Opera 11.50 debuts with Speed Dial extensions
Opera has officially released a new version of its desktop browser – Opera 11.50 – adding widget-like "extensions" to the familiar Speed Dial page that appears each time you open a new tab.
Previously, Speed Dial only offered thumbnails that linked you to oft-visited sites. But with Opera 11.50 – announced in the early Norwegian hours on Tuesday – you can also install extensions that provide real-time access to content directly from the page. "These are basically like small front-ends to websites," Jan Standal, Opera's vice president of Desktop Products, tells The Register. An extension might provide weather updates or the latest news headlines. Read more...
US Supremes dump violent video game ban
The US Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court decision that blocked a California law which made the sale or rental of violent video games to minors an offense punishable by fines of up to $1,000.
"California has singled out the purveyors of video games for disfavored treatment – at least when compared to booksellers, cartoonists, and movie producers – and has given no persuasive reason why," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his opinion supporting the 7-2 decision.
The law the Supremes shut down was California Assembly Bill No. 1179, passed in 2005, which made it illegal to sell what it termed "violent video games" to minors. That bill defined such games as ones "in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being." Read more...
Office 365: Can Microsoft replace Microsoft?
When it comes to selling new versions of Office, Microsoft's toughest competitor isn't IBM or Google. It's Microsoft.
Typically, when Microsoft releases brand new version of its desktop productivity suite, large numbers of customers cling to the versions they already have. The old versions do exactly what they want, and the new features seem unnecessary.
Office 365 – due from Microsoft on Tuesday – is Redmond's latest attempt to shove enterprise holdouts onto a new version of its Office software. But this time, the carrot isn't BI integration or some obscure new button. It's the web.
With Office 365, Microsoft is finally trying to turn its productivity, email, and collaboration suite into a citizen of the net, with all the benefits that entails, including low costs and ease of administration. Read more...
Apple warned of phishing attack threat for Mac OS X, iOS developers
Apple's website for Mac OS X, iPhone, and iPad developers has a vulnerability that could lead to phishing attacks, according to a hacker group.
The Apple website vulnerability could allow an attacker to specify a link to another site through a "redirect," which could simplify phishing attacks, claims the YGN Ethical Hacker Group. The outfit, dedicated to finding website security flaws, is said to operate from the country of Myanmar.
Unless Apple fixes the alleged vulnerability, the group says it plans to release information publicly in the next few days via the Full Disclosure security mailing list.
This is the practice that the group followed in March when it was frustrated by what it considered a slow response by security firm McAfee about vulnerability issues it found in its website. After public disclosure by the group, McAfee acknowledged the problems. Read more...
Software scores can help secure the Web
The fake software tries hard to look like a legitimate program
No one wants defect-ridden, insecure software. Yet typically, unless your supplier is using a secure development methodology (and many times even then) your company is getting exactly that.
On Monday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with the SANS Institute and Mitre will release its latest list of the top 25 coding vulnerabilities for websites. In the past, the list has mainly been of interest to security-conscious developers wanting ti make sure to avoid the programming mistakes. This year, however, the organizations also plan to announce a way to prioritize software vulnerabilities using a scoring system and to evaluate risk using a framework for different industries. Read more...
Sony ‘cut corners’ in protecting user data, lawsuit alleges
Three New York PlayStation Network users last week filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Sony spends 'lavishly' to secure its own intellectual property while cutting corners in protecting the personal data of its customers.
The plaintiffs, Felix Cortorreal, Jimmy Cortorreal and Jacques Daoud, accuse Sony of negligence, privacy violations and breach of contract. The trio claims that the company does not follow industry best practices to protect customer data.
Sony in April disclosed that it had been the victim of a massive data breach that had exposed personal data of some 100 million users of its PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment network. Read more...
Skype video chat on iPad app moves Microsoft closer to Apple
Skype is reportedly set to release a video chat app optimized for Apple's iPad even as the maker of video and voice products is on tap to be acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
Analysts are taking note that Microsoft, the classic Apple competitor, is indirectly ingratiating itself with Apple's industry-leading tablet computer. It's been widely reported that the Skype app will be available in iTunes starting Tuesday.
"It's interesting that this app puts Microsoft on the iPad --- potentially," noted Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. "MicroSkype takes a bite of the Apple." Read more...
Nevada paves way to getting robotic cars on the road
It looks like self-driving cars may be on the road sooner than most people had thought -- at least in Nevada.
The state passed Bill 511 (PDF document) last week, authorizing executives at the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to begin coming up with a set of rules of the road for autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles.
This is the first step in what could be a lengthy process in getting autonomous cars, which are designed to use artificial intelligence, computer sensors and GPS instead of human drivers, on the nation's roads.
But the move must be seen as good news to companies such as Google and General Motors, along with researchers at institutions such as Stanford, Cornell and Carnegie Mellon University. All of these organizations have been working on autonomous cars. Read more...
Microsoft says HealthVault still going strong
Microsoft said it remains committed to HealthVault, its service that lets users store all their medical information in one place, despite Google's announcement last week that it would shut down a similar service because it wasn't popular enough.
"What does this mean for HealthVault? The 'buzz' online ranges wildly, but the real and simple answer is: nothing," Sean Nolan, chief architect for Microsoft's Health Solutions Group, wrote in a blog post Sunday.
He pointed to some advancements to show Microsoft's commitment to the service. It recently made HealthVault accessible from mobile phones and released a software development kit for third parties to develop mobile applications for the service. Read more...
LulzSec’s parting Trojan is a false positive
The LulzSec hacking group sailed off into the sunset Saturday, leaving behind a treasure trove of stolen data along with what some antivirus programs identified as a nasty surprise for anyone who downloaded the Torrent file: a Trojan horse program.
But not so fast. On Monday several antivirus vendors took a close look at the file in question and decided that the program wasn't actually harmful. Consider it an inadvertent parting prank on the security industry the hacking grew took such delight in tormenting. More Lulz for the Lulz Boat.
Early in the day, 26 of the 42 security companies whose scanning products can be tested on the VirusTotal Web site reported that a file within LulzSec's "AT&T internal data" folder was malware, designed to give hackers remote access to the victim's computer. Read more...