Microsoft removes Autorun from Windows Vista, XP, 2000

Last night, on Patch Tuesday, Microsoft distributed a security fix that disables Autorun with USB drives and other forms of removable storage on Windows Vista, XP and 2000, and Server 2008 and 2003. Windows 7 by default has Autorun disabled for removable storage, so this is just bringing the older OSes into line.

This marks the end of an era, at least as far as worms like Conficker are concerned. Historically, all a virus had to do was place a a very basic Autorun.inf file in the root of a removable drive, and it would be automatically executed upon its insertion. As you can imagine, this was a very, very easy attack vector, and incredibly effective too.

Incidentally, because Microsoft says it hasn't seen an in-the-wild malware attack that uses CDs or DVDs, AutoPlay will still work with "shiny media."

Microsoft removes Autorun from Windows Vista, XP, 2000 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/09/microsoft-removes-autorun-from-windows-vista-xp-2000/

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Microsoft's Azure cloud platform hits 31,000 customers on one-year anniversary

Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud computing platform is now one year old, and the Redmond company has announced that there are now more than 31,000 customers utilizing the platform. While that means growth slowed somewhat from Azure's first six months -- when some 20,000 signed on -- the 55% increase is still quite impressive.

After an initial inrush of early adopters and startups, Microsoft is now seeing larger, more established companies like Xerox, T-Mobile, and Travelocity tap into the Azure cloud. "One of the things we're seeing is cloud computing is moving away from a buzz word to chest beating to something with real business benefits," said Microsoft's Amy Barzdukas.

While you and I may never have direct contact with Azure itself, chances are good we'll soon be using apps built on the platform -- if we're not already and simply don't know it.

Microsoft's Azure cloud platform hits 31,000 customers on one-year anniversary originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/02/microsofts-azure-cloud-platform-hits-31-000-customers-on-one-year-anniversary/

EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM AMERICA MOVIL AMKOR TECHNOLOGY AMPHENOL ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL APPLE COMPUTER APPLIED MATERIALS

Gadget Lab Podcast: HP TouchPad and Android Honeycomb

                      runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience785203194001', 'anId');brightcove.createExperiences(); This week’s Gadget Lab podcast is all about touchscreens. That’s how you know you’re really living in the post-PC era. Special guest Duncan Geere of Wired UK joins Dylan Tweney to talk about this week’s big news from Hewlett-Packard. The hardware giant on Wednesday [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/gadget-lab-podcast-103/

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Firefox 4 beta 11 released, more bugs stomped, beta 12 still to come

While the main Firefox beta website has not yet been updated, Firefox 4 beta 11 is now ready to be downloaded from Mozilla's FTP site. [en-US build / en-GB build]

As far as we're aware, this is just another milestone on the way to the release candidate; in other words, it's a bug-stomp release, so it'll be both faster and more stable than beta 10. If you're still holding off because of its beta moniker -- stop it! Download it! Try it out! You may even prefer it to Chrome (really).

Incidentally, there are no release notes for this build yet -- but we'll update this post when Mozilla provides some.

Firefox 4 beta 11 released, more bugs stomped, beta 12 still to come originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/08/firefox-4-beta-11-released-more-bugs-stomped-beta-12-still-to-come/

OPENWAVE SYSTEMS ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS NOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE NETGEAR NCR NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODYS MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT MICROSEMI MICROS SYSTEMS MICRON TECHNOLOGY MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY METHODE ELECTRONICS

Mobile: It?s Not Too Late To Be Early

Editor's Note: This guest post was written by Jason Spero, the head of mobile ads for the Americas at Google. Spero joined Google in May 2010 as part of the acquisition of AdMob where he was vice president and general manager of North America responsible for strategy and operations. Mobile is finally delivering on its promise. All the technology is in place and consumers are engaging in droves, on smartphones in particular. However, many businesses still aren?t hearing the call. Most have not yet meaningfully engaged with mobile consumers and adapted their strategies to capitalize on the mobile opportunity. But, it?s still not too late to be early to mobile. Here are five simple steps that businesses should take ?today?to build the foundation of their mobile marketing and commerce strategy.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2OQHK9QZrf0/

