Microsoft offers pirate Windows users legit XPs

Microsoft offers pirate Windows users legit XPs

MICROSOFT is offering US Americans compensation if they bought a dodgy copy of Windows, in exchange for information on its source.
The compensation will be in the form of a handy little product activation key by email, followed by a nice new legit copy of Windows XP in the post.


For the full story.

SourceThe Inquirer

Microsoft gunning for Adobe's PDF format?

Microsoft gunning for Adobe's PDF format?

When Bill Gates showed off the new Metro document format in Longhorn at a hardware conference last week, some analysts were quick to call it a PDF killer.

Indeed, there's plenty of overlap between Adobe's popular Portable Document Format and what Microsoft is planning to include in the next version of Windows. Metro is designed to do things PDF already does, namely to allow for the creation of files that can be printed, viewed or archived without needing the program that created them.

It's that omnipresence, analysts say, that Microsoft covets, laying the groundwork for a significant battle between the two formats.

Read the rest of this story Here

Review: VMware 5.0

Review: VMware 5.0

With last month's release of VMware Workstation 5, the virtual machine software is better than ever. VMware Workstation now has 64-bit host support, the ability to capture multiple snapshots for each virtual machine, easier sharing of virtual machines, and the ability to connect multiple virtual machines in a "team" setting. Perhaps most importantly, GNU/Linux support is improved in version 5.

VMware is a framework that allows multiple operating systems to install and run inside of another one. There are a variety of different VMware products and tools designed for specialized uses, but the Workstation product is the core technology. VMware Workstation supports Windows and GNU/Linux host operating systems, and a somewhat larger number of guest OSes. You must choose which host version you want, and if you want both, you have to pay two license fees. There is some loss in performance in comparison to a native operating system...

Novell Takes Linux to China

Novell Takes Linux to China

Novell today announced a partnership with a leading Chinese organization to help expand and promote Linux adoption in China.

The agreement with China Standard Software Co., Ltd. (CS2C) of Shanghai is intended to help optimize and promote Linux adoption in China. The two companies will partner on services, marketing and technology support issues that will give Chinese organizations access to "enterprise-class Linux services and local and global support."

Today's announcement is not Novell's first move into China. Novell spokesman Bruce Lowry told internetnews.com that Novell has been actively building up its business in China over the last several years.

Read the rest of the article: Here

Don't donate corporate secrets when discarding old hardware

Don't donate corporate secrets when discarding old hardware

When it comes time to purchase new computers, how do you decide what to do with the old hardware? This is a growing concern for organizations, particularly when you consider the rate at which new technology makes its way to the market. The problem has even spawned its own buzzword—e-waste.

For many companies, the best solution is to recycle old personal computers, donating them to schools, churches, or other organizations. While this approach is good for the environment, your corporate image, and a worthy cause, that doesn't necessarily mean your corporate security will fare as well.

Read the rest of the story Here

Virus pits itself against music pirates

Virus pits itself against music pirates

A hacker has created a virus that targets music lovers by deleting MP3 files on infected computers, according to antivirus company Sophos.

The worm, dubbed Nopir.B, spreads over peer-to-peer networks and appears to have originated in France, security researchers at Sophos said Friday.

Nopir.B is designed to look like a DVD-cracking program, to fool people looking for a program that will circumvent copy-restriction technology on the discs. When the worm is downloaded and run, it attempts to delete all MP3 music files and wipe some programs from the infected PC, the company said in its advisory.

Sophos said it...

Microsoft to support Linux in Virtual Server

Microsoft to support Linux in Virtual Server

Microsoft head Steve Ballmer has promised to add Linux support for the first time in one of its products because, he explained, users need to manage heterogeneous networks.

Support for the software giant's open-source rival and greatest threat will come in Virtual Server 2005 Service Pack 1, due to ship by the end of the year, Ballmer said as part of his keynote speech at the company’s annual summit.

"We will add support for non-Windows virtual machines running on our Virtual Server, including Linux," he said. "Virtualisation is an area of intense interest and activity for us. Driving virtualisation is a key technology to facilitate better compatibility and lower total cost of ownership."

Ballmer also said Microsoft would use its Dynamic Systems Initiative to become an "enterprise management vendor" and deliver tools that let users extract management intelligence from their network nodes...

Mitnick: 'Human firewall' a crucial defense

'Human firewall' a crucial defense" />

'Human firewall' a crucial defense

By Munir Kotadia, Special to ZDNet
Published on ZDNet News: April 14, 2005, 12:32 PM PT

Companies can better protect their confidential information by creating an incident response department to deal with suspicious queries, said infamous ex-hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Mitnick explained that this group should be trained in the art of social engineering, be able to investigate any potential [security] attacks and respond in an efficient and effective manner.

The founder of Mitnick Security Consulting (formerly known as Defensive Thinking) also called on companies to properly educate their workforce and strengthen their so-called "human firewall". At a social engineering prevention workshop in Sydney this week, Mitnick and business partner Alex Kasperavicius...

Warning over fake Windows update

Warning over fake Windows update

Users are being warned to watch out for a fake Microsoft security update. Circulating as an e-mail the fake message points people at a bogus website that claims to host critical security updates.

But anyone downloading from the site will get a virus installed that opens a backdoor into their computer the program's creators can exploit.

Security firms and Microsoft urged users to ensure they visit legitimate sites when downloading updates.

Fake sites

Anti-virus firm Sophos spotted the e-mail which uses subject lines saying "Urgent Windows Update" and "Important Windows Update"

In the body of the message is a web link that looks like it should link to the Windows Update website but in fact links to a site controlled by the malicious hackers.


Full story: HERE
Source: BBC...

Man gets nine years for spamming

Man gets nine years for spamming

A man has been sentenced to nine years in jail by a Virginia judge for sending millions of junk emails, or "spamming".

Jeremy Jaynes, 30, is the first person in the US to get a prison term in a spam case. He is said to have been the world's eighth most prolific spammer.

By selling sham products and services advertised in his messages, he earned up to $750,000 (£398,000) per month.

Jaynes has appealed, and the court has put off the start of his prison term because the new law raises questions.
Under Virginia law, sending bulk email using fake addresses is a crime.

"It was not just sending bulk emails, he was falsifying the routing information, disguising the origin," said prosecutor Lisa Hicks Thomas. "The end user couldn't say: don't send this to me," she added. Ms Thomas said she was pleased with the ruling and hoped it would be upheld.

Full story:...