Microsoft

Microsoft is investigating a report of a new, unpatched flaw in Internet Explorer that could expose users of the ubiquitous Web browser to attacks.

An attacker could craft a malicious Web site that takes advantage of the flaw and gain control over the PCs that visit the Web site, or an attacker could install malicious software on those systems, a representative of the French Security Incident Response Team said in an e-mail interview Wednesday. The organization rates the issue "critical," its most serious classification.

Controversy has erupted over Microsoft's decision to abandon the term "RSS" in the forthcoming version 7 of Internet Explorer.

Instead of using the acronym for really simple syndication, the software developer said on the IEblog that it plans to refer to the RSS syndication technology as "web feeds."

"We're still actively exploring what is the right name to use for RSS feeds," a poster called Jane wrote on the IEblog.

THE VOLE has moved to end speculation about the price of its Xbox 360 systems by publishing the prices of its premium and standard systems.

It said the Xbox 360 will arrive by Christmas, several months ahead of the competition - Sony.

Microsoft is offering the Xbox 360 in two versions, premium and bog standard.

The Xbox 360 premium will cost $400 in the US, €400 in the EU, and £280 in the UK.

Exploit code has been found in the wild that targets a Microsoft vulnerability that the software giant patched just last week, security experts warned today.

Web monitoring firm Websense reported that a Swedish-hosted website has been engineered with malware built in that exploits a flaw in unpatched versions of Internet Explorer. The flaw allows hackers to gain complete control of PCs visiting the infected site.

Users of Windows Vista Beta 1 unknowingly activate a feature of the operating system that could put their security at risk.

The hazard affects a peer to peer networking technology called peer name resolution protocol (PNRP) that is scheduled to ship as part of Windows Vista. The technology is included in Windows Vista Beta 1 that was released last month.

Microsoft and Toshiba's cross licensing agreements have spurred speculation on potential products, but none moreso than the Xbox 360. Microsoft's chief software architect, Bill Gates, has previously told reporters that future versions of the gaming console could contain a HD DVD drive.

From the IEBlog:

Hopefully, by now you’ve seen from our posts that there are a lot of new features and work going into IE 7. As part of this update, we’re refreshing our icon and logotype. We considered more radical departures from our current logo, but blue “e” with the ring is very recognizable and familiar to users, so we elected instead to make more subtle changes.

If you think Apple Computer's Steve Jobs invented the technology behind the Apple iPod, don't bet your 60GB, 15,000-song model on it.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patent applications that cover much of the technology associated with the iPod were submitted by Microsoft, which has been on a patents tear recently filing thousands of patents.

Software giant Microsoft will invest the $7m it is expecting from a damages settlement with "spam king" Scott Richter into fighting internet crimes, paying its legal bills and "rewarding" the state of New York.

The announcement was made by Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith in an open letter posted on the company's website.

After covering its legal expenses, Microsoft will dedicate $5m dollars to helping law enforcement agencies address computer-related crimes, Smith said.

For the third successive month, Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has been updated to correct security holes that could put millions of Web surfers at risk of code execution attacks.

The cumulative IE update headlines the August release of six security bulletins from the software maker to cover eight vulnerabilities in its flagship Windows operating system. Three of the six bulletins are rated "critical," the company's highest severity rating. According to the MS05-038 bulletin, three separate remote code execution flaws are addressed in the world's most widely used browser.