Stories by Gregg Keizer

Microsoft will block users running counterfeit copies of Windows from installing the free Security Essentials antivirus software, the head of the company's anti-piracy group said yesterday.

Although one of the top consumer security vendors welcomed Microsoft's Security Essentials to the market, another dismissed the new free software as a "poor product" that will "never be up to snuff."

Mozilla executives today took shots at Google for pitching its Chrome Frame plug-in as a solution to Internet Explorer's poor performance, with one arguing that Google's move will result in "browser soup."

Google has hit back at Microsoft, defending the security of its new Chrome Frame plug-in and claiming that the software actually makes Internet Explorer (IE) safer and more secure.

A federal appeals court today heard arguments in a patent infringement case involving Word that required Microsoft to pay nearly US$300 million in damages and barred the company from selling the software starting Oct. 10.

Mozilla plans to "ribbonize" Firefox for Windows Vista and Windows 7 to reduce clutter and free up space for the browser display, according to company planning documents.

Apple Update will launch a tablet-style device sporting a 9.6-inch display in February 2010, according to sources cited by a Taiwanese Web publication today.

Less than two weeks after Apple launched Snow Leopard, the company today issued the new operating system's first security update. In a separate upgrade, Apple patched 33 vulnerabilities in 2007's Leopard, and about half as many in the even older Tiger.

Mozilla on Wednesday patched 10 security vulnerabilities in Firefox 3.5, all but one ranked critical, as it delivered the first update that automatically checks for outdated versions of the popular Flash Player plug-in.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at his company's iPod event today, the first time he has appeared in public since October 2008.

Microsoft took the unusual step today and skipped patching one of the vulnerabilities addressed in its monthly security update, saying that crafting a fix was "infeasible."

Microsoft late Tuesday confirmed that a bug in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and the release candidates of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, could be used to hijack PCs.

Microsoft will force an upgrade on users of its Windows Live Messenger instant messaging software in September to plug a hole the company introduced when a programmer added an extra character to a code library.

Microsoft yesterday said it is working on a patch for a bug in its popular Web server software, but it's unlikely the company will field a fix fast enough to make next week's regular release, a security expert predicted.

As promised more than a month ago, Microsoft began pushing Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) to enterprises yesterday via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).