Microsoft

Microsoft has denied suggestions that it has paid to use an explicit term (synonymous with film making) to promote its search engine Bing. Microsoft claims the pay-per-click (PPC) link to the site must have been triggered by another phrase. The ... controversy over the illicit keyword began when a writer at TechCrunch.com -- who asked to remain anonymous -- somehow wound up searching for the 'nasty' word in Google. The writer was surprised to find that the number one listed item in the sponsored pay-per-click results section was for Microsoft's search engine Bing. (Source: techcrunch.com ) How ... (view more)

Thinking about straying from Microsoft Windows to the Linux operating system? Well, you won't get much reassurance from Best Buy employees, who, according to reports, are being trained to push Windows 7 well ahead of a more basic, and cheaper, ... competitor. 'Training Kit' Materials Leaked Recently a Best Buy employee posted pictures of training materials used by Best Buy (which also happen to be supplied by Microsoft) in anticipation of Windows 7's launch date. (Source: tgdaily.com ) The problem? Aside from showering Best Buy employees with a discounted version of Windows 7 for their own, ... (view more)

Ever wonder how poorly Windows Vista fared after reading all the bad press since its launch? Real-world PC usage data from the exo.performance.network (EPN) suggests just how much of a flop Windows Vista has been for Microsoft. Despite Microsoft's ... claims about Windows Vista's deployment , PC sales were counted as Windows Vista sales by Microsoft, despite the fact that many users and enterprises were 'downgrading' to Windows XP. In fact, two years after Vista's release, not even 30 per cent of PCs are actually running it. (Source: infoworld.com ) Those that are running Vista are almost ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed a serious security issue affecting Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) -- the version that was made available to the public prior to the full release of Windows 7. The problem also currently affects Windows Vista and Server ... 2008, but not Windows XP or Server 2008 R2. The issue involves the Server Message Block (SMB) system which is a part of Windows itself and is used for sharing files over a network. A bug in the system means anyone could take advantage of the exploit and use SMB to gain remote access to (and take control of) a remote computer. Temporary Solution: Block ... (view more)

Microsoft yesterday released a package of five Security Bulletins offering fixes for a total of eight vulnerabilities. While it's news worth celebrating, unfortunately the software company has also failed to address three other zero-day ... vulnerabilities . Browse And Get Owned, Drive-By Attacks Addressed All five of the Security Bulletins Microsoft has addressed were outlined in September and deemed "critical" -- the highest level of concern. Three out of five of the issues taken care of by Microsoft fix issues associated with "browse-and-get-owned" attacks, otherwise known as " drive-by" ... (view more)

Microsoft has been cleared of wrong-doing by Russia's federal anti-monopoly service, FAS. It was announced yesterday that the investigation into the Redmond-based company had been closed, with the software giant found not guilty of any violations in ... the way it distributed and marketed Windows XP. The FAS investigation began earlier this summer, with the Russian body announcing that it suspected Microsoft of several antitrust violations in relation to the supply and pricing of the Windows XP operating system (OS). FAS felt that Microsoft might have broken the law when it discontinued the ... (view more)

While many tech insiders anxiously anticipate the release of Windows 7, throwing a party in honor of the new operating system might seem a tad ridiculous to some. However, Microsoft feels that their latest OS offering should be cause for ... celebration, announcing that it might be willing to help those who want to throw a little party come October 22. In an effort to generate even more interest in the product, Microsoft has teamed with House Party to reach out to the average end-user. House Party is a community-based site that helps people around the world host parties. The news of a Windows 7 ... (view more)

It appears Microsoft's threats that last month's injunction against its popular Word software could deliver "irreparable harm" to the company has paid off. A U.S. Court of Appeals judge has granted the Redmond-based firm a stay of the injunction ... pending appeal, meaning it won't have to pull the software off store shelves by early October. Last month a Texas federal judge ordered Microsoft to halt resale of Word, a key component of its Microsoft Office suite, unless it removed important XML features whose patent is owned by Canadian company i4i. Microsoft had been ordered to stop selling Word ... (view more)

Microsoft wants more iPhone applications to use Bing as their default search tools. While not developing apps itself, Microsoft has released a toolkit to allow independent firms to power their apps' searching with Bing. At the moment, Google is the ... default search engine on the iPhone, with Yahoo the alternative option. Anyone wanting to use Bing must use the web browser to type in the site's address rather than using search bars. That's not easy with smartphones such as the iPhone where small and fiddly keyboards make manual searches inconvenient. Many users prefer to use dedicated ... (view more)

Here's the good and bad news on the upcoming Microsoft's monthly Windows Update: the good news is that Microsoft only has five security problems to fix. The bad news is that they are all marked critical. Patch is Due Next Tuesday, but Few Details In ... an unusual move, the company isn't releasing any details about the problems which are being fixed in the next Patch Tuesday update, scheduled for release next week. It's possible the firm doesn't want to tip off hackers who might try to exploit the problems before the fixes are released, but it's unusual that Microsoft wouldn't at least outline ... (view more)