PATH: BS | Business | Corporations | Microsoft

Microsoft Hotmail Taken Over By Spammers

Posted by Pile (24927 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


[Spam]
At first I thought this was an anomaly, but after weeks of this activity happening over and over, it cannot be ignored: Microsoft's Hotmail servers seem to have been taken over by spammers and are now pumping out large quantities of spam.

READ MORE | 23 comments since 2011-11-18 13:20:35 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Is Secretly Updating PCs Without Permission

Posted by Pile (11626 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


Even if you have Windows Updates turned off, people are discovering that their operating system is still contacting Microsoft and downloading and installing software on the system behind your back. And nobody really knows what's going on...

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

When does 77.1 * 850 not equal 65,535?

Posted by LaoTzu (11676 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


When you're using Microsoft Excel.

It seems recently, a flaw has been found in Microsoft Office Excel, in which certain calculations don't produce the right answers. Open up Excel and put the value '=77.1*850' into A1, and I'm sure you will be surprised to find Microsoft doesn't seem to think the correct answer is 65535. In Excel, it shows up as 100,000.

READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-18 15:54:03 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Quietly Offers Vista-To-XP Downgrade

Posted by Pile (12074 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


You know your latest operating system is a real dog when you're forced by your customers to give them an option to use the previous version.

Microsoft has reportedly begun offering a downgrade option to PC makers who want to allow their customers to have the option of using XP over the pre-installed Vista software.

READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-17 19:21:33 | Comment on this Article

Windows Vista Slows Down When You Play Music

Posted by Pile (14066 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


It's no secret many users have complained that Vista is slower than XP but now users are reporting an unusual "feature" of Microsoft's new Vista version of Windows: apparently when you play music on your computer, your Internet/network performance is severely degraded!

READ MORE | 6 comments since 2008-08-19 09:09:12 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Dares Hacker Community To Expose Vista

Posted by Pile (10968 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


After suffering embarrassing security exploits over the past several years, Microsoft Corp. is trying a new tactic: inviting some of the world's best-known computer experts to try to poke holes in Vista, the next generation of its Windows operating system.

I'm not sure this means much, considering Microsoft has already issued several security patches to vista over the last six months, and it's still probably a year or more away from release. Chances are it'll take the hacker community about six seconds to divulge vulnerabilities. Our guess here at BSAlert is that Microsoft is asking the tech community at large to help it solve it's own security problems.

READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-19 02:22:31 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft To Spend Small Fortune To Appear Small

Posted by Pile (9593 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as "a huge American company." What size would you consider a company that employs 63,000 and whose CEO is the richest human on the planet?

In a related story, I will be spending no money to fight my image of being small. Although I won't stoop so low as to not suggest you people patronize the advertisers here so I can buy a pack of gum.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

"Bug" Turns Out To Be Back Door Found In All Versions of Windows

Posted by Pile (9580 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


Renown computer programmer and hacker, Steve Gibson has been analyzing the latest vulnerability for the Windows operating systems and has discovered that what appears to be a "bug" may actually be a secret back-door that someone at Microsoft built into all versions of Windows (for possibly more than a decade) that circumvents almost all known security and antivirus systems. Of course, now that the secret back door is public, it's being called a bug, but Gibson explains this is not the case, and it blows the lid off of the Pandora's Box on Microsoft operating systems, security and privacy.

READ MORE | 3 comments since 2006-01-23 01:57:42 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Shuts Down Chinese Freedom Fighters

Posted by Pile (10571 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


On New Years Eve, MSN Spaces took down the popular blog written by Zhao Jing, aka Michael Anti. This site was critical of the Chinese communist government and in not wanting to upset Microsoft's delicate business contracts with China, Microsoft took it upon itself to shut down anti-communist blogs on its MSN service, even though the Chinese government itself wasn't censoring these blogs.

Nice job Microsoft. Don't let any of that "freedom talk" get in the way of making some money.

READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-17 17:40:00 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Bug Up For Auction on EBay

Posted by Pile (10067 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


In an amusing jab at Microsoft and their lackluster ability to promptly identify and fix vulnerabilities in their software, an IT guy has placed up for auction on eBay "One 0-day Microsoft Excel Vulnerability".

Interestingly enough, eBay had the auction pulled, meanwhile they let several other auctions run where people misled others by selling an empty XBox360 carton.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Enlists Outside Aid for New IE7 Browser

Posted by Pile (10200 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


Microsoft has enlisted some outside help for one of the most anticipated new features of its updated web browser: the ability to alert people that they may be about to enter a fraudulent website.

