Tag Archive for MSFT

| December 11, 2010
Comments Off on Hackers Give Microsoft their code

Hackers Give Microsoft their code

Hackers Give Microsoft their codeWhen hackers crash their systems while developing viruses, the code is often sent directly to Microsoft (MSFT), according to one of its senior security architects, Rocky Heckman recently told ZDNet Australia.

According to Heckman, when the hacker’s system crashes in Windows, as with all typical Windows crashes, the user would be prompted to send the error details — including the malicious code — to Microsoft. The funny thing is that many say yes Heckman told ZDNet Australia. “People have sent us their virus code when they’re trying to develop their virus and they keep crashing their systems,” Heckman said. “It’s amazing how much stuff we get.”

At a Microsoft Tech.Ed 2010 conference session on hacking Heckman detailed to the delegates the top five hacking methods and the best methods for developers to avoid falling victim to them. According to Heckman, based on the number of attacks on Microsoft’s website, the company was only too familiar with what types of attacks were most popular.

Script kiddie“The first thing [script kiddies] do is fire off all these attacks at Microsoft.com,” he said. “On average we get attacked between 7000 and 9000 times per second at Microsoft.com,” said the senior security architect. “I think overall we’ve done pretty good, even when MafiaBoy took down half the Internet, you know, Amazon and eBay and that, we didn’t go down, we were still up,” he said.

Heckman told ZDNet Australia there were two reasons why the top hacking methods of cross-site scripting and SQL injection had not changed in the past six years. “One, it tells me that the bad guys go with what they know, and two, it says the developers aren’t listening,” he said. Heckman said that developers should consider all data input by a user as harmful until proven otherwise.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| December 10, 2010
Comments Off on Wi-Fi Tweets from Outback coming in ’11

Wi-Fi Tweets from Outback coming in ’11

wi-fiThe Subaru Outback is now offering Wi-Fi connectivity with Autonet Mobile in-car Internet service for 2011. CNET’s CarTech blog says that the Outback is the latest vehicle to feature built-in Internet connectivity. A Subaru press release extols the benefits of the new service

Subaru logo“Subaru Mobile Internet easily allows users to check e-mail, surf the Web or listen to Internet radio and even stream video and post to social networking sites.” They further point out that users can do revolutionary things like  “… check weather and traffic, download hiking trails, and even reserve a campsite…” Finally, Subaru reminds the reader that the Wi-Fi service is designed for passengers while the car is in motion.

Subaru Outback

Autonet Mobile logoThe Autonet Mobile service in the 2011 Outback will be a $499 option, plus a $35 activation fee and $29 monthly subscription. CNET reports it’s a 3G connection and can handle up to 10 users in a range of about 150 feet.

Autonet Mobile is also available on General Motors (GM) products like some Cadillac and Chevy vehicles including:

  • Equinox
  • Traverse
  • Silverado
  • Tahoe
  • Suburban
  • Avalanche
  • Express

rb-

In-car Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to have the same appeal it once held. Fast cellular data connections and 3G cards for laptops, have stolen in-car Wi-Fi’s thunder – making the Autonet product seems like a weaker competitor of Ford’s Sync service. Ford’s (F) Sync is a multimedia system in partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) which can hook up to a USB modem.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| November 16, 2010
Comments Off on Who’s Suing Whom in the Telecom World?

Who’s Suing Whom in the Telecom World?

Who's Suing Whom in the Telecom World?

Information is Beautiful has a great infographic showing who is suing who and the current state of telecommunications lawsuits. David McCandless at Information is Beautiful includes snippets of each lawsuit, which is helpful for understanding the overall picture. The diagram differentiates between ongoing and finished lawsuits with different arrows, while the size of the cubes represents the various company’s estimated revenue. In addition, if a company’s cube is red, it means its revenue is decreasing, while gray cubes represent companies with increasing revenues.

Who's Suing Whom?

