Microsoft Security Patches Due Tuesday

Microsoft Corp. Thursday said it will issue eight security updates on Tuesday, the most since October 2008, to patch problems in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), DirectX, Excel, Word, and the company's security software.
Five of the eight updates will be labeled "critical," Microsoft's highest ranking in its four-step threat system, Thursday's notice said, while two will be pegged "important," the next rating down, and one marked "moderate."
"It's going to be a difficult month to set priorities for patching," argued Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security Inc. "There are updates for Windows, one that's critical across the board, a browser update that affects everyone and an Office update. That's a lot of different groups to juggle."
Five of the eight updates will address flaws in Windows, with other updates tackling vulnerabilities in IE, Excel and the Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) server software. Three of the five Widows updates have been tagged critical, as have the IE and Excel updates.
The Excel update is probably a patch for the vulnerability in the spreadsheet program that Microsoft acknowledged nearly two months ago, said Storms. In late February, Microsoft issued a security advisory warning users that attacks were already in circulation, adding that all supported versions of Excel, including the latest -- Excel in Office 2007 on Windows and in Office 2008 for the Mac -- were affected.
At the time, Microsoft told users they could protect themselves by blocking Excel files from opening, a process that requires editing the Windows registry, or by running Excel 2003 documents through the Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE), a tool the company launched in 2007.
Microsoft did not patch the Excel bug last month when it released its regularly-scheduled updates on March 10. "Nothing else here maps to any known vulnerabilities," said Storms.
The IE update will patch all currently-support versions of the browser, including IE 5.01, IE6 and IE7, and was marked critical for all editions when running on the Windows client.
One of the five Windows updates is similar, in that it has been labeled critical for all versions, including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008. "It's a big call-out whenever something's critical for Vista and Server 2008," said Storms, because that means the bug is in the software Microsoft considers its most secure.
Storms also dubbed some of the updates "oddballs" based on the scanty information Microsoft makes available prior to releasing updates. "The one they call 'Windows 1' affects both the operating system and Office," he said. "That's an oddball case, and I've been trying to think of what it could be. Maybe it's something like XML or OLE, something that's not only embedded in the OS but also used in the application."
Microsoft said the Windows 1 update will affect older versions of Microsoft Word from Office 2000 and Office XP, but not from Office 2003 or Office 2007.
It's likely that Microsoft will patch more than just eight vulnerabilities in the eight updates, said Storms. Microsoft often packs updates, those for IE and Office in particular, with several separate patches. "I think we'll certainly see a lot of CVEs," he said, referring to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures bug-naming system.
Storms expects that next Tuesday will be a rough day for IT and security administrators as they wrestle with the biggest Microsoft patch day in months. And there's even more work for some.
"Just hope you don't have Oracle [software] running, too, because they're updating on Tuesday," he said. Oracle is also slated to issue its quarterly security update April 14.
Microsoft will issue April's eight updates at approximately 1 p.m. ET Tuesday.
source-computerworld

Microsoft Office 2007 Update Due

Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will start pushing Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) to customers this month.
In an entry to the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) blog, Cecilia Cole, a Microsoft program manager, said that the service pack would be posted to the update service in April. She did not name an exact date, but said that more information would be published on an Office-specific blog "later this month."
When Microsoft releases updates for WSUS users -- who are almost exclusively enterprises that feed their systems patches from their own servers -- it also makes those same updates available on Microsoft Update, the similar service for consumers and small businesses. Microsoft Update, a superset of the better-known Windows Update, provides patches for Windows and some of its other software, notably Office.
Microsoft first talked up Office 2007 SP2 nearly six months ago, when it said it would ship the update between February and April 2009.
Office 2007 SP2 includes support for Open Document Format (ODF), the document format used by the open-source OpenOffice.org; boosts the performance of the Outlook 2007 e-mail client; adds the ability to uninstall service packs; and contains all the bug fixes and security patches released since Microsoft rolled out SP1 in December 2007.
Microsoft did not issue a service pack blocking tool for Office 2007 SP1, and apparently will not for SP2 either; searches on the Microsoft site failed to dig up any mention of a blocker. It has crafted toolkits to block other updates, however, including one to keep the new Internet Explorer 8 from reaching PCs.
Office 2007 debuted at retail in January 2007, concurrent with the launch of Windows Vista.

