News


FBI Pulls Plug on Several Botnet Hackers

More than 1 million computers -- possibly yours, too -- are used by hackers as remote-controlled robots to crash online systems, accept spam and steal users' personal information, the FBI said Wednesday.

Bail Denied for Alleged 'Spam King'

A man accused of defrauding people through tens of millions of spam e-mail messages sent around the world was denied bail Wednesday.

Linux Patent Protection Deals Piling Up

Another company has agreed to Microsoft's Linux IP amnesty program, adding to the rapidly growing list of open source vendors seeking protection against possible legal action from Redmond.

Microsoft No. 49 on Fortune 500

Microsoft is America's 49th largest corporation, dropping one spot from a year ago in the Fortune 500 list.

Silicon Valley To Make Greener Computers

A coalition of technology companies and environmental groups led by Google Inc. and Intel Corp. launched an initiative Tuesday to conserve electricity and curb global warming emissions by making the world's computers and servers more energy-efficient.

Hidden Gold in Partner Organizations

Partner organizations offer more than just opportunities to rub elbows and trade war stories with colleagues at conferences -- they can pay off, big time, on your company's bottom line.

EU Welcomes Google Offer on Privacy

EU justice chief Franco Frattini said Wednesday that Internet search leader Google Inc. had offered to cut the time it retains data on user searches from the current 24 months to 18 months amid growing concerns it could be violating EU privacy rules.

Yahoo CEO Upbeat at Annual Meeting

Coming off Yahoo Inc.'s toughest year since the dot-com bust, Chairman Terry Semel remained upbeat Tuesday as he faced shareholders who have watched their investments shrivel while rival Google Inc. sprinted further ahead in the online advertising race.

Microsoft Publishes Four Critical Updates

Patch Tuesday comes with the publication of six new security bulletins that collectively address vulnerabilities in Windows, IE, Outlook Express, Office and Visio.

Researchers: Safari for Windows Very Buggy

The biggest news Apple Inc. made yesterday at the opening of its Worldwide Developers Conference was its announcement that it had ported its Safari Web browser to Windows. CEO Steve Jobs called the beta of Safari 3 "the most innovative browser in the world, and the fastest browser on Windows." He could have added "the most insecure browser on Windows" to that list of superlatives.

Adobe Flexing Into the AIR

Making good on its recent promise to take its rich Internet application development environment into the open source arena, Adobe Systems Inc. has released the public beta of its next generation of Flex 3 development tools.

Quest Upgrades SQL Server 2005 Offerings

Continuing its support of Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Server 2005, Quest Software recently unveiled its latest offering, Change Director for SQL Server, as well as upgrades to its Performance Analysis for SQL Server 6.0 and Toad SQL Server 3.0.

Windows Home Server RC1 Released

Microsoft's first server aimed at the home market has reached the release candidate phase, and as such, is nearly ready to be pushed out the door.

Virtual Server SP1 Released

A key Microsoft virtualization product has gotten an important update.

Yahoo's Struggles Put CEO on Hot Seat

Just before Google Inc. went public nearly three years ago, Yahoo Inc. Chairman Terry Semel assured a roomful of securities analysts and money managers that his company would remain the Internet's brightest star. To punctuate his high hopes, Frank Sinatra's "The Best Is Yet to Come" played in the background.

Google Charges Microsoft With Illegal Search Practices

Google has raised the ghost of Microsoft's past -- anti-competitive practices -- in a complaint to the U.S. government about Windows Vista.

Microsoft Releases Development Tools Connector

A new tunnel has been released which links two disparate Microsoft development tools, creating a more seamless development environment.

Yahoo Weighs in on Free Speech in China

China should not punish people for expressing their political views on the Internet, Yahoo Inc. said Monday, a day after the mother of a Chinese reporter announced she was suing the U.S. company for helping officials imprison her son.

OS X Upgrade, IPhone May Boost Mac Sales

Apple Inc.'s computer business may seem like it's taken a back seat lately to its flashy younger siblings, the iPod and iPhone, but Macs are still a key part of the family. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to use his speech at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday to highlight the upcoming release of Mac OS X, showing that Apple remains a computer company even after dropping "Computer" from its name in January.

Apple Extends Web Browser to Windows

Apple launched a version of Safari for Windows-based PCs, pitting it against Internet Explorer and Firefox.