Datamation Staff

Computerworld: According to Net Applications, use of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer fell slightly in December from 52.8 percent market share to 51.9 percent. If the trend continues, Microsoft’s browser will fall below 50 percent by March. Although other researchers say that Chrome has overtaken Firefox as the number two browser, Net Applications says that Firefox is […]

ReadWriteWeb: The week after Christmas someone launched a phishing attack attempting to steal credit card information from people signing up for a new Apple ID. Experts say the attackers timed the e-mails to target users who received new Apple products for the holidays. The malicious e-mail tells users that their Apple billing information is out […]

ZDNet: Unnamed sources tell Mary Jo Foley that Microsoft plans to add persistent virtual machine (VM) capabilities to its Windows Azure cloud computing platform sometime this year. That would give users the ability to run SQL Server or SharePoint Server or even Linux durably in VMs on Microsoft’s cloud. Azure currently supports VMs, but the […]

InformationWeek: Security researchers from Kapersky Lab say that the Stuxnet and Duqu viruses shared a common platform that could date back to 2007. The “Tilded” platform could also have been used to create other malware as well. “There were a number of projects involving programs based on the ‘Tilded’ platform throughout the period 2007-2011,” said […]

PCWorld: Hackers associated with the group Anonymous have claimed responsibility for infiltrating the systems of SpecialForces.com, a military and law enforcement equipment retailer. The hackers posted 14,000 passwords and 8,000 credit card numbers belonging to the retailer’s customers. Although the security breach reportedly occurred several months ago, the hackers decided to re-post the stolen data […]

CIO: China is in the midst of a data center construction boom, with the government supporting the development of dozens, or possibly even hundreds, of new data center facilities. And many of the facilities are extremely large, often covering 50,000 square feet or more, says IBM’s Glen Yuan. The construction boom is part of the […]

Ars Technica: Eight million people received e-mails from The New York Times that at first glance appeared to be a phishing scam or spam. The message warned recipients that their subscriptions were about to expire and offered a 50 percent discount for re-subscribing. At first, the Times denied sending the messages, and speculation swirled that […]

Reuters: Just weeks after another trademark dispute caused the company to change the name of its new operating system, RIM has been sued for trademark infringement again. BBM Canada, which measures radio and television audience data in Canada, wants the BlackBerry maker to stop using the term “BBM” to describe its products. BBM Canada’s CEO […]

ITProPortal: Thousands of routers and Wi-Fi access points could be vulnerable to a recently discovered flaw, warns US-CERT. The WiFi Protected Setup standard, which is meant to secure Inernet access, actually provides hackers with data that allows them to determine if the first half of the PIN entered was correct. That makes it easier for […]

BBC News: Google’s Andy Rubin announced in a tweet that his company activated 3.7 million Android devices over the Christmas weekend. Independent experts estimate that total iOS and Android activations for the holiday topped 6.8 million. Those who received new smartphones and tablets for the holidays apparently got busy downloading apps right away. Flurry Analytics […]

ZDNet: A new comScore report titled “It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed” holds good news for Facebook. The social networking heavyweight now accounts for one out of every seven minutes spent online and three out of four minutes spent on social networks. In addition, Facebook reached 55 […]

Cnet: Based on his own research, Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen reports that Google+ now has more than 62 million users, and it has been adding 625,000 new users per day in December. Allen predicts that Google+ will hit 100 million users on February 25, 200 million on August 3, and 293 million by the end […]