Photos Reveal New Zune HD With Touchscreen

Leaked artwork of the supposedly upcoming Microsoft Zune portable media player has found its way onto the Internet. The artwork labels the new device as the Zune HD, and shows it to feature a large widescreen display housed in what looks like a bushed aluminum enclosure and glass.
Images obtained by Engadget show what appears to be a marketing campaign for Microsoft's new Zune portable media player (PMP), coming only weeks after rumors that the Redmond company will release a new Zune model later this year.
Expected sometime this fall (when Microsoft usually updates the Zune line), the Zune HD will take a shot at Apple's iPod Touch. It would also be the first touchscreen Zune. Similar to the iPod Touch, the Zune HD features a single button on the front panel, under the touchscreen.
The HD suffix of the upcoming Zune model implies that the device would at least be able to play high-resolution videos, with some speculating that Nvidia chipsets could be used for this task (capable of 720p video and advanced 3D effects). At the same time, the HD suffix could just be a marketing buzzword, as used by other devices like HTC Touch HD and Samsung OmniaHD mobile phones.
Besides the artwork in the images looking very similar to the style Zune used before, Technologizer's Ed Oswald also confirms the legitimacy of the leaked pictures, claiming sources that "have accurately called the launches and specs of two previous launches."
Also, according to Technologizer, the Zune HD's size will be smaller than the iPod Touch (but it won't be slimmer); and, it will have similar storage capabilities. Apple's iPod Touch comes in 8, 16, and 32GB versions, with a 64GB version expected in June, with the launch of the iPhone 3.0 software update.
source-pcworld

Confirmed: Bluetooth 3.0 Coming April 21

The Bluetooth 3.0 buzz is building. The short-range wireless standardBluetooth 3.0 will get its official launch on April 21. The developers of the standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, have confirmed multiple reports forecasting the release of Bluetooth 3.0 specs. According to the Bluetooth SIG on April 21 it will announce the groups latest Bluetooth standard. At that time the Bluetooth 3.0 specifications will be unveiled.

Here's What We Know About Bluetooth 3.0

The Bluetooth 3.0 standard is expected to deliver even faster short-range wireless speeds (up to 480 Mbit/s), improvements to reduce chances of device disconnections when syncing, and the addition of Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) technology that will reportedly allow
Bluetooth 3.0 devices to transfer data at speed on par with Wi-Fi. Another advancement will allow the Bluetooth wireless frequency to piggyback on the Wi-Fi 802.11 protocol - in affect allowing Bluetooth over Wi-Fi. We'll have to wait until April 21 to find out more. What's unique about Bluetooth is its low cost and low power consumption, allowing it to be used in devices such as cell phones where cost and power consumption are huge concerns for developers. However, Bluetooth technology has struggled in its efforts to be adopted widely.
source- pcworld

Acer Tempo WM6.1 Smartphones Coming April & May

Acer’s Tempo series of Windows Mobile smartphones will begin shipping this month and May, according to a company spokesperson cornered at the recent press event. Acer also confirmed that at least one Android handset was in the works, despite their CEO dismissing the immediate possibility of an Android-based netbook.
The Acer Tempo range consists of four models at present, all announced at Mobile World Congress back in February. All use touchscreens and have HSDPA; the the DX900 and X960 have 2.8-inch VGA panels, while the M900 and F900 have 3.8-inch WVGA panels.
Acer wouldn’t be drawn on which handset was expected to launch first, nor any pricing for the devices. There’s also no confirmation on which carriers Acer has been working with, or whether it plans to offer the smartphones unlocked.
Source- jpmstyle

