Microsoft Confirms Critical IE Bug, Works on Fix – Microsoft late Wednesday confirmed that all versions of Internet Explorer (IE) contain a critical vulnerability that attackers can exploit by persuading users to visit a rigged Web site.
Skype Outage: What You Need to Know – More than 24 hours after a Skype outage hit users around the world, the service has come back online for most users. Here what you need to know about the status of Skype.
How to Buy a Processor – There’s a lot you need to consider when you’re choosing the proper “brain” for your computer, and there are a lot of CPU choices on the market. This guide will arm you with the basic information you need to make an informed choice.
Fall 2010 security suite roundup – The fall months may be the season for colder weather and dying leaves, but in the software world it means major updates for security suites. We’ve reviewed and benchmarked 11 suites, organized them along the traditional line of cost, and picked one in each category that we highly recommend.
How to Clean Up Your Facebook Account After Getting Scammed – Have you fallen for a Facebook survey scam and spread it to your friends? Here’s how to clean up your profile and stop spreading it.
No, WikiLeaks Has Not ‘Confirmed’ It Will Target Bank Of America – Assange said he has enough info to force bank execs to resign, but he didn’t confirm he would leak it.
CIA Launches WikiLeaks Task Force, Media Responds ‘WTF’ – Yesterday the CIA announced the formation of a task force to determine the impact of WikiLeaks’ recent e-dump of state secrets, called the WikiLeaks Task Force, a.k.a. WTF.
Social Media 2011: Virtual doorsteps and why your website may not matter as much – The popularity contest of the corporate website fueled by SEO and media buys, will be coming to an end soon. Budgets will be redirected to innovative and comprehensive shopping experiences on a customized Facebook page with online store features and apps bolted onto it. I believe that the future success of most companies in any industry will be driven mostly by the presence and quality of it’s online communities.
Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 released – Oracle VM VirtualBox enables desktop or laptop computers to run multiple operating systems simultaneously, and supports a variety of host operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, most popular flavors of Linux (including Oracle Linux), and Oracle Solaris.
Windows for Tablets – Microsoft plans to launch a version of its Windows operating system for processors designed by ARM Holdings PLC, the creator of processor designs that underlie much of the tablets and smartphones on the market.
Microsoft At Risk: 10 Competitive Threats It Can`t Ignore – Microsoft dominates in business computing. With products like Windows and Office, Microsoft has been unbeatable, and it’s been unlikely that any company would gain the power and control that Microsoft enjoys. But those glory days may not last much longer. There is increased speculation that Microsoft is failing to heed changes ahead.
Encrypt Stick 5.0 – Encrypt Stick 5.0 turns any USB drive into secure portable storage for important files. It also serves as the key to unlock local encrypted folders, and an onboard private browser lets you surf without leaving traces. Its weak point is the password manager, which doesn’t seem quite finished.
Minnesota Man Hacked Neighbor’s WiFi, Threatened Vice President – Animosity between neighbors has a Minnesota man facing the possibility of decades behind bars after he pleaded guilty to impersonating his neighbor online, distributing child pornography and threatening the vice president of the United States.
Bill Maher’s Christmas Message: Oprah, Tell Your Audience “Stop Losing Your Sh*t Over Material Stuff” – Bill Maher, host of HBO’s Real Time, and notorious religious nonbeliever, taped a harsh and hilarious “Christmas message” for his website that served as a damning critique of all Americans and of the one media figure most are too scared to attack: Oprah Winfrey. (submitted by Dar)
A Techie’s Christmas Carol – In 2001, TechRepublic blogger Jeff Dray wrote a wonderful, IT-inspired adaptation of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This year, I’m republishing it in the TR Dojo blog in the hope that a new generation of IT pros will have a chance to enjoy it. And, like Jeff, I want to wish you all a happy holiday season.
The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English – Here are the 100 most beautiful words in English. How do we know we have the most beautiful? They were chosen by Robert Beard, who has been making dictionaries, creating word lists, and writing poetry for 40 years. (submitted by Michael F.)
“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.”
– Robert Service
Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 – The bottom line: Microsoft Security Essentials 2 will protect you, and it will generally do it well. However, its impact on system performance could be improved, and it’s still a bit light in the tool belt.
Auto Shutdown – Leaving your computer running all the time isn’t good for its performance or for your electric bill. Sometimes, though, you don’t want to sit around waiting for a large download to finish so that you can turn off your computer before you leave or go to bed. Auto Shutdown – InBasic is a Firefox add-on that will automatically shut down your computer when your downloads are complete, provided you’re using Firefox’s download manager.
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