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The Internet Storm Center on Saturday boosted its threat level to "Yellow," indicating a "significant new threat" to Internet users from attacks exploiting an unpatched vulnerability in all versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser. "The Internet Storm Center is beginning to see increased evidence of exploits in the wild regarding Microsoft Security Advisory 2887505," the security organization said on its website. "Accordingly, we're moving the InfoCon up to Yellow." Microsoft's advisory, published Sept. 17, acknowledged that hackers were exploiting Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and IE9, but added that the vulnerability -- which remains unpatched -- affec…

When people download software from SourceForge, or any major repository of Open Source software, they expect the software to be trustworthy. (baring unintentional bugs) They do not expect the software to be a source of “drive by installer†style malware, spyware, adware, or any other unrelated/unintended software. SourceForge’s new owners, Dice, have consciously and deliberately moved to a model violating this trust. With their recent changes, users downloading from SourceForge now receive a special closed source installer which attempts to foist unrelated third party software onto them. View the full article

This month's Black Tuesday -- Sept. 10, 2013 -- enters the record books as Microsoft's most patch-botching month in history. That's quite an accomplishment, frankly. Having followed Microsoft's bungled patch efforts since long before the ascendancy of Patch Tuesday, I think there's a better -- if rather unorthodox -- way to manage patching. The release dilemma is quite straightforward: Microsoft has to test the patches without letting them leak to the bad guys. Conventional wisdom dictates that if the bad guys can reverse engineer the patches before they roll down the Automatic Update chute, Windows as we know it will cease to exist. However, given the recent revelati…

I know a lot of folks are eager to find out when they will be able to get Windows 8.1. I am excited to share that starting at 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand (that’s 4:00am October 17th in Redmond), Windows 8.1 will begin rolling out worldwide as a free update for consumers on Windows 8 through the Windows Store. Windows 8.1 will also be available at retail and on new devices starting on October 18th by market. So mark your calendars! View the full article

Windows 8 was built for a world that blends our work and our personal lives, a world where we expect high quality touch experiences everywhere, and a world that is always on the go and always connected. Windows 8 redefines our market from PCs to mobile computing. We are pleased with the progress we’ve seen with Windows 8 so far. Our OEM partners have delivered tablets, touch laptops, and convertibles that bring the vision of Windows 8 and mobile computing to life. They have introduced some incredible (and unique) new form factors like the Dell XPS 12, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, the Sony VAIO Tap 20, or the recently announced Acer Aspire R7. And today at…

Firefox 21.0 has been released. New in Firefox 21 is the "Health Report", which is, according to Johnathan Nightingale, Vice President of Firefox Engineering: Source: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2013/05/14/firefox-heal-thyself/ Firefox 21.0 also includes 8 Security fixes, 3 of which are rated critical. Firefox (referred to as Fx) is an open source browser developed by Mozilla. The second most popular browser worldwide, Firefox features a customizable user interface that allows you to enhance it using custom themes and Personas. Personas change the appearance of the user interface without rearranging the elements. Themes however, can completel…

A previously unknown and currently unpatched security hole in the latest version of the Java software framework is under attack online, according to security researchers and bloggers. Attack code that exploits vulnerability in Java's browser plugin has been added to the Blackhole, Cool, Nuclear Pack, and Redkit exploit kits, according to the Malware Don't Need Coffee blog, prompting its author to say that the bug is being "massively exploited in the wild." Miscreants use these products to turn compromised websites into platforms for silently installing keyloggers and other types of malicious software on the computers of unsuspecting visitors. KrebsOnSecurity reporter Br…

Firefox 19.0.2 has been released. This is a Security release which fixes a single critical security issue in the HTML editor. For those using the ESR version, Firefox 17.0.4esr has also been released. In case you missed it, Firefox 19.0.1 was released for Windows 8 only. Firefox 19.0.2, however, is available for all 4 platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android). For more info and download links: See the .

