Microsoft's U.S. general manager/chief security advisor for its National Security Team thinks like a true security professional: In every bit of good news, Bret Arsenault wonders what bad news could be lurking behind it.
Microsoft has admitted that it was first aware of bugs in its Jet Database Engine way back in 2005, but decided not to patch the problems because the software giant thought it had blocked the attack vectors.
Mike Reavey, a member of the firm’s security team, said on a blog post late Monday that Microsoft had been told by independent researchers about two separate issues in Jet database files, which use the file extension .mdb, in 2005 and 2007.
Mozilla took a surprisingly proactive approach with Firefox last week, and neither move really had to do with Microsoft.
In an interview with Reuters, Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's veep of engineering, claimed that "In many ways it (Firefox 3) is much more stable than anything else out there." The story published two days after Apple released Safari 3.1. Firefox 3 is currently at Beta 4 with a five yet expected.
Microsoft Corp. yesterday warned of a critical vulnerability that affects users of Word running on Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 SP1 -- several weeks after one security company first reported an exploit and a day after a second vendor confirmed ongoing attacks.
In an advisory posted Friday, Microsoft acknowledged "public reports of very limited, targeted attacks" that exploit a bug in the Microsoft Jet Database Engine, a Windows component that provides data access to applications including Microsoft Access and Visual Basic.
Microsoft announced today that it acquired startup Komoku, a company specializing in rootkit detection and protection solutions. The deal marks Microsoft's second purchase related to fighting rootkits.
Komoku is headed by sixteen-year information security veteran Dr. William Arbaugh, and former Silicon Graphics Inc. and Atheros Communications engineer Jeffrey Chung. The Maryland-based group was founded in 2004 and has worked extensively with U.S. government agencies including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
Microsoft yesterday had to re-issue a patch for an Excel vulnerability, after admitting it caused calculation errors in software using Office's Visual Basic for Applications.
The flaw, first addressed in the software maker's monthly Patch Tuesday bulletin issued last week, was rated 'critical' because it could be exploited by hackers to gain unauthorised control of an unprotected PC's systems.
A day after it was released for public download, Windows Vista SP1 is drawing barbs from some computer users who say the software wrecked their systems.
"I downloaded it via Windows Update, and got a bluescreen on the third part of the update," wrote "Iggy33" in a comment posted Wednesday onMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Vista team blog.
Iggy33 was just one of dozens of posters complaining about Vista Service Pack 1's effect on their PCs. "What a disaster," wrote "SeppDietrich" of the update. "It exiled all my Nvidia drivers to the Bermuda Triangle."
Look for Flash applications to be coming to more mobile devices near you, just not an iPhone. Adobe Systems announced today that Microsoft has licensed Adobe’s Flash Lite software to enable Flash-compatible content in the Internet Explorer Mobile browser.
This will mean that people using those devices will be able to access the building avalanche of rich content available via Flash clients. Microsoft has also licensed Adobe Reader LE software, which will allow users to view email attachments and Web content in PDF format.
Consumers will be able to purchase the first major update to Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Windows Vista operating system starting on Wednesday, if Internet retailer Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN).com is to be believed.
Amazon's Web site shows that both the full and upgrade versions of Vista SP1 are currently available for pre-order and will ship on March 19th.
Microsoft recently made Vista SP1 available to some developers and commercial users as a download from its business Web site, but the software has not been widely available to date.
Microsoft professionals have a lot to keep track of, and a lot of market noise to contend with. That's why we've compiled this list of the 20 best places on the Web to help you find what you need. The list includes technology-specific sites, worthy bloggers and safe resources to help you pass your next Microsoft cert or training course. Plus we'll reveal places for trustworthy free Microsoft software and the best sites to help you stay on top of the voluminous amount of news churned out by, and about, the folks in Redmond.
