Can't Find an IT Job? Here's Why

Can't Find an IT Job? Here's Why

Keep in mind that the information in this article is "US-centric". -Trip

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a jump of more than 11% in IT employment from April to May of this year. And research conducted by Robert Half Technology supports the notion that job growth will remain fairly robust: Our most recent IT Hiring Index and Skills Report indicates that 13% of U.S. CIOs plan to add technology staffers over the next three months, while only 3% anticipate cutbacks. The net 10% increase is up two percentage points from the previous forecast. It seems all signs point to brisk hiring in the IT field. But are you still having trouble finding a job?

Read the rest at Computerworld.com.

Microsoft tags IE 7 'high priority' update

Microsoft tags IE 7 'high priority' update

Microsoft plans to automatically push Internet Explorer 7 to Windows XP users when the browser update is ready later this year.

IE 7 will be delivered in the fourth quarter as a "high priority" update via Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Gary Schare, Microsoft's director of IE product management, said in an interview Tuesday. Automatic Updates is a Windows feature typically used for security updates, but Microsoft has also used it to push its antipiracy tool WGA Notifications....

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GAME celebrates PlayStation Spot launch

GAME celebrates PlayStation Spot launch

PSP content download service aims to rival Nintendo DS hotspots

UK software retailer GAME is participating in the launch of Sony's new PlayStation Spot service, offering consumers a range of free multimedia content at selected UK 'hotspots' from Friday 28th July.

Aiming to compete with Nintendo's DS Wi-Fi hotspot service, the PlayStation spot initiative will provide consumers with access to a range of game demos, music tracks, film trailers and multimedia entertainment content, which can be downloaded free of charge from selected locations throughout the UK....

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New search engine to track down viruses

New search engine to track down viruses

LONDON, England (UPI) -- The hundreds of thousands of computer users whose PCs have been torn asunder by viruses could now have a new weapon in their arsenal against online attacks. A new search engine has been launched that will exclusively hunt down the pesky malware that make the lives of so many Net users a misery. Using a simple Google search, users will able to enter keywords into the Malware Search engine and track down live malware samples. Malware -- the term is an amalgamation of 'malicious' and 'software' -- is the irritating software designed specifically to infiltrate and damage a computer system, and includes such beasties as Trojan horses, spyware, viruses and worms....

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Ransomware getting harder to break

Ransomware getting harder to break

The evolution of an 'uncrackable' threat

Hackers may soon be pushing out ransomware packages so complex that they're beyond the decryption capabilities of the anti-virus industry, according to a study by Russian anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab.

The report, Malware Evolution: April – June 2006, Hidden Wars, states that the creators of so-called ransomware packages are making the lives of security researchers more difficult by using more powerful and sophisticated encryption algorithms. Ransomware packages use malicious code to gain control of user files, encrypt them and threaten users that they won't see these files again unless they hand over a cash "ransom" to hackers....

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Online LPI training launched

Online LPI training launched

Providing the courses through a mix of online chat, correspondence and forums will allow the company to keep training costs to a minimum and could result in savings as much as R1000 per course for students, says Linux Holdings director Kin Le Roux. It also means students will have access to four-months support and help through the online site. Courses available through the programme include Linux Essentials (I & II), Bash Programming and Advanced System Administration, and Linux Networking. Le Roux says that registering for one of the courses includes all the material required to complete the course including manuals, charts, Linux CDs and documentation CDs as well as four months access to the forums, chats and online quizzes.

Find out more about the training Here.

Microsoft Outlines 12 Principles of Windows

Microsoft Outlines 12 Principles of Windows

Brad Smith, a Senior Vice President at Microsoft, outlined twelve core principles this week at a luncheon meeting. These principles are "the twelve tenets that govern" development of the Windows OS from Vista forward, and are based around three key areas: choice for computer manufacturers and customers, opportunities for developers, and interoperability for users.

The principles (slightly reworded to make sense outside of Brad's monologue), in order:...

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Symantec sees an Achilles' heel in Vista

Symantec sees an Achilles' heel in Vista

Some of Microsoft's efforts to make Windows Vista its most stable and secure operating system ever could cause instability and new security flaws, according to a Symantec report.

Researchers at Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec examined the new networking technology in recent test releases of Vista, Microsoft's next major operating system release, according to the report. They found several security bugs and determined that Vista's networking technology will be less stable, at least in the short run, than Windows XP's, the report said....

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A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux: Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux

A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux: Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (3rd Edition)

Review by James Pyles
July 18, 2006

To say the least...I am impressed...and that is without even opening up the book. Phrases like a must have book and simply the best book on Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux jump out at you from the cover like hyperactive pinballs (You do remember pinball machines?). The little bio blurb on the back cover for Mark Sobell announces that he is the author of many best-selling books... and President of Sobell Associates, Inc. I had not even looked at the table of contents and already I was expecting to read the next Tom Clancy novel. To say the least...I am impressed...and that's without even opening up the book. Phrases like a must have book and simply the best book on Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux jump out at you from the cover like hyperactive pinballs (You do remember pinball machines?). The little bio...

Microsoft Confirms PowerPoint Zero-Day Attack

Microsoft Confirms PowerPoint Zero-Day Attack

First Word, then Excel, now PowerPoint. For the third time in two months, a zero-day vulnerability in a widely used Microsoft Office software application is being used in targeted hacker attacks. The latest attack exploits a previously undocumented flaw in Microsoft PowerPoint, the ubiquitous presentation program used by millions of users around the world. The attack comes just days after Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday and closely mirrors the situation in June when a zero-day Excel attack was discovered 24 hours after Patch Day. Virus hunters at Symantec linked the zero-day attack to a Trojan horse program called Trojan.PPDropper.B that arrives via e-mail from a Gmail address. The subject line of the mail and the .ppt file-name are in Chinese characters, suggesting that the attacks are emanating from—and attacking targets—in the Far East.

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