SQL Server 2005 is a candidate for Microsoft's shared-source programme, according to senior Microsoft sources within the unit responsible for the database product
Will the software industry's wave of open source databases spill onto Microsoft's turf?
It may not be the second Tuesday of the month -- Microsoft's normal day to release security bulletins and patches -- but the Redmond, Wash.-based developer has posted a critical fix to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on its Windows Update site, and pushed it to users relying on Automatic Update.
Microsoft has publicly apologised and compensated Web directory Startpagina.nl, one of MSN's main competitors in Holland, after the software giant's anti-spyware product incorrectly flagged the site as malicious. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Windows AntiSpyware beta prevented users from setting Startpagina as their home page. The spokesperson said this problem has now been fixed in the latest update of the program.
I was just poking around with the Windows Firewall on my system. When I went to look at the exceptions, I was confronted with an entry that I couldn't recognize, rk.exe. Rk.exe was allowed full access to and from my computer. I did a quick search for rk.exe on the internet and came across ProcessLibrary's website which stated the following about rk.exe:
Microsoft has filed a $500,000 law suit against a man suspected of being Israel's leading spammer.
30-year-old Amir Gans is said to be responsible for sending more than 50% of all of the spam email in Israel.
In July 2004 Gans was sued by the Israeli ISP Golden Lines for a quarter of a million shekels (approximately $57,300) after his company, New Approach, allegedly sent 510,000 junk emails over 18 hours. As a result, Golden Lines says, the ISP's servers were blacklisted by anti-spam organisations blocking legitimate emails and damaging their reputation.
At the annual RSA Security conference, held last week in San Francisco, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, Bill Gates, delivered a keynote address in which he outlined Microsoft's plans to improve product security.
He said that Microsoft was working on future enhancements for safer Web browsing, which included plans for a new version of Internet Explorer (version 7.0) for Windows XP SP2 customers, and the inclusion of anti-spyware technologies at no extra cost for registered Windows users.
April 12th is the very last day. That’s when the clock runs, and the deadline looms.
And here you thought it was April 15th. Nope, it’s the twelfth. Because we’re not talking about the day your taxes are due. On no. We’re talking about the day that your Windows XP or Windows XP SP1 computer will be automatically updated to XP SP2 (Service Pack 2) whether you want it to or not. Period.
If Microsoft Corp. doesn't do more to stem Internet attacks, the company risks further alienating customers unhappy with the multitude of threats already facing its ubiquitous software.
Sell its own security products, on the other hand, and Microsoft faces a potential backlash from some of its allies -- the companies that now provide an extra layer of security for its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer browser and other products.
With a powerhouse like Microsoft becoming a direct competitor, they could get squeezed out.
What a quandary.
Microsoft is spending a third of its £3.2bn research and development budget on IT security.
Speaking at the RSA conference, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said security concerns were harming the potential of the internet to provide new services to the public.
He said Microsoft was investing to tackle security issues, including revamping its Internet Explorer web browser, updating Windows 2003 with features to quarantine rogue PCs on corporate networks, and a raft of efforts to curb spyware and phishing.
DO WE HAVE the new name of Longhorn revealed today? According to sources at Microsoft, we think we might. While Longhorn has been the much-mentioned codename for the next-generation Windows technology, a Microsoft mole came to us at the weekend with some news of high-level branding discussions that appear to have yielded a name for the new Windows. It could all just be the rankest of speculation, however.
Microsoft Windows e-XPedition.
