Posts Tagged ‘Windows’
Adobe Patches Critical Holes in Photoshop CS4
Photoshop users like to expand what the software can do by downloading new brushes, gradients, and color swatches, but the ability to make those additions also turns out to have been a potential avenue for attack.
Adobe Systems on Wednesday released a Photoshop 11.0.2 security update to its earlier CS4 version of Photoshop for both Windows and Mac OS X versions to close off that avenue.
“Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Photoshop CS4 11.0.1 and earlier for Windows and Macintosh that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. A malicious .ASL, .ABR, or .GRD file must be opened in Photoshop CS4 by the user for an attacker to be able to exploit these vulnerabilities,” Adobe said in an advisory. ASL, ABR, and GRD files refer to swatches, brushes, and gradients, respectively.
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iPad Users on Windows Targeted with Malware
Scammers are distributing e-mails designed to trick iPad owners into downloading software that they think is an iTunes update, but which turns out to be malware that opens a back door on the computer, researchers warned on Monday.
The e-mails have a subject line that says “iPad Software Update” and offer a link to a Web page that looks like a legitimate iTunes download page, according to BitDefender. Instead, the link installs malware identified as Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, according to the BitDefender blog.
The malware injects itself in to the “explorer.exe” process and opens up a back door that attackers can use to take control of the system whenever they want, the post said. It also attempts to read the keys and serial numbers of the various software programs installed on the computer and logs passwords to the victim’s ICQ, Messenger, and POP3 mail accounts, and protected storage, BitDefender said.
Asus Preparing Windows and Google Tablets
Asus is said to be preparing two slate PCs that it will reveal in the next few of months.
Speaking to Forbes on a recent trip to the U.S., Asus chairman, Jonney Shih, said his company is working on at least two tablets that it plans to unveil in the coming months. Similar to the HP’s plans for two versions of its Slate, Asus is planning a Windows version of the device, as well as one with Android or Chrome.
Asus is credited for bringing about the netbook revolution with the launch of the Eee PC in October of 2007 but the focus on tablets doesn’t mean the company will be abandoning netbooks. Shih says the tablets will be very media-centric, particularly the Google one, and insists there’s room for tablets among the crowds of netbooks, smartphones and ereaders.
“Netbooks are the best combination of personal computing and cloud computing,” Shih told Forbes. “But between netbooks and smartphones and e-readers, we think there will be a space for something like a tablet or slate PC.”
Could there be a free, ad-supported Windows in Microsoft’s future?
When Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie outlined his suggestions for Microsoft’s gameplan back in 2005 (via his “Internet Services Disruption” memo), he was a big advocate of Microsoft introducing ad-supported, free software and services. Since that time, Microsoft has been dabbling with ad-supported products on a variety of fronts, including the forthcoming consumer version of Office Web Apps and Office Starter products.
But what about Windows? Would Microsoft ever go so far as to offer a low-end SKU of Windows client that would be free, but ad-supported? Back in 2005, a Microsoft researcher authored a ThinkWeek paper detailing how and why Microsoft could make Windows an ad-supported product. But I never thought anything came of that paper… until now.
Stephen Chapman, the blogger behind the Microsoft Kitchen blog, unearthed an interesting screen shot of a Microsoft employee’s LinkedIn profile that mentions a “prototype for advertising in Windows” project, codenamed “Madison.”
Based on that profile, it seems Lead Program Manager Krista Johnson spearheaded two Microsoft incubation projects between 2005 and 2008. One was Madison and the other was a prototype Windows CE-based PC that would sell for under $100. (The latter sounds like some kind of ultra-low-cost PC/”Origami” device.)
There’s no word whether these prototypes went anywhere. But now I’m wondering whether Microsoft might release some time in the coming months/years a free, ad-supported Windows SKU. Maybe it will be more like Office Starter, in that it will be a stripped-down subset of Windows, preloaded on new PCs, that includes the ability to move up to a paid, more fully-featured version (using the current Anytime Upgrade model).
Or maybe something like Madison will be the new alternative to Windows Starter Edition? If it is, I wonder how Microsoft will make up for lost revenues, as it currently charges OEMs $30-plus per copy for Starter preloaded on netbooks, according to various estimates….
I’ve got a question in to Microsoft about whether the company has ruled out the idea of an ad-supported Windows release. I’m not expecting much of an answer, but I’ll post what I get here.
Skype VoIP Compatible Phones in India
For the broadband-enabled, the perfect accessory is a phone or Wi-Fi enabled device that can let you run VoIP apps like Skype, either directly or through a third party app like Fring or Nimbuzz. It’s a big money saver when calling relatives or friends abroad. The old way to run these apps would be to use a desktop PC, laptop, or netbook, but being tethered to all that hardware is painful. With a Wi-Fi capable phone, you can run errands around the house, or make a cup of tea while having a voice chat on Skype on your hands-free.
If Skype doesn’t support your phone, there are workarounds – Fring, which supports voice over Skype, Windows Live Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo! and AIM, has a wider compatibility list. I’ve used Fring both on my iPod Touch; it’s a bit slow and unreliable at times, but can get the job done. Fring supports free video calls as well over Skype on Symbian phones, though I haven’t tried it out, it sounds like the coolest thing.
Fring is compatible with Symbian, Windows, Android, Linux and iOS devices, a list of Fring enabled smart-phones can let you make free VoIP calls would be quite exhaustive if we tried to compile one, so we’re going to use table of compatible smartphones as a reference point.