Microsoft's stock price regularly takes a hit on the days it issues security patches, according to research released Monday. The company's stock price typically rebounds the next day, after investors realize that the slight decline on Patch Tuesday -- as Microsoft's regularly scheduled update release is known -- was unwarranted, said McAfee.
Microsoft on Monday announced that it is ready with a final version of Silverlight 2.
Silverlight 2 will be available for download starting Tuesday (US time), Microsoft said. Among the new features are support for digital rights management technology, improved cross-platform support and deep zoom technology. Microsoft also announced a range of new partners including AOL, Blockbuster, CBS College Sports, Toyota, and Yahoo Japan.
Microsoft may have its eye on Research in Motion (RIM), makers of the BlackBerry range of handsets, says one analyst.
According to Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, RIM's shares have plummted in recent months and a slow in spending thanks to the credit crunch, could leave the company wide open to a takeover bid.
On the second Tuesday of every month, Microsoft is now accustomed to releasing the patches and fixes for its various software packages.
But now hackers are trying to take advantage of this and are sending out fake updates to dupe Microsoft software users on Patch Tuesday. Internet surfers are reporting that they have received spoof emails claiming to be from Microsoft security assurance director Steve Lipner. But they actually contain malware.
Microsoft Corp. this week denied yet another report (this time by X-bit labs) about plans to release an add-on Blu-ray disc (BD) drive for Xbox 360 video game console. It is logical for the software giant to deny any possible intentions to support Sony Corp.’s format right now, but the question arises: how Microsoft plans to distribute video games for its next-generation console in the coming years if not on BDs.
Microsoft Corp. today said it will issue 11 security updates next week -- the same number it shipped in August when it pushed out the most patches in 18 months -- to fix bugs in Windows, Active Directory, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and Host Integration Server.
Four of the 11 updates will be labeled "critical," Microsoft's highest threat ranking, with six pegged "important," the next-lowest rating, and one tagged as "moderate."
Microsoft sure doesn't seem too worried about clickjacking. Should it be? Should you be?
With all the recent buzz about clickjacking, a blog post is long overdue. So this afternoon I contacted Microsoft's PR agency with the simplest softball question—and some opportunity to promote Internet Explorer 8 security. My, but did I get an unexpected response. My question: "Is there anything new in IE 8 that helps thwart or even prevents clickjacking? If so, can you put me on the phone with somebody to discuss the topic?"
Yesterday I reported on a Microsoft Australia programming contest to find star developers which had many more submissions from "Ov3rLord" and Turkish self-labelled hackers than genuine entrants. Microsoft phoned in their side of the story. Yet even if the site was not hacked (and suffered merely the lesser charge of prank defacement) it still suffered problems.
Microsoft is planning to further extend the retail life of Windows XP. The company said that it will be adding another six months to the time in which vendors will be allowed to offer the legacy operating system as an option with new systems.
Though the company had cut off sales of XP to OEMs earlier this year, Microsoft had allowed some vendors to ship copies of Windows XP as "downgrade" options or as bundles with computers running Windows Vista.
Microsoft will launch an operating system for the 'cloud' in four weeks, chief executive Steve Ballmer told delegates at a Microsoft-sponsored developer conference in London on Wednesday.
Tentatively entitled 'Windows Cloud', although Ballmer suggested it would have a "snazzier name" at launch, the product is designed to make it possible to "just... write an application and... push it to the cloud", Ballmer said.