It was announced today that Microsoft has retained the services of anti-fraud expert, LARRY ODOGWU of the Nigerian National Petroleum and Computer Security Corporation.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Microsoft's Newest OS: Microsoft Debacle(tm)

Posted by Pile (11455 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


At first, the next generation of Microsoft's new operating system was going to be called "Longhorn." What? That didn't make sense; didn't sound very high tech either. Has Bill been doing too much line dancing or what?

Then they announced the new name would be "Vista" -- ahh a breath of fresh air perhaps? But apparently the boys in Redmond, in an effort to name their new, advanced OS, didn't notice there was another company in their same home town in the computer business for five years named "Vista."

As a result, may I humbly suggest to Microsoft that you name your new OS: Microsoft Debacle™. It would really cover all the bases if you think about it.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Patents Emoticons

Posted by Pile (11511 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


"Methods and devices for creating and transferring custom emoticons allow a user to adopt an arbitrary image as an emoticon, which can then be represented by a character sequence in real-time communication."

So does this mean if I type : ) and have it display I've violated their patent? Hey Microsoft, how about this emoticon: !

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Bans "Democracy"

Posted by Pile (9195 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


As a poignant symbol of the priority of liberty in the world of capitalism, Microsoft's new Chinese internet portal has banned the words "democracy" and "freedom" from parts of its website in an apparent effort to avoid offending Beijing's political censors.

READ MORE | 2 comments since 2005-06-19 02:22:13 | Comment on this Article

Microsoft DNS Exploit Hits IE Users All Over

Posted by Pile (10186 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


While most of the Internet is using Unix-based DNS servers to handle hostname resolution, some companies and ISPs using Windows servers have been hit with a nasty attack that redirects .com addresses to special web sites that look for users running Internet Explorer and loads their systems with spyware and other malicious programs. Reason # 34,987,343 why you should be using Firefox and stay away from ISPs who are foolish enough to be running Microsoft servers for stuff like DNS.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Microsoft Settles Infringement Case and "Loses" E-Mail Evidence

Posted by Pile (11092 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


Microsoft has agreed to pay Burst.com $60M in a settlement over Burst's claim that Microsoft entered into an agreement to learn about Burst's technology, cut them loose, then built the technology into their own media player, in defience of Burst's 37 patents. To add further irony, Microsoft failed to produce subpoena'd e-mail correspondence relevant to the case claiming the information was erased from all workstations, servers and backup files. Yea right.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Why In The World Do People Put Up With Windows?

Posted by Pile (9487 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]

[Faulty Products]
SFGate columnist, Mark Morford relays a number of personal horror stories over Microsoft Windows' never-ending array of bugs and vulnerabilities and ponders why consumers put up with this when there are better alternatives.

READ MORE

Microsoft's AntiSpyware Tool Removes Internet Explorer

Posted by Pile (9337 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]

[Humor]
Many Microsoft Windows users who downloaded the recently released AntiSpyware program from Microsoft, or had it installed through an automatic Windows update, woke up to a surprise. Unintentionally, the heuristics of the software detected Internet Explorer as spyware, and removed the program from their systems.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

Bill Gates Poses for Teen Beat, NOT

Posted by Pile (9999 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


[Vanity]
We got snookered by this one too... In the Too-weird-to-be-fake category comes the republishing of some pictures in "1983" where young programmer, Bill Gates supposedly posed for Teen Beat magazine.

In reality, this is a promo shot in 1985 taken to coincide with the release of Windows 1.0.

READ MORE | 1 comment since 2005-01-20 14:45:59 | Comment on this Article

Another Microsoft vulnerability: cursors and icon files

Posted by Pile (9356 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


CERT writes, "Microsoft Windows contains multiple vulnerabilities in the way that it handles cursor and icon files. A remote attacker could execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition."

In other words, yet more vulnerabilities in core Widnows routines which make IE and other systems vulnerable to exploitation by visiting web sites which load these files. Be especially wary now of the favicon.ico files which most web sites load which give you those cute little icons next to the web address in your browser.. they can cause your computer to be compromised.

READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article

20 Articles displayed. Show More Articles.

Pursuant to Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code (47 USC § 230), BSAlert is a user-contributed editorial web site and does not endorse any specific content, but merely acts as a "sounding board" for the online community. Any and all quoted material is referenced pursuant to "Fair Use" (17 U.S.C. § 107). Like any information resource, use your own judgement and seek out the facts and research and make informed choices.

Powered by Percleus (c) 2005-2047 - Content Management System

[Percleus 0.9.5] (c) 2005, PCS