It's Windows Vista's fault that solid-state storage isn't performing as well as its proponents predicted. So said SanDisk CEO Eli Harari, but at least he didn't go as far as saying it's Microsoft's problem to fix. SSDs are viewed as the heir apparent to the hard disk, particularly for laptops and other mobile computers. SSDs are way more shock-resistant and consume less power. Theoretically, they should deliver better performance.
Alas, many tests reveal that they don't. SSD "performance in the Vista environment falls short of what the market really needs", admitted Harari at the company's earnings conference this week.
Firefox 3 users, who also have jacked up the security settings on Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 to their most paranoid level, may find it trickier to download files with Firefox due to key changes recently made by Mozilla.
Mozilla says this issue occurs because, unlike previous versions of Firefox, the latest version now honors your Windows security settings for downloading applications, settings that are configured through IE.
This may seem like an abrupt about-face by Mozilla, and probably for some loyal Firefox users, too. But the company is clearly making a bigger play here for the corporate environment by attempting to respect the security settings already in place on the browser most commonly used by businesses.
The only way to change this behavior in Firefox appears...
The Mozilla Foundation on Wednesday released an update to the company's heralded new web browser, version 3.0.1, with fixes for security, stability, a printing issue, and problems involving running Firefox 2 simultaneously.
The most critical security fixes address a problem whereby an attacker could run code and install software, while requiring no user interaction beyond normal browsing. Other problems included the malware database not updating on first launch, and the SSL certificate exception list not being properly saved.
The update also dealt with crashes using malformed GIF files on Mac OS X, command-line URLs that launch multiple tabs when Firefox is not running, and remote code execution by overflowing the CSS reference counter.
A new kind of malicious software could pose a danger to Windows users who download music files on peer-to-peer networks.
The new malware inserts links to dangerous Web pages within ASF (Advanced Systems Format) media files.
"The possibility of this has been known for a little while but this is the first time we've seen it done," said David Emm, senior technology consultant for security vendor Kaspersky Lab.
Advanced Systems Format is a Microsoft-defined container format for audio and video streams that can also hold arbitrary content such as images or links to Web resources.
If a user plays an infected music file, it will launch Internet Explorer and load a malicious Web page which asks the user to download a codec, a well-known trick to get someone to...
On Monday, Symantec opened two of its Norton 2009 products to public beta. Both Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton Antivirus 2009 feature new code that not only makes the scans and services run faster, but consume fewer system resources, says Tom Powledge, vice president of consumer product management.
As an example, Powledge said that where Norton Internet Security 2006 consumed roughly 300MB of hard-disk space, the 2009 version is coming in around 100MB. Symantec has achieved this, in part, by reducing a number of redundancies introduced over the years. For example, previous versions of NIS contained multiple copies of the antivirus signature database.
For antivirus protection, faster and lighter has been achieved by focusing only on the files that have changed. As hard drives fill...
Although the enthusiasm about waiting in line for an iPhone for days at a time was dampened a bit this time around thanks to worldwide launches outside the US, buzz was still renewed by this morning among Apple fans. Lines had formed at Apple and AT&T stores across the country, despite last year's revelation that there was plenty of stock to go around and no line-waiting was needed. A number of Ars staffers, as well as loyal readers and friends, partook in iPhone Day "celebrations" in order to get a feel for the reception of the iPhone's second incarnation. Unfortunately, the second coming of the iPhone has turned into something akin to an activation armageddon.
When we checked out the line at Chicago's flagship Michigan Avenue Apple Store last night, things were looking upbeat, albeit damp. The first couple people in line were college...
It appears that Best Buy is now selling Ubuntu, both through its Web site and in its brick-and-mortar locations. Going by the release on the product page, Ubuntu has actually been available for the low, low price of $19.99 since May 6th of this year. It is being packaged as the 'Complete Edition.' While they don't specify on the site what version is being offered, a quick call to a local store revealed it to be Hardy Heron, the latest Long Term Support version. How did this development fly under the radar for over two months without anybody noticing?
...and have GeekSquad can install it for you, for only an additional $129.99USD!
Security company AVG is upgrading a component of its antivirus software so as not to place an undue traffic load on the Web sites it scans.
The company has already released a patch for LinkScanner, part of its Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0, and will release a patch for the paid versions of the software on Tuesday, said Lloyd Borrett, marketing manager for AVG in Australia and New Zealand.
The behavior of AVG's LinkScanner caused much animosity toward the Czech-based company, including a Web site dedicated to the issue, despite the popularity of its free security software.
Web site owners complained LinkScanner was hitting their sites repeatedly, using up the bandwidth they paid for and causing their Web analytics programs to suddenly record high numbers of visitors. AVG...
Yahoo's stock price jumped nearly 12 percent after Microsoft said Monday it is willing to reopen talks on a "major transaction" with Yahoo if the Internet giant replaces its board of directors.
The world's biggest software firm confirmed comments from corporate raider Carl Icahn about talks that could lead to a new takeover bid if Yahoo replaces its directors next month.
"We confirm... that after the shareholder election Microsoft would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo, such as either a transaction to purchase the 'Search' function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company," Microsoft said.
It's Windows Vista's fault that solid-state storage isn't performing as well as its proponents predicted. So said SanDisk CEO Eli Harari, but at least he didn't go as far as saying it's Microsoft's problem to fix. SSDs are viewed as the heir apparent to the hard disk, particularly for laptops and other mobile computers. SSDs are way more shock-resistant and consume less power. Theoretically, they should deliver better performance.
Firefox 3 users, who also have jacked up the security settings on Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 to their most paranoid level, may find it trickier to download files with Firefox due to key changes recently made by Mozilla.
A new kind of malicious software could pose a danger to Windows users who download music files on peer-to-peer networks.
On Monday, Symantec opened two of its Norton 2009 products to public beta. Both Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton Antivirus 2009 feature new code that not only makes the scans and services run faster, but consume fewer system resources, says Tom Powledge, vice president of consumer product management. 
Although the enthusiasm about waiting in line for an iPhone for days at a time was dampened a bit this time around thanks to worldwide launches outside the US, buzz was still renewed by this morning among Apple fans. Lines had formed at Apple and AT&T stores across the country, despite last year's revelation that there was plenty of stock to go around and no line-waiting was needed. A number of Ars staffers, as well as loyal readers and friends, partook in iPhone Day "celebrations" in order to get a feel for the reception of the iPhone's second incarnation. Unfortunately, the second coming of the iPhone has turned into something akin to an activation armageddon.
It appears that Best Buy is now selling Ubuntu, both through its Web site and in its brick-and-mortar locations. Going by the release on the product page, Ubuntu has actually been available for the low, low price of $19.99 since May 6th of this year. It is being packaged as the 'Complete Edition.' While they don't specify on the site what version is being offered, a quick call to a local store revealed it to be Hardy Heron, the latest Long Term Support version. How did this development fly under the radar for over two months without anybody noticing?
Yahoo's stock price jumped nearly 12 percent after Microsoft said Monday it is willing to reopen talks on a "major transaction" with Yahoo if the Internet giant replaces its board of directors. 
"The web is limitless, and so are we"