Universal Music Group and Google are now partners in the music-video business

The largest of the four top recording companies and YouTube’s parent company announced on Thursday that they are working together on Vevo, a new music and video entertainment service set to launch later this year. YouTube will handle the technology while Universal Music supplies the content. The two companies will share ad revenue. The companies said and at this point it appears that Universal’s content and artists will be the only label represented on the site. However, Doug Morris, Universal Music’s chief executive, said in a conference call with the media that he is in negotiations with other top record labels and is confident they will join.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said on the same conference call that YouTube and Universal Music have renewed their existing licensing agreement. YouTube will continue to be licensed to allow visitors to use songs from Universal Music. Professionally made videos from the label will only appear on Vevo, the companies said.
This is the first time that YouTube has launched a satellite Web site, Schmidt said but he added that he hopes there will be more.
For Universal Music, the move means that Morris has obtained the standalone music-video service that he has long wished for. Ever since MTV became a cultural force and huge financial success by offering music videos on TV, the record industry realized that it goofed in thinking of music videos as a promotional tool. Morris has said that in this era of declining revenue in the sector, he doesn’t see anything as “promotional” and argues that music videos are worth cash.
In September, CNET reported that Morris was looking for a way to build his own video site. It appears now that Morris already had the partner he needed in Google. Sources close to Universal Music said last year that Morris wanted his artists’ videos to be given a higher profile and presented to viewers with higher-quality video than what YouTube offered. But where could he go to find an audience as gigantic as YouTube’s? Vevo undoubtedly will have what Morris wanted.
For Google, which acquired YouTube in 2006, the agreement continues the company’s streak of signing partnerships with top entertainment companies. For the past year, YouTube has been steadily shedding its rogue reputation among music, film, and TV companies.
On Monday, CNET reported that Sony Pictures is in talks about licensing some full-length films to YouTube.
When it comes to challenges, the new joint venture faces plenty. While Universal Music’s YouTube is by far the largest on the site, with nearly 4 billion views, nobody knows for sure whether a standalone music-video site can attract a big audience or ad revenue.
The question is whether Universal Music’s content is attracting viewers to YouTube or whether visitors stumble on to the videos while they are already on YouTube. Either way, the companies say they are confident that the site won’t have any trouble drawing fans.
“We believe that at launch, Vevo will already have more traffic than any other music video site in the United States and in the world,” Morris said in a statement, presumably referring to the traffic Universal sees at its YouTube channel.” And this traffic represents the most sought after demographic for advertisers, especially as advertising dollars continue their shift from old media to new.”
Source-jpmstyle

Apple Begins Countdown to 1 Billion IPhone Apps Downloaded

The countdown has begun. Apple posted a Web page on Friday counting down (or actually counting up) to the one billion app downloaded milestone on the App Store.

That's a significant goal for a couple of reasons. First, you have to be amazed that people have downloaded one billion applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. iPhone sales themselves hit 17 million last month, so the app volume logically follows. Second, you can win some cool stuff if you download an app between now and the time that Apple reaches the one billion mark.

All you need to do to enter the contest is go to the App Store and download an app. You are automatically entered to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro. You can enter up to 25 times per day, according to the contest rules. You can also enter the contest without a download.

In addition to the one billionth app download, Apple has posted the top 20 apps of all time on the App Store. Unfortunately, that page isn't working as of this writing, so I can't tell you what they are.

Apple's counter currently reads 927, 700,795 apps downloaded . . and it's moving fast.
source -mac world

Racy YouTube Video Outs the Casio Exilim for Verizon

In what appears to be an official promotional video posted to YouTube, Casio has revealed its new Exilim camera phone for Verizon Wireless. The video shares few details, but the Verizon Wireless carrier logo is visible briefly during the clip. The Exilim camera phone is a waterproof clamshell, as are Casio's G'zOne line of rugged phones. The Exilim loses the rugged styling, however, in favor of more sleek look. Verizon Wireless has not officially announced this phone, nor is a launch date or price available.

Conficker cashes in, installs spam bots and scareware

Year's biggest threat finally reveals moneymaking model

The makers of Conficker, the worm that has infected millions of PCs, have begun to do what all botnet owners do -- make money -- security researchers said today as they started analyzing the malware's newest variant.

Conficker.e, as the update has been dubbed, began downloading and installing on previously infected PCs at midnight London time, said Kevin Hogan, director of security response operations at Symantec Corp.