CCleaner - also known as Crap Cleaner - is a disk cleanup utility that goes beyond the scope of the built in Windows Disk Cleanup tool. Featuring the ability to clean up temporary files, browser history and cache, the Recycle Bin, along with Windows applications that you install. There is also a registry cleaner, uninstall helper, startup manager, System Restore manager and disk wiper. You can choose to have your data cleaned with a single pass or range up to the Gutmann 35 pass data cleaning sequence. There's even a cookie manager and free space wiper. One of the great things about CCleaner is that it automates all of these cleanings so you don't have to hunt down these …

Firefox 19.0 has been released. New in Firefox 19 is a built-in PDF reader (no need to rely on Adobe Reader, or other plugins) and improvements to the startup performance. Firefox 19.0 also includes 8 Security fixes, 4 of which are rated critical. Firefox (referred to as Fx) is an open source browser developed by Mozilla. The second most popular browser worldwide, Firefox features a customizable user interface that allows you to enhance it using custom themes and Personas. Personas change the appearance of the user interface without rearranging the elements. Themes however, can completely change the UI ranging from the types of buttons to the color sceme used.…

Firefox 18.0.2 has been released. This is a stability update to the 18.0.1 release. This resolves instability issues with the JavaScript component, particularly affecting Facebook users. Firefox (referred to as Fx) is an open source browser developed by Mozilla. The second most popular browser worldwide, Firefox features a customizable user interface that allows you to enhance it using custom themes and Personas. Personas change the appearance of the user interface without rearranging the elements. Themes however, can completely change the UI ranging from the types of buttons to the color sceme used. Add-ons allow you to customize Firefox to your liking to make…

Firefox (referred to as Fx) is an open source browser developed by Mozilla. The second most popular browser worldwide, Firefox features a customizable user interface that allows you to enhance it using custom themes and Personas. Personas change the appearance of the user interface without rearranging the elements. Themes however, can completely change the UI ranging from the types of buttons to the color sceme used. Add-ons allow you to customize Firefox to your liking to make a more enjoyable web surfing experience. Some examples of popular add-ons that you can use to customize Firefox are AdBlock Plus, DownThemAll!, TabMixPlus and many more. Firefox has tabbed brow…

Software giant Microsoft has sold 60 million licences and upgrades for its new Windows 8 operating system in the 10 weeks since its launch. Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows division, said at the Consumer Electronics Show that Windows 8 sales are growing in line with those of Windows 7, Microsoft's last operating system, launched in 2009. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the figure marks a solid, but unspectacular start for Microsoft's new flagship product, which has not managed to revive lagging personal computer sales, while new touch-screen Windows devices have not yet captured consumers' imaginations. The latest Windows 8 figure means Mi…

foobar2000 is a comprehensive, easy to use audio player for Windows. Featuring full Unicode support, advanced tagging capabilities, customizable hotkeys, ReplayGain to help correct your audio and many more useful utilities to assist your media library. There are multiple ways to configure and customize your user interface. foobar's developer also includes an open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player. foobar2000 allows you to easily use multiple playlists and utilize features to remove both duplicates and dead items. foobar handles multiple popular audio formats, including: MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis…

Inside a small bungalow on the street separating Kansas City, Kan., from its sister city in Missouri, a small group of entrepreneurs are working on their ideas for the next high-tech startup, tapping Google Inc.'s new superfast Internet connection that has turned the neighborhood into an unlikely settlement dubbed the "Silicon Prairie." The home on State Line Road is one of several startup-friendly locations that have sprouted up in Kansas City in recent months. The catalyst is Google Fiber, the search-engine giant's fiber-optic network being tested in the Kansas City area that advertises speeds of up to a gigabyte per second — a rate that massively exceeds the aver…

foobar2000 is a comprehensive, easy to use audio player for Windows. Featuring full Unicode support, advanced tagging capabilities, customizable hotkeys, ReplayGain to help correct your audio and many more useful utilities to assist your media library. There are multiple ways to configure and customize your user interface. foobar's developer also includes an open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player. foobar2000 allows you to easily use multiple playlists and utilize features to remove both duplicates and dead items. foobar handles multiple popular audio formats, including: MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, …

Firefox (referred to as Fx) is an open source browser developed by Mozilla. The second most popular browser worldwide, Firefox features a customizable user interface that allows you to enhance it using custom themes and Personas. Personas change the appearance of the user interface without rearranging the elements. Themes however, can completely change the UI ranging from the types of buttons to the color sceme used. Add-ons allow you to customize Firefox to your liking to make a more enjoyable web surfing experience. Some examples of popular add-ons that you can use to customize Firefox are AdBlock Plus, DownThemAll!, TabMixPlus and many more. Firefox has tabbed browsi…

Firefox 16.0.2 has been released. This is a Security update to the 16.0.1 release. It contains three fixes for Location object issues, which now fix two cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks and a cross-origin reading issue. See the Mozilla Security Advisory for full details. Downloads: Firefox 16.0.2 | All builds View: Release Notes Homepage: Firefox .

