John Lister

In what would be a major change of policy, Microsoft is rumored to be removing multitasking capabilities in the next edition of Windows Mobile. That means that it likely won't be possible, for example, to write an email while checking a webpage. ... It's expected the system will be demonstrated next week at the Mobile World Congress industry event, though it's likely to be a glimpse rather than a detailed presentation. The PPCGeeks site reports that multitasking won't be available, though it will be possible to put one application on pause while running another. (Source: ppcgeeks.com ) Change ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed a flaw in Internet Explorer could be used by hackers to access the files on a user's computer. The flaw was demonstrated at a security conference this week. The man who discovered the flaw, Jorge Luis Alvarez Medina of Core ... Security Technologies, says that so far as he can tell, it's not something which can be easily patched. The good news is that Windows Vista and Windows 7 both have default options for Internet Explorer which can block the problem. Medina first noted the existence of the flaw last week, but held back details until this week's Black Hat Conference. ... (view more)

United States security officials have joined European officials in noting the potential security risks of running Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). But they haven't gone as far as issuing a formal warning to stop using the browser. The United States ... Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), part of the Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory suggesting users review the recent Microsoft security patch and apply any updates which will improve security. That could be interpreted in two ways: patch IE6 immediately, or update to a later edition; the latter of course would make more ... (view more)

A recent report suggests that most users that use social networking sites have reported being spammed, with more than a third of those messages containing malicious links, or malware attached to the bogus messages. The security firm which ran the ... survey says the issue could be a serious threat to corporate networks. According to security experts Sophos, 57% of those questioned say they received unsolicited messages on their social networks last year, compared with 33% in 2008. The proportion who received either infected files or links to harmful material rose from 21% to 36%. Businesses Aware ... (view more)

Amazon appears to have blinked first in its stand-off with publishing giant Macmillan over the pricing of Kindle books. The online retailer had even briefly stopped selling printed Macmillan books over the dispute. The disagreement centered on ... Amazon's policy of charging a flat rate of $9.99 for the electronic edition of virtually all new titles it stocks. Macmillan demanded that it be able to set its own pricing, with most major books priced between $12.99 and $14.99. Royalties Replace Fixed Fees At the moment, Amazon pays publishers a fixed fee for each digital sale worth roughly half the ... (view more)

Apple's new iPad is making plenty of headlines this week. But Microsoft, and the PC sector in general, are quick to highlight the Windows-based tablet computers which will rival the device. The most conspicuous response to Apple's iPad launch came ... from Hewlett Packard (HP), which has released a YouTube video showing off its forthcoming HP Slate. That's a tablet computer announced earlier this month running Windows 7 and apparently set-up to handle electronic books bought from Amazon's store. Though the device is produced by HP, Microsoft is heavily involved in promoting it. Indeed, Microsoft ... (view more)

Security firm Sophos tells PC World that two security measures introduced in Windows Vista and expanded in Windows 7 have had a marked effect on levels of infection on computers. Nevertheless, several online security professionals have reminded ... users of Windows 7 that while the new operating system (OS) offers enhanced security over its predecessors, it's not invulnerable. They note that human vulnerabilities will always leave people at risk to hackers. Two New Security Features Mark Improvements Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) partially randomizes the order in which data is stored ... (view more)

Former Microsoft head Bill Gates has said technology can help the world's poorest people survive and even thrive amidst the economic downturn. But he warned that innovations are often only driven by the prospect of a profitable market. Gates, who ... quit Microsoft two years ago to concentrate on philanthropic work, made the comments in his annual letter to supporters of his charitable foundation. He opened by arguing that innovation "can make the difference between a bleak future and a bright one." (Source: pcworld.com ) Tech Projects Must Be Self-Sustaining The letter warns that without ... (view more)

China has flat-out denied any involvement in recent hacking attacks on Google . China also said its regulation of Internet access and content is justifiable and fair. Google's Gmail email servers recently came under attack. It's speculated that ... hackers sent email to targets containing links to websites which contained a specially-crafted exploit in order to bypass Operating System security. Chinese Deny Google Attack There's no evidence to indicate who carried out the attacks. However, because the victims are believed to have included political activists, suspicion fell upon the Chinese ... (view more)

Microsoft has admitted it knew about the latest Internet Explorer zero-day flaw more than three months ago, news that's likely to prompt criticism about the way the firm prioritizes security issues. The bug, which involves an invalid pointer ... reference, was first reported to Microsoft by Israeli security expert Eyal Gruner on August 26. He says that because it was so easy to discover the vulnerability, he expected less scrupulous people would also find it and develop ways to exploit it. MS Confirmed Flaw in September Microsoft says it received this warning and confirmed it in early September. ... (view more)