In several ways, the new Conficker is a lot like the original version of the worm, which appeared in November 2008. "At first blush, it looked like the Conficker.a variant," said Hogan. "But this is actually new in that it rejumbled existing code from previous versions."

It also downloads several new malicious files to the infected system that reveal how Conficker's handlers intend to profit from their collection of compromised computers, Hogan said.

According to Symantec, Conficker.e is downloading and installing Waledac, a noted bot that has been on the upswing for several months. Waledac is perhaps best known as the successor to the infamous Storm bot of 2008; researchers unanimously believe that its makers are from the same group that ran Storm last year. Like Storm, Waledac bots -- the PCs that are infected with the Trojan horse -- are rented out to spammers.

"Two things come to mind," said Hogan, referring to the Conficker.e-Waledac connection. "The people responsible for Waledac could be from the same group as Conficker, or they may be directly associated with the Conficker people. Or the people behind Conficker have sold the use of their botnet to Waledac, who in turn are in the spam business."

This is the first time that Conficker has been tied to spammers. "Now we're seeing an association with spam," said Hogan, "but the question still remains: Are these two groups directly related?"

A researcher at Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab found a different moneymaking move by the new Conficker. According to Kaspersky's Alex Gostev, Conficker.e is downloading and installing fake security software. Often called "scareware" for its habit of trying to spook users with bogus infection warnings -- then dunning them with endless pop-ups until they fork over up to $50 to buy the useless program -- such rogue antivirus software has become a huge business, large enough for even Microsoft to worry about.
Conficker.e is installing SpywareProtect2009, said Gostev in an entry to the Kaspersky blog. "Once it's run, you see the app interface, which naturally asks if you want to remove the threats it's 'detected,' " Gostev said. "Of course, this service comes at a price -- $49.95."

Symantec's Hogan said his team was not able to confirm that Conficker also downloads scareware. "That said, not all Conficker nodes act the same," he said. "Some are not downloading at all, so it wouldn't entirely be out of the question that different nodes or sections of the botnet downloaded different things."

Conficker's rogue security software scam isn't new: The worm's first variant also tried to distribute phony antivirus software late last year, though the move was largely unsuccessful, said Hogan, citing earlier analysis by one of his researchers, Eric Chen. "But in all the buzz about Conficker.c and April 1," said Hogan, "people forgot that Conficker's makers have tried to profit in the past."

The lack of a clear business model for Conficker -- especially with Conficker.b, the early-January variant that infected at least 4 million PCs, according to Symantec's estimates -- had confounded researchers and analysts. In fact, it was one of the reasons why there was so much attention paid to the worm's new communications scheme activation date: Everyone wondered what it would do on April 1 to monetize the effort spent collecting a massive botnet.

Unlike the Conficker.c update, the newest variant restores the worm's ability to spread by exploiting the critical Windows vulnerability Microsoft patched with an emergency fix in October 2008.

"It's been pretty obvious in the last couple of weeks that the footprints of Conficker.b and Conficker.c were very different," Hogan said. While the former had infected millions of PCs, Conficker.c, which only updated still-compromised computers, was on several thousand PCs at most. "If they wanted to stay in business, they needed to reseed it," said Hogan.

"I don't want to be a scaremonger," cautioned Hogan, "but the situation now, as Conficker does go back to propagating, is actually more serious than a couple of weeks ago."

Visa Rolls Out Commercial NFC Service in Malaysia

Visa has debuted one of the world's first, commercial launches of a wireless payment system based on near-field communications. Working with handset partner Nokia and wireless operator Maybank and Maxis. Subscribers may tether their Nokia 6212 phones, which have NFC chips embedded, to a credit card account and then swipe their phones to make purchases at some 1,800 participating retailers. Some of the places accepting the NFC payments include public transport, toll roads and parking lots.

source- pcworld

Amazon Launches Photo-Shopping Tool in BlackBerry App World

Today Amazon announced a new application for BlackBerries. Available from BlackBerry App World, the application will allow BlackBerry users to search for items and buy them with one click from Amazon.com. The app also includes the Amazon Remembers feature. Amazon Remembers lets users take pictures of things they see out in their daily lives, upload them to Amazon, where they are matched to items that are for sale. If the photos are successfully matched to items that Amazon offers for sale, the app user can then purchase the item immediately directly from their BlackBerry. The application is a free download and works will all trackball-enabled BlackBerries.

