Microsoft on Tuesday released a fix for the underlying code execution vulnerability affecting users of its flagship Internet Explorer browser.
As part of its monthly patching cycle, Microsoft shipped three security bulletins, all rated critical, including patches for a bug in the JView Profiler (Javaprxy.dll) that was being exploited via the IE browser.
The July batch of patches also includes fixes for serious hole in the widely deployed Microsoft Word desktop productivity program and the color management module in the Windows operating system.
While Microsoft's latest deals show it's committed to building its security muscle, some analysts say the company needs to focus on a clearer and more productive strategy.
The software maker said it was making security its top priority when it launched its Trustworthy Computing Initiative three years ago. Since then, it has overhauled its in-house development to bolster security and has put its $38 billion war chest to work. It has been buying antivirus and anti-spyware companies and other security assets--acquisitions that have been closely watched.
As anticipated, Microsoft today will release the first public beta of BizTalk Server 2006, code that includes the entire feature set of the finished product.
Microsoft plans to post registration for the beta Thursday at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, according to Steven Martin, group product manager for the business process and integration division at Microsoft.
Once users register at the site, the beta code for the next version of Microsoft's business process and Web services integration software will be sent to them in 48 hours, he says.
Good business plan, NOT!
Sun Microsystems president and COO Jonathan Schwartz on Thursday cited the company's plans to eventually offer all of its software for free as a way to build communities around its technologies.
"The net upside of that is we get more people engaged in our community," Schwartz said of Sun's plans while speaking at the AlwaysOn conference here.
Sun currently offers its Solaris operating system components freely via open source. Technologies such as Java also are downloadable at no charge.
Microsoft on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that was up 9 percent from a year ago, as earnings got a boost from a tax benefit.
The software maker said that it earned $3.7 billion, or 34 cents per share, on revenue of $10.16 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30. In the same quarter a year earlier, it posted earnings of $2.69 billion, or 25 cents per share, on revenue of $9.29 billion.
The earnings were boosted by a tax benefit that amounted to nine cents per share, but reduced by legal costs that added up to five cents a share.
This week, Microsoft began sending out beta invites for its upcoming Windows OneCare Live product, an MSN service that will provide Windows XP users with managed antivirus, antispyware, a two-way firewall, data backup and restore capabilities, and other services. According to Microsoft representatives I spoke with last week, Windows OneCare is an extension of Windows that breaks beyond the boundaries of today's PC security products.
"Windows OneCare is a subscription service that guarantees that customers will stay protected online," Dennis Bonsall, the Group Product Manager of the Microsoft Technology Care and Safety Group told me recently.
Microsoft added to its recent string of acquisitions yesterday with an agreement to buy a 160-person California company that filters, archives and secures e-mail for thousands of businesses in centralized data centers.
The proposed acquisition of FrontBridge Technologies Inc. would extend Microsoft's corporate e-mail business into the field commonly known as managed services. Microsoft says the FrontBridge services complement its Exchange Server e-mail and messaging business.
"It was very important to us to acquire a leader in this market," said Microsoft's Dave Thompson, Exchange Server Group corporate vice president.
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that its online gaming community Xbox Live had reached 2 million subscribers, doubling its size in just one year. According to the company, the service was signing up customers at the rate of about one every 30 seconds."Reaching the 2 million member milestone in such a short time speaks volumes about the depth and vibrancy of the Xbox Live community," said Robbie Bach, senior vice president of the Home and Entertainment Division and chief Xbox officer at Microsoft.
Microsoft's MSN division has begun beta testing the next release of MSN Messenger, version 7.5. The update brings a number of minor feature enhancements such as voice clips and animated conversation window backgrounds, along with interface tweaks including a redesigned sign-on screen and renamed buttons.Voice clips enable users to record short messages that can last up to 15 seconds and are then played on a contact's computer. Clips do not playback automatically; a user must select the Play button to listen. Both users must be running MSN Messenger 7.5 for the feature to work.
Microsoft has released a second beta of "Maestro," now formally known as Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005.Maestro is a server-based business performance management scorecard application that tightens integration between Office and backend software. It is branch off of Microsoft's Office Accelerator program, but dramatically increases Business Intelligence capabilities, the company says.
"Maestro helps businesses turn information into action by surfacing key business data in the Office System," said Lewis Levin, corporate vice president of Office Business Applications at Microsoft.