Netscape is expected to release on Thursday the final version of Netscape 8, a Web browser designed to protect users against online scams such as phishing.

Early test versions of the new browser–so-called alpha and beta releases–have been available since February. Netscape has promised that the final version, like the previous ones, will include features to better safeguard systems while people surf the Web. Netscape 8 is also expected to have a cleaner look and feel, but not to be dramatically different from the public beta released in March.

Source: ZDNet

Microsoft on Wednesday issued one of its first Microsoft Security Advisories, responding to reports of a flaw in Windows that could allow denial of service attacks.

In the advisory, Microsoft acknowledges the issue. The software giant also says that the problem was fixed with a patch it released in April and that systems running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and that Windows Server with SP1 are not vulnerable.

Source: News.com

Governor of Washington signs a a bill outlawing spyware which imposes penalties of $100,000 per violation. Spyware is broadly defined. It includes everything from changing a browser’s bookmarks or homepage settings, “Opening multiple, sequential, stand-alone advertisements in the owner or operator’s internet browser”, keystroke-logging, taking over control of the computer, modify its security settings, and even “Falsely representing that computer software has been disabled.”, “Prevent, through intentionally deceptive means, an owner or operator’s reasonable efforts to block the installation or execution of, or to disable, computer software by causing the software that the owner or operator has properly removed or disabled automatically to reinstall or reactivate on the computer.”

Source: Slashdot

Yahoo late Tuesday will introduce a test version of its instant-messaging software that promotes VoIP and the company’s new social network.

Yahoo, whose No. 2 instant-chat service, Yahoo Messenger, has an estimated 65 million users, will offer a free update during the software’s test phase. In addition to letting people send standard instant text messages, the new version is designed to make it easy to call friends free via computer, send a short text message to a mobile device, share photos and post content to a personal Web log.

Despite the bevy of enhancements, Yahoo said it focused particularly on VoIP by placing a “click to call” button front and center, by adding voice mail features and by optimizing voice connections to and from those with broadband and those with dial-up.

Source: News.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - May 18, 2005 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced Google Desktop Search for Enterprise . This free downloadable application enables companies to provide employees with the ability to search for information on their computers with the same quality experience they’ve come to expect from Google.com. Based on Google’s popular desktop search application for consumers, Google Desktop Search for Enterprise adds new enterprise-level security, configuration and deployment controls, as well as the ability to search the full text of IBM Lotus Notes messages.

“Finding information quickly in business is more than a convenience – it’s a necessity,” said Dave Girouard, general manager of Google’s enterprise business. “With the addition of Google Desktop Search for Enterprise , businesses of all sizes can offer their employees one-stop Google search for the desktop, intranet, or web.”

Through a collaborative effort between Google and IBM, the new Google Desktop Search for Enterprise provides simple, fast search across Lotus Notes messages.

“E-mail has evolved beyond messaging into a tool where people manage their activities and store critical business information,” said Ken Bisconti, vice president of Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software, IBM. “With Google Desktop Search for the Enterprise , we are giving more than 118 million Lotus Notes users greater flexibility in searching for critical business information stored on their desktop.”

Google Desktop Search for Enterprise delivers high quality search results, one-stop search, simple deployment and a series of new features designed specifically to meet the needs of corporate environments.

Microsoft is getting ready to provide an early peek at new Windows software that aims to help consumers deal with the plethora of Internet logins.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant plans to release a technical preview of the software, code-named InfoCard, by the end of May, Microsoft said. It will also include other technologies designed to make using digital identities easier and safer, Microsoft’s senior executive in charge of security, Mike Nash, said Tuesday.

InfoCard will be the most visible of Microsoft’s efforts to PC users. It is designed to provide secure storage for identity information that will be shared with online services such as Web stores.

The plans are reminiscent of Microsoft’s largely failed efforts with Passport, a single sign-on service it unveiled in 1999. InfoCard is a new attempt, one that could address the complaint many critics had with Passport, which was that people’s information was managed by Microsoft instead of by the users themselves and the businesses they dealt with.

InfoCard holds payment authorization and details in the same way that a wallet holds credit cards, according to the software maker. “It makes it supereasy for the end user to pick among their different kinds of credentials,” Shewchuk said.

With InfoCard, the online buying experience would change. When a user buys a book online, for example, the Web store would ping the user’s InfoCard application on the user’s PC for payment. The user then authorizes payment, which is routed to the applicable financial institution. The bookstore does not need to know the user’s credit card number or financial data.

Source: News.com