Microsoft quashes 21 bugs, blocks drive-by attacks
Microsoft today issued nine security updates that patched 21 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office, .Net, Silverlight and SharePoint Server, including several critical bugs that can be exploited with drive-by attacks.
Four of the nine updates were labeled "critical," Microsoft's highest threat ranking; the others were marked "important." Of the 21 total vulnerabilities, Microsoft classified six as critical, 14 as important and one as "moderate," a step below important on the company's four-step rating system.
MS12-010, which included fixes for four vulnerabilities in Ie, and MS12-013, a one-patch update to Windows Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2, were unanimously selected by both Microsoft and independent security researchers as the two to deploy immediately. Read more...
IBM predicts five big technologies of the future
IBM has issued its sixth annual look at what Big Blue thinks will be the five biggest technologies for the next five years. In past prediction packages the company has had some success in predicting the future of telemedicine and nanotechnology.
This year IBM thinks very soon people will never need passwords; mind reading will happen; the so-called digital divide will cease to exist; and junk mail will become important.
On IBM's Building a Smarter Planet Blog, Steve Hamm writes: "Making this kind of prediction is difficult. So, every year, IBM researchers stick out their necks. Which is risky."
"A lot of people wait for things to happen. It's rare than an organization says: this is a big change, and it's coming," says IBM Fellow Bernard Meyerson. Read more...
Yoof survey: ‘Internet as vital as air’
A third of college students and young professionals feel that the internet is as important as air, food, water or shelter, according to a new survey.
Cisco's 2011 Connected World Technology Report (PDF) found that 32 per cent thought the web was as important as the necessities of life, while over half of students and 62 per cent of employees in their 20s said they couldn't live without it.
The global report looks at the next generation of the workforce and how they are going to perform in a connected workplace. The study concluded that:
Students and young professionals share similar perceptions on the importance of the internet. For most, accessing the internet through their computer is their primary information and news source and an integral part of their daily life. Read more...
E-Verify needs to be improved, Obama says
The Internet-based E-Verify employment eligibility system can be an important enforcement tool in the fight against illegal immigration, but only if it can be made error-free and reliable, President Obama said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a White House press conference on Wednesday morning, Obama said E-Verify still needs to be perfected and safeguards put into place to protect against individuals being mistakenly identified as ineligible to work in the U.S.
"We don't want to expose employers to the risk where they end up rejecting a qualified candidate for a job because [E-Verify] says that the person is an illegal immigrant," Obama said. "The goal right now is to see if we can perfect the E-Verify system."
E-Verify is a controversial online system that is designed to let employers quickly verify the employment eligibility and immigration status of those seeking work in the U.S. Read more...