinformation. The newsworthy story was leaked by an internal Microsoft site that was accessed by an outside ... reporter, who then dutifully told the rest of the world that there were 8 versions of Windows Vista. After three weeks, that internal site became unavailable, and Microsoft officially declared there were in fact 6 versions of Vista. The below information was taken from a recent Microsoft document . To clarify: " Microsoft ... will offer Windows Vista ... (view more)

This is the third and final part in a series on spyware prevention tips (access part 1 and part 2 here). So far I've shared two tips that deal with specific pieces of software; the first tip was the use of an excellent (and free) tool called ... SpywareBlaster . This tool lives, eats, and breathes to protect your computer from the installation of spyware. In the second tip, I overviewed security risks associated with Internet Explorer and recommended using Mozilla Firefox as an alternative browser. Today I'm going to share what is undoubtedly the single most important thing you can do to protect ... (view more)

The world of 'the Internet' versus 'computer users' (realized as separate entities) is amazing, but I've found that attitudes on both sides tend to polarize folks. For example, you have The Browser Wars: Internet Explorer vs Netscape with Firefox as ... the latest Mozilla contender and Opera watching from the wings with an aloof cultured shrug; or The Operating System Wars: Apple vs PCs (IBM and clones), Windows vs Linux (pick your distro); add to this, GTalk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Trillian ... and your head starts to get dizzy. From my seat over here in the Old Newbie corner, I ... (view more)

It's been reported on a number of blog sites that Microsoft will release Windows Vista with -- get this -- 8 different versions. Hint: Windows XP only has 2 versions (Home and Pro edition). Unfortunately, they have yet to describe what the ... differences are between each version. It's also speculated that Microsoft Vista will require (at minimum) 512 MB of memory and a Pentium 4 class microprocessor to operate efficiently. The 'Vista list' is as follows: Windows Starter 2007 Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Home Basic N Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Business Windows Vista ... (view more)

Continued from Part 1 . As I stated previously, one could argue (to a degree) that Microsoft has created a marketplace for new computer hardware. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. However, one must also consider the scope of Downward ... Compatibility as a result of upgrading. And it's not just isolated to just MS Windows: it encompasses nearly every operation related to upgrading a computer -- including Third Party software. Case in point: most software written for windows use Microsoft libraries to provide functionality that the software developer would otherwise have to build from scratch ... (view more)

I've been in the computer business for quite some time and have read countless publications related to both the computing industry and its users. Since I continue to read a number of publications on an ongoing basis, I see developing trends and the ... direction the industry is going. I find new hardware especially intriguing, as well as software that is constantly being developed for the consumer market. But, there has been some rather disturbing news along with all the 'hype', including some recent unsavoury news concerning Microsoft. Before I get into that, let's review a bit of history: Back ... (view more)