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Skype for iPhone upgrade lets it videocall Skype for TV, if you actually want to

There's a new update out for Skype on iOS devices today that which expands the new videocalling compatibility to "a wider selection of Skype clients and devices" by adding the h.264 compatibility necessary to chat with any Skype for TV clients. That's available on certain LG, Panasonic and Samsung HDTVs right now, while Sony and Vizio have both announced it will be in some of their new HDTVs coming out later this year. The ability to call mobile devices seems to give a big edge to Skype over other living room videochat setups from Cisco, Logitech or Microsoft's Kinect, but even with a compatible (& pricey)camera in hand, good luck finding someone out enjoying the world who wants to chat while you're chilling on the couch.

Skype for iPhone upgrade lets it videocall Skype for TV, if you actually want to originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qTtdpU6vOpk/

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Android Market Web Store finally released, better pricing controls and in-app purchases coming to Market

The Android Market Web Store has finally been released -- you can access it right now: http://market.android.com/

It's very similar to AppBrain, but you can purchase apps directly from the Web -- and push apps directly to your phone.

Additional features of the Web Store:

  • Lots of developer control to make app pages look attractive
  • The page is laid out intelligently, with links to other apps by the developer, screenshots of the app -- in essence, it's just like any other App Store
  • Sharing tools are built-in -- easy to send apps to friends, via Twitter, email
  • If you open a Web Store link on your phone, it opens the Market -- genius!
  • You can sort apps in a variety of ways -- compatibility (2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc.), popularity, and so on
  • You can see all of your installed/purchased apps -- just like AppBrain
Better monetization features are coming, too. In-app payments are coming -- and the whole 'buying something in another currency' issue will be alleviated with "Buyer Currency Support." (I'm not exactly sure how this will help, but it sounds like it will prevent those nasty cross-currency charges and exchange rates that those of us in Europe have been enjoying.)

There are some screenshots of in-app purchases, and Tap Tap Revenge for Android, after the break.

Continue reading Android Market Web Store finally released, better pricing controls and in-app purchases coming to Market

Android Market Web Store finally released, better pricing controls and in-app purchases coming to Market originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/02/android-market-new-features-announced/

EMC ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM

Arctic C1 Mobile Portable Universal Charger Review

With the proliferation of electronic gadgets it gets difficult to keep your tools charged. Most electronic devices have moved to a standard USB port for charging. This is a welcome change. Now I can use my AC USB port at home, the USB port in my laptop at work, my USB car adapter on the [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/02/10/arctic-c1-mobile-portable-universal-charger-review/

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Android 2.3.3 brings expanded NFC features

With the Gingerbread barely cooled on the Android 2.3 SDK, Google has now pushed another iteration to developers. In Android 2.3.3, it's all about expanding support for near-field communications -- that non-Packers NFC business we've been hearing so much about.

In Android 2.3.3, Google has added a full-featured NFC read and write API, which will work with "almost any standard NFC tag in use today." They're also providing developers with better control over how their apps react when an NFC tag comes into range.

Last but not least, similar to the Touchstone transfer wizardry shown off by HP on its new line of webOS hardware today, Android 2.3.3 has initial support for peer-to-peer connections with "other NFC devices."

Google obviously wants to get some momentum behind Android's NFC support, not least because the company is likely working on an NFC-driven payment system.

Let the proximity application awesomeness begin!

Android 2.3.3 brings expanded NFC features originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/09/android-2-3-3-brings-expanded-nfc-features/

RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM QLOGIC PROGRESS SOFTWARE PLANAR SYSTEMS PEROT SYSTEMS PALM OSI SYSTEMS ORACLE OPENWAVE SYSTEMS ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS NOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE

Resistor Earrings and other Geek Chic

Who says geeks can’t be fashionable?  Feast thine eyes upon such elegant items of technologically-inspired (and salvaged) accessorization as these earrings ($8) crafted from real green resistors by seller digiBling on DIY marketplace site Etsy.  You can also find other electronics components jewelry like a rainbow ribbon cable belt ($14), microchip cufflinks ($12) and more.  [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/02/07/resistor-earrings-and-other-geek-chic/

VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE UNISYS TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS