News

VIA Intros VIA ART-3000 Rugged Embedded Box PC
VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA ART-3000, a complete, fanless and ruggedized embedded box system based on the unique I/O-rich Em-ITX form factor, offering the ideal solution for a variety of industrial applications. Available as a complete system including drives and memory, the fanless VIA ART-3000 combines a number of unique features including diskless booting, excellent vibration and shock resistance, dual Gigabit networking and dual LVDS video support. Ruthlessly low power consumption means the VIA ART-3000 can also support fanless configurations with no moving parts making it ideal for ultra stable, mission critical implementations.

Yahoo! and Microsoft to Implement Search Alliance
Microsoft and Yahoo! announced today that they have received clearance for their search agreement, without restrictions, from both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission, and will now turn their attention to beginning the process of implementing the deal. Implementation of the deal is expected to begin in the coming days and will involve transitioning Yahoo!’s algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft, with Yahoo! becoming the exclusive relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers globally. Once the transition is completed, the companies’ unified search marketplace will deliver improved innovation for consumers, better volume and efficiency for advertisers and better monetization opportunities for web publishers through a platform that contains a larger pool of search queries. “This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo! can focus even more on our own innovative search experience,” said Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz. “Yahoo! gets to do what we do best: combine our science and technology with compelling content to build personally relevant online experiences for our users and customers.”

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2010
Published: February 09, 2010

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Vulnerability in Microsoft Office (MSO) Could Allow Remote Code Execution (978214)

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Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975416)

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Vulnerability in Microsoft Paint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (978706)

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Vulnerabilities in SMB Client Could Allow Remote Code Execution (978251)

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Vulnerability in Windows Shell Handler Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975713)

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Cumulative Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits (978262)

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Vulnerabilities in Windows TCP/IP Could Allow Remote Code Execution (974145)

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Vulnerability in Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Could Allow Denial of Service (977894)

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Vulnerability in Windows Client/Server Run-time Subsystem Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (978037)

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Vulnerabilities in SMB Server Could Allow Remote Code Execution (971468)

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Vulnerability in Microsoft DirectShow Could Allow Remote Code Execution (977935)

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Vulnerability in Kerberos Could Allow Denial of Service (977290)

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Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (977165)

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Waw ! Another IE flaw
Microsoft Security Advisory (980088) Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Information Disclosure Microsoft is investigating a publicly reported vulnerability in Internet Explorer for customers running Windows XP or who have disabled Internet Explorer Protected Mode. This advisory contains information about which versions of Internet Explorer are vulnerable as well as workarounds and mitigations for this issue. Our investigation so far has shown that if a user is using a version of Internet Explorer that is not running in Protected Mode an attacker may be able to access files with an already known filename and location. These versions include Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service 4; Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4; and Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 on supported editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Service Pack 3, and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. Protected Mode prevents exploitation of this vulnerability and is running by default for versions of Internet Explorer on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008. The vulnerability exists due to content being forced to render incorrectly from local files in such a way that information can be exposed to malicious websites. At this time, we are unaware of any attacks attempting to use this vulnerability. We will continue to monitor the threat environment and update this advisory if this situation changes. On completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs. We are actively working with partners in our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) and our Microsoft Security Response Alliance (MSRA) programs to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers. In addition, we are actively working with partners to monitor the threat landscape and take action against malicious sites that attempt to exploit this vulnerability. Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow the "Protect Your Computer" guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Additional information can be found at Security at home.

Internet Explorer 8 Officially Becomes World’s Most-Used Browser
This week, Net Applications released their January browser market share report. Their report shows that Internet Explorer 8 is not only the most popular browser on Windows with 27.9% usage share, but that it now has 25.6% of market share across all OS’s on a worldwide-weighted usage share basis (data provided by Net Applications). We launched just less than a year ago, so it’s both humbling and thrilling to see so many people choose our product so quickly – making it the most popular browser of choice worldwide. There are many reasons people choose which browser to use. Most people want to know and trust the company behind their browser. And people are looking a browser that protects them – and their privacy online. Via Bink

Top Lithuanian BitTorrent site is being sued by Microsoft
In conjunction with Lithuanian anti-piracy outfit LANVA, software giant Microsoft has sued the alleged operator of the country’s largest BitTorrent site. Microsoft is demanding $43 million from the defendant and his company for assisting in the illegal distribution of Office 2003 and 2007. In recent years we’ve seen plenty of legal action against the owners and operators of BitTorrent sites, mostly initiated by the movie and music industries. This week, Microsoft joins the fight as the software company announces that it will pursue LinkoManija’s alleged operator Kestas Ermanas and his company in court. The action against Lithuania’s largest BitTorrent site, which is in the top 10 of the most visited websites in the country, has been approved by the US headquarters of the software giant. The defendant and his company are accused of facilitating copyright infringement of Microsoft’s Office 2003 and 2007 through their involvement with the BitTorrent tracker.

Microsoft releases tool to restore NTBackup files on Windows 7 and Windows Serve
This week Microsoft released an update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with a utility for restoring backups made on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to computers that are running Windows 7 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. This utility has been available for Windows Vista and Server 2008, but did not work on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Download

Apple iPad Announced

Today, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce a new device named the Apple iPad. Jobs began by revealing that Apple has reached 250 million iPod sales to date. He then revealed that "Apple is the largest mobile devices business in the world today." Moving on throughout Jobs speech he questioned whether there is room for a third category device in-between a laptop or a smart-phone. Jobs then mocked competitors for investing in netbooks and immediately revealed the iPad. Jobs went on to demonstrate several features including browsing, Photos and built-in slideshows. The iTunes store is also built in and the usual suspects of a mail, contacts and calendar applications are available. Jobs also demonstrated the maps application and its location features. YouTube HD support is also included and Jobs demonstrated various videos during his keynote. After the video demonstrations Jobs moved onto the specifications:

The most common password: '123456'
A recent analysis of 32 million passwords, obtained in the RockYou.com hack, has revealed that the most commonly used password on the site was ‘123456,' according to database and application security vendor Imperva.

After analyzing the data, researchers at Imperva Application Defense Center determined that 290,731 individuals used ‘123456' as their password. The second most common password, used by 79,078 individuals was ‘12345,' and the third most popular password, used by more than 76,790 individuals, was ‘123456789.'

Google Voice app for the Iphone released
Google has released a web version of its Google Voice app for the Iphone, which will allow users to make cheap mobile calls using the Internet and bypass some other services provided by telco operators. Last time Apple chucked its toys out of the pram when Google tried to release a similar application and refused to approve it. This triggered an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, the US government's telecommunications regulator, and culminated in the resignation of Google chief executive Eric Schmidt from the Apple board. At the time Apple said the app contravened its terms and conditions by replacing the Iphone's "core mobile-telephone functionality and Apple user interface with Google's own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging, and voice mail." However this new version of the Google Voice web app can be accessed via a browser and can bypass the vetting procedures necessary to gain admission to Apple's Iphone App Store. Relations have not been good between Apple and Google lately. Apparently Apple is so miffed at its former best mate Google that it is considering signing up for Microsoft's Bing search engine, including on its new tablet. Source Inquirer