The involved include a who’s who of the telecom industry:

  • Apple
  • Elan
  • Hitachi
  • HTC
  • Kodak
  • Microsoft
  • Motorola
  • Nokia
  • RIM
  • Samsung
  • Sharp
  • Sony Ericsson
  • Qualcomm

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| August 22, 2010
Comments Off on MTC Coming to Michigan

MTC Coming to Michigan

– Updated – 05/10/2018 – Microsoft moved its Regional Headquarters from Southfield Michigan to downtown Detroit. The new location is at Suite 500 of One Campus Martius (formerly Compuware Building), where the company unveiled its new Technology Center. The new 40,000-square-foot center will accommodate 200 employees from the Southfield Town Center location which will reportedly remain open.

—

MichiganMicrosoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will expand its Michigan operations by creating a business consulting center in Southfield, MI. Crains reports that the Redmond, WA-based software company will be creating a Microsoft Technology Center, in the Southfield Town Center. Microsoft has used the MTC concept in other markets to help businesses use its products to solve problems, Additionally, it is a way for the companies to help each other,  Drew Costakis, director of the Southfield technology center told Crains.

Microsoft“Our new Technology Center is another expression of Microsoft’s longstanding commitment to the Detroit community, and we believe it will become a valuable resource for metro Detroit businesses,” said Mr. Costakis .“Because of its central location in southeast Michigan, the new facility is in an ideal location for customers throughout the region, enabling them to take advantage of all our technology offerings closer to home,” Mr. Costakis told the Oakland Press.

Microsoft Technology Center

“We can do things at the high level to envision what to do with our software, we can collaborate on product designs, or even how to work from home,” he said.  “At the same time, we have a large partner ecosystem with companies such as HP, EDS, and Siemens. We can help our customers make connections as well.” Costakis explains “In Chicago, for example, where we’ve been there for a long time, it’s constantly booked.” Microsoft said its lease of the space began on August 1st.  the opening of the Microsoft Technology Center opening is planned for late fall.

Currently, there are eight Microsoft Technology Centers in the U.S.

Mr. Costakis would not comment on how many employees might be added for the expansion. Microsoft has 200 employees in Southfield Michigan. The software giant currently occupies approx. 40,000 square feet in the 1000 building of the Southfield Town Center office complex. The MTC will occupy space next to Microsoft’s existing Southfield office on the 19th floor of the building and occupy an extra 17,000 square feet. Microsoft has been a tenant of Southfield Town Center for 19 years

Mr. Costakis, a former automotive engineer, said it would be ideal to have a relationship with Lawrence Technological University across the Lodge Freeway.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| July 31, 2010
Comments Off on Apple Has Most Holes

Apple Has Most Holes

Apple Has Most HolesSecurity company Secunia is reporting that Apple (AAPL) software has the most security vulnerabilities. According to the recent Secunia Half Year Report 2010 (PDF) Apple has displaced Oracle as the company with the most security vulnerabilities in its software over the first half of 2010. Microsoft retains its third-place spot.

WiredApple logo points out that this does not necessarily mean that Apple’s software is the most insecure in practice. The report takes no consideration of the severity of the flaws, it points at a growing trend in the world of security flaws: the role of third-party software. Many of Apple’s flaws are not in its operating system, Mac OS X, but rather in software like Safari, QuickTime, and iTunes. Vendors like Adobe (with Flash and Adobe Reader) and Oracle (with Java) are similarly responsible for many of the flaws being reported. The top ten third-party applications, ranked by total number of reported vulnerabilities:

1. Mozilla Firefox
2. Apple Safari
3. Sun Java JRE
4. Google Chrome
5. Adobe Reader
6. Adobe Acrobat
7. Adobe Flash Player
8. Adobe AIR
9. Apple iTunes
10. Mozilla Thunderbird

Secunia logoTo illustrate this point, ars technica says the report includes cumulative figures for the number of vulnerabilities found on a Windows PC with the 50 most widely used programs. Five years ago, there were more first-party flaws (in Windows and Microsoft’s other software) than third-party. Since about 2007, the balance shifted towards third-party programs. Secunia predicts that third-party flaws will outnumber first-party flaws by two-to-one by the end of 2010.

Secunia also makes a case that effectively updating third-party software is much harder to do; because Microsoft’s Windows Update and Microsoft Update systems will offer protection for around 35% of reported vulnerabilities, patching the rest requires the use of 13 or more updating systems. Some vendors—Apple, Mozilla, and Google, for example—do have decent automatic update systems, but others require manual intervention by the user.

Steve Jobs

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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