Firefox 16.0.1 has been released. There was a 16.0 release, but it was pulled almost immediately due to a security vulnerability What's new? According to the Release Notes:- The latest version of Firefox has the following changes: Firefox on Mac OS X now has preliminary VoiceOver support turned on by default Initial web app support (Windows/Mac/Linux) Acholi and Kazakh localizations added Improvements around Javascript responsiveness through incremental garbage collection New Developer Toolbar with buttons for quick access to tools, error count for the Web Console, and a new command line for quick keyboard access CSS3 Animations, Transitions, Transforms and Gradien…

Microsoft may have nixed its "Metro" branding for the new tile-based design in Windows 8 and Windows Phone, but the company appears to be split over its replacement naming. Earlier this week it was reported that references to "Metro-style applications" would become "Windows 8 applications," and that the "Metro user interface" would be switched to "Windows 8 user interface." However, Microsoft employees have started using "Modern UI Style" to refer to the new Windows 8 Start Screen and "Modern UI" design in reference to Windows 8 apps. The software giant has used modern, immersive, fast, and fluid to describe its Windows 8 operating system previously - in the early stag…

Facebook has been accused of deceiving developers after it emerged that the social networking site did nothing to verify the security of applications it was paid tens of thousands of dollars to review, and which it assured users had been checked. It is believed Facebook was paid up to $95,000 (£60,600) by developers whose applications were entered into its verified apps scheme. The system gave a green tick of approval to apps that passed what Facebook described as its "test for trustworthy user experiences". An investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that Facebook took no steps to review the applications in its now-closed scheme. Facebook…

Google has announced that it will soon penalize sites that are repeatedly accused of copyright infringement. But one site in particular doesn't need to worry: Google's own YouTube. It has a unique immunity against the forthcoming penalty. The penalty - which SearchEngineLand dubbed the Emanuel Update - impacts Google's web search results. If someone has reported a web search listing as being a copyright violation, using the DMCA takedown mechanism, that's a strike against the entire site. Accumulate enough strikes (how many, Google's not saying), and a publisher may find their entire site hit with a penalty. Every page, whether it was reported for copyright infringe…

Microsoft isn't exactly known for its underground hacker culture, but a recent effort to give its employees more slack is generating some wild experiments. In 2009, Microsoft came up with a concept called "The Garage." It's essentially Microsoft's answer to Google's famous "20% time" -- the longstanding Google initiative that lets its employees work on projects unrelated to their primary jobs in their spare time. Microsoft's Garage does that too, only in a physical space. Last summer, Microsoft completed a redesign of one of its original buildings on campus -- Building 4, where Bill Gates' office used to be -- into a laid-back workshop where staff can tinker with t…

Microsoft said it will patch at least 14 vulnerabilities next week, including four in Internet Explorer (IE), making it three months in a row that the company has plugged holes in its browser. Of the nine updates set for Aug. 14, five will be labeled "critical," the most serious of the four ratings Microsoft uses. The other four will be pegged "important," the next-lower threat ranking. The big story for next week will be the one-two punch of patches for Exchange and SQL Server. "Those are two of the three things that are most important to IT in enterprises," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security. "Thank goodness SharePoint's not…

Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows environment. This project, based on the Scintilla edit component, written in C++ with pure win32 api and STL that ensures the higher execution speed and smaller size of the program. Notepad++ supports the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, XML, HTML, PHP, javascript, RC resource file, makefile, ASCII art file, doxygen, ini file, batch file, ASP, VB/VBS source files, SQL, Objective-C, CSS, Pascal, Perl, Python and Lua. Download: Notepad++ 6.1.5 Homepage: Notepad++ View the full article