Recent Articles
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Mac OS X Spyware Sample Spotted
Anti-virus researchers have spotted the first signs of an adware/spyware program capable of launching browser windows on Apple Computer’s Mac OS X. According to a warning from F-Secure, a security vendor in Helsinki, Finland, the proof-of-concept program could be silently installed on a Mac’s User account and hooked to each application used by that account.…
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Mine! All Mine!
Welcome to the all-new Tech Directions column, now of a higher quality than ever before! I hope that all of you will enjoy the clearer, more insightful content that comes from this greatly improved column platform. Now, on to the content! Wait. Just a second. The specialized “security” software that comes with my new column…
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An Unchanging Vista
A respected PC industry innovator has made his opinion clear: “The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.” That judgment was delivered in 1996 by a fellow named Steve Jobs—who’s still involved in the business, I believe, at a company that some would call one of Microsoft’s most significant competitors. Does…
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Vista Boosts IE 7 Security Features
Although Internet Explorer 7 has been out for several weeks now, users of the Microsoft Web browser have yet to see all of its new features. That’s because the version of IE 7 included with Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system has a few capabilities that aren’t found in the version that runs on Windows XP.…
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Vista Takes Security Up a Notch
One of the advertised hallmarks of Windows Vista is security—as in Microsoft’s renewed focus on and dedication to tightening up the Windows operating system. Indeed, Vista is chock-full of new security features—including a beefed-up firewall, integrated anti-spyware functionality, BitLocker drive encryption and UAC (User Account Control)—but these features will ultimately have greater benefits for consumers.…
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Developers Must Play by Vista’s Rules
There are detailed guidelines that developers can follow to assure their compatibility with Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Vista. Many of those instructions can usefully be condensed to one simple statement: This operating system is large and in charge. PC programmers have spent two decades developing bad habits along with their clever applications. The PC’s first decade…