Google Grants Offline Access to Gmail for iPhone and Android

Today Google also announced lots of new features in its webmail Gmail product for the iPhone and Android platforms. According to Google, it takes advantage of HTML5, Gears and aggressive caching to boost speed, performance and the ability to interact with Gmail even when experiencing network issues. This will let users access some of Gmail's features even when the phone is unable to connect to a wireless network. Google also made archiving emails easier, as well as improved the look and feel of the Gmail app. The new webmail version of Gmail works only with iPhones running firmware 2.2.1 and up. It also works with all Android handsets. Gmail for the iPhone and Android is accessible from the devices' browsers.

BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP

Intel isn't just showing off its new Atom hotness at IDF Beijing, they also pulled out a previously unseen MID from previous non-player BYD. Codenamed Mars, the MID runs an Atom processor in a clamshell form factor, with a full Windows XP install and QWERTY keyboard. On the back of the lid there's a regular phone keypad and secondary screen. It's not going to beat the RAZR at a weigh-in, and we'd feel pretty dumb holding something this large up to our head, but it's a pretty wild concept all the same, and a nice teaser of the sort of MID / phone "synergy" we might come to expect when Moorestown rolls around. No word on the timeline for commercialization, but there's supposed to be a working unit floating around IDF so we'll keep our eyes peeled. Video is after the break, with the BYD unveiling a bit after the 3 minute mark.

Fantom GreenDrive II he 1TB eco HDD

Fantom GreenDrive II - 1TB USB 2.0 & eSATA External Hard Drive uses a innovation which reduces power consumption up to 40% .

GreenDrive II is Fantom Drives answer to energy reduction and environmental responsibility by utilizing up to 40% less power without sacrificing performance.

The GreenDrive II employs variable speed disk mechanisms that increase their rotational velocity in response to host demand, resulting in virtually no performance degradation vs. a 7200RPM disk.

GreenDrive II Features

• Reduce power consumption up to 40%
• eSATA cable included
• NTI Shadow 4 with Ninja backup software
• eSATA and USB 2.0 interface
• Blazing fast 300MB/s eSATA port
• PC & Mac compatible
• Quiet fan-free design
• Compact aluminum enclosure

Nokia Siemens Makes Bid for Nortel Unit

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nokia Siemens Networks has made an offer to buy large segments of Nortel's wireless networking and research units. The Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, says that Nokia is interested in the Long Term Evolution technologies developed by Nortel. Nortel, which is in bankruptcy protection, is actively looking to sell off assets, including pieces of its business.

Bluetooth 3.0 to be announced this month with WiFi speed

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is prepared to announce the Bluetooth 3.0 specification later this month, with technology that allows Bluetooth profiles to operate at WiFi speeds. Bluetooth 3.0 will increase transfer speeds, streamlining user's ability to send video, music and photos "within seconds."

The specification will also include Enhanced Power Control, which will reduce the occurrence of disconnection caused by casual activities like putting a phone in a pocket, bookbag, or purse. [via phonescoop]

Wikipedia wins, Microsoft discontinues Encarta

Microsoft is shutting down its Encarta encyclopedia Web sites and will also discontinue its Student and Premium Encarta software products. “The category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed,” reads a note explaining the move on the MSN Encarta Web site. “People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past.” The Encarta Web sites worldwide will shut down on Oct. 31 and Microsoft will stop selling the software products by June this year. One exception is the Encarta Japan Web site, which will stay live until the last day of this year.

People who have paid for a subscription to MSN Encarta Premium, which offers them access to more information, will get a refund for fees paid beyond April 30, although they’ll continue to be able to access the site until it shuts down in October. Microsoft will continue to offer technical support for the software products for three years. The software giant has discontinued a couple of other products recently. Late last year it announced it would stop selling OneCare, its consumer antivirus product. It also killed off a mobile browser research product last year.

Source: PC World