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Filed under: Internet, Windows, Microsoft

IE7 among tomorrow's Windows Updates

IE7 to ship tomorrow?Tomorrow is Patch Tuesday at Microsoft, and the Washington Post's Brian Krebs says it's likely that among the patches we'll see tomorrow will be Internet Explorer 7. That would mean that everybody who has Windows Update set to automatically install patches will reboot to find a brand new IE on their desktop. Microsoft has declined to comment, but has confirmed that IE7 would be shipping this month. Patch Tuesday seems like the obvious opportunity. Krebs also says that one of IE7's most-touted features, its security "containment wall," won't be present in the Windows XP version of the browser.

Filed under: Internet, Security

Phishing, fighting it, and Netcraft's toolbar

nEtcraft's anti-phishingBrian Krebs of the Washington Post writes about how Banks and other financial institutions are stopping phishers by disallowing the use of their logo and website images via a white-listing technology for outgoing image links. This forces phishers to actually do some work if they want to duplicate the website, since the bank swaps the real images with a fraud warning image. The phishing site thinks it has displayed the image, but it has been duped into using an image that alerts consumers not to use the site. Pretty smart of banks, don't you think? Brian also mentions Netcraft's anti-phishing toolbar, and its near-flawless detection of phishing sites. Personally, I haven't used it, but wanted to see if you had heard of it, and if it is any good. Brian seems to think so.

Is Windows Media Player 11 an iTunes-killer?

Windows Media Player 11 betaWith little fanfare Microsoft released Windows Media Player 11 in beta form last week coupled with Urge, the music service from Microsoft and MTV designed to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store. WMP11 is a sort of preview of what we can expect to see next year in Windows Vista, and the question that seems to be on everyone's minds is whether Microsoft can finally best Apple's rock-solid player and service. According to the Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro, at least, the answer is no. His article can be summed up by its title, "New Media Player: Nice Features, but It's No iTunes." Pegoraro says that WMP11 has a cleaner interface that represents "a smart, creative way to organize a digital music library" and catches up with iTunes in a number of respects, like its ever-present live search box and easy CD burning functionality. Its album artwork downloader, however, is bewilderingly inept. Pegoraro's review of Urge, which has both a la cart ($0.99/song, $9.99/per album) and subscription (rent your music for $9.99 a month) options, is less favorable, saying, "Not only has MTV failed to match iTunes, it has repeated some of the worst mistakes of earlier iTunes challengers." He criticizes the service's lack of extras like lyrics and bonus videos, irritating search behaviors, and the lack of iPod support that has become a cliché among iTunes' competitors. Head over to the Washington Post for the full review or Microsoft's web site if to bite the bullet and try Windows Media Player 11 out yourself.

Filed under: Web services, Google

Google cashing in on typosquatters cashing in on AdSense

GoogleThe Washington Post is running an interesting article about typosquatting, i.e. running a web site with an address similar to a legitimate site (e.g. "bistbuy.com") solely for the purpose of filling it with ads, and how not only the squatters, but also Google, are making a killing on it. Unsurprisingly, many of the ads on typo domains are served by Google's AdSense, and Google is making millions from them. In its defense, Google says it will suspend the AdSense accounts for a domain if a copyright owner complains that it is "confusingly similar."

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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