Microsoft settles up

Microsoft has settled two further class-action law suits brought by consumers in Columbia and Kansas for violating state anti-trust laws. Both settlements have been given preliminary approval and take the form of vouchers for hardware and software vouchers. Microsoft will keep half the value of any unclaimed vouchers and donate the remaining half to needy schools in the respective states. ...more

Clunky-B exploits unpatched IE vuln

Security companies say they have uncovered malicious software using the unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer to infect. UK security firm Sophos said today that the Clunky-B Trojan has already been implanted into some websites which will automatically download it to a system through the vulnerability, if the attacker can get someone to visit the site. Sophos' senior technology consultant Graham Cluley told us that the vulnerability, if successfully exploited, could be used to download any code or virus - so users need to ensure their antivirus software is up to date with the latest definitions. ...more

SMEs lead data and comms convergence

Nearly half of small businesses in the UK have no idea what a converged network is, according to BT's Convergence Report, despite SMEs being at the vanguard of convergence. Some 48 per cent of small businesses with staff between 20 and 100 admitted they had 'limited or no understanding of what a converged network actually is,' compared with 32 per cent of all SMEs. However, 37 per cent of all SMEs have now moved to a converged network, meaning they can conduct all their data and communications across a single platform. ...more

AOL bloated value to smooth merger

Just as the shine was coming off online advertising, AOL resorted to 'unconventional' transactions to boost confidence, and its value, at the cusp of the largest merger in US history. The Washington Post has examined hundreds of confidential AOL documents from the last two years and unearthed some interesting methods employed by the company that inched its results above expectations, while the effects of the dot-com crash were being seen everywhere else. At the time, Yahoo! reported strong advertising growth, but acknowledged that such a rate could not be maintained, causing a 21 per cent drop in its shares. ...more

Vodafone counts cost of 3G

The likes of GPRS and 3G may have been delayed, but mobile communications giant Vodafone has announced the theoretical cost of the 3G network. To set up a worldwide 3G network could cost the company up to ?10 billion and take five years to implement. Speaking today at a Vodafone teleconference, Chris Gent, chief executive of the Vodafone Group PLC, talked about the future of the company. ...more