Microsoft

The Russian Government has announced that they are going to be dropping many current operating systems in an effort to craft a “national” operating system that will be based on the open source Linux OS. They are hoping to replace all of their state computers that run the Microsoft Windows operating system among others in an effort to save money, improve security of their files and to keep hackers at bay. Their ultimate goal is to reduce dependence on foreign software giants and to begin crafting their own software.

Even patched Windows applications remain vulnerable to dynamic link library (DLL) hijacking -- aka DLL planting and DLL loading -- attacks due to the erratic way in which Windows attempts to load DLLs. That warning comes from a security advisory released on Wednesday by ACROS Security.

Windows 7 might be a massive commercial success and an undeniably rock solid piece of software, but Microsoft is apparently unwilling to rest on those soft and cozy laurels. Asked about the riskiest product bet the Redmond crew is currently developing, its fearless leader Steve Ballmer took no time in answering "the next release of Windows."

Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) Web server has presented enterprises with more than its share of security problems over the years, including the infamous Code Red worm nearly a decade ago. A key security concern with IIS has always been the number of features that are automatically installed and enabled by default, such as scripting and virtual directories, many of which proved vulnerable to exploit and led to major security incidents.

Microsoft said its free malware cleaning tool had scrubbed the money-stealing Zeus bot from nearly 275,000 Windows computers in under a week.

Zeus, also called Zbot, is a crimeware kit that lets criminals create customized malware that they can use to infect PCs. Hackers deploy Zeus to steal usernames, passwords and other information necessary to log in to online bank accounts. So-called "money mules" then withdraw money from the compromised accounts and wire the funds to the gang's organizers.

There are a lot of unlicensed copies of Windows 7 out there. If you want to do the same thing there are several ways available right now.There is a way of going around the system used by Microsoft to check the validity of your software. The system that they use for Windows 7 is called the Windows Activation Technologies or WAT.

The tech rumor mill found a new target this week with speculation that Microsoft is pondering a purchase of Adobe. Adobe's stock went up on the news, but sources have all but squelched the gossip at this point. Besides, Microsoft doesn't need the headaches that would come with acquiring Adobe, and it should really be exploring a purchase of RIM.

Microsoft will launch a record number of fixes on next Patch Tuesday: 16 security patches will fix 49 vulnerabilities in applications like Windows, Internet Explorer, SharePoint and Office. Four of the 16 patches are labeled Critical and 10 of them are Important.

Most of the updates plug security holes that could allow malevolent internet users to inject malicious code into the users’ computers. As these holes are usually in features not switched on by default, Microsoft usually labels them as Important (the most critical updates are labeled Critical).

Microsoft began offering on Wednesday an early version of NuPack, an open source package manager for its .Net software development platform. Also, Microsoft is providing a beta version of its ASP.MVC (Model View Controller) 3 technology and a second beta release of its WebMatrix Web site-building tool.

Internet Explorer's global market share has slipped below 50% for the first time, according to data from StatCounter.

Microsoft's browser has been losing share over the past few years, faced with increasing competition from rivals such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.