Microsoft

A Microsoft patch meant to fix critical security flaws in Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 is causing trouble for some users, the company said Friday.

The patch was released Tuesday to fix four Windows flaws, including one that experts predict will be exploited by a worm in the coming days. The flaw, tagged "critical" by Microsoft, lies in a Windows component for transaction processing called the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator, or MSDTC.

ONE of the highlights of the HITBSecConf2005 event was the first live demonstration of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 beta 2 on the upcoming Microsoft Vista operating system.

It was conducted by Microsoft's group program manager for IE 7, Tony Chor (also the event's keynote speaker) and IE security lead program manager Rob Franco.

“Malaysia is the first to see this live,” Chor said.

According to them, IE 7 isn’t just about patching problems but about making deep architectural changes to provide indepth defence at every level of the browser.

Microsoft and Yahoo are set to announce Wednesday a blockbuster interoperability deal that will reshape the landscape of the fragmented instant messaging market. The companies will connect their IM networks so users on each can communicate with one another using text and voice chat free of charge.

Microsoft has released 8 security patches, three of which are rated 'critical', the highest severity rating which indicates that a system can be affected without requiring any user interaction.

In addition to the critical flaws, Microsoft unveiled four fixes rated 'important' and two rated 'moderate'. Except for one patch isued for both Exchange and Windows, all fixes affect the Windows operating system.

Microsoft has released nine security updates for vulnerabilities in its software products, including three critical fixes for Windows and Internet Explorer. Among the updates is a patch for bugs in two separate components of the Windows operating system that security researchers believe could be exploited in by attackers in much the same way that the Zotob family of worms were used two months ago.

Microsoft Corp. Tuesday said it will pay RealNetworks Inc. $761 million to resolve their disputes, including a lawsuit that accused the world's largest software maker of using its dominance in operating systems to promote its rival media software.

The settlement caps years of backbiting between Microsoft and RealNetworks, whose chief executive Rob Glaser is a former Microsoft executive.

RealNetworks (up $1.92 to $7.66, Research) stock soared after the announcement, jumping about 36 percent in active Nasdaq trading.

If there's one thing you can say about the Xbox 360, Microsoft's next-generation video game console, it's that it's impressive.

For all the talk about whether there will be enough games available when the Xbox is released on Nov. 22, few doubt that the games that will be ready will be a cut above anything available for current-generation consoles.

And after seeing a handful of Xbox 360 games Monday, I can say with confidence that it's true.

Microsoft on Monday expanded the beta test program for its revamped Hotmail service, code-named "Kahuna", to the general public.

Kahuna will be the new user interface for Hotmail, with a look, Microsoft has promised, that more closely resembles Outlook, the offline email client from Microsoft.

Platform holder Microsoft may face a new piracy threat, as reports surface of ten Xbox 360 development kits being stolen from a warehouse in Duren, Germany, with the hardware believed to have fallen into the hands of hackers.

According to an article on Spiegel Online, the shipment of ten dev kits was delivered to a warehouse in Germany in unmarked packaging. The kits were supposed to be distributed onwards to developers in order to create games for the new console platform.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, and Mike Nash, corporate VP of the Security Technology Unit, outlined Microsoft's strategy and product road map at Munich, Germany recently. As part of its strategy, which focuses on a "defense-in-depth" approach, Ballmer announced Microsoft's plans to release Microsoft Client Protection, a solution to help protect business desktops, laptops and file servers from current and emerging malware threats.