According to a report, Microsoft Corp. will be giving away free Windows 7 upgrades to people buying PCs with Windows Vista until as late as January 31 of next year. This is to encourage consumers to keep buying Windows Vista PCs, this year despite Windows 7 ‘s looming release.

The report, from the Malaysian blog TechARP.com, which has called similar details correctly in the past, is another clue that Microsoft plans to release Windows 7 before year’s end.

Citing purported confidential memos from Microsoft, TechARP.com had earlier reported that the Windows 7 Upgrade Program will begin July 1 of this year.

That would mean that any Vista PCs purchased between then and January 31, 2010 are eligible for free upgrades to Windows 7.

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via: PCWorld

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Microsoft said it has organized a global response to the Conficker (Downadup) worm to disable domains targeted by Conficker. For the fifth time, Microsoft announced a $250,000 bounty to find the source of the worm – a strategy that’s worked four times already, and most recently led to the conviction of the author of the Sasser worm back in 2005.

Called a “reward program”, Microsoft said that the bounty is based on the firm’s “recognition” that launching the code into the wild was a “criminal attack”.

“Microsoft wants to help the authorities catch the criminals responsible. Residents of any country are eligible for the reward, according to the laws of that country, because Internet viruses affect the Internet community worldwide,” the firm said in a statement. “Individuals with information about the Conficker worm should contact their international law enforcement agencies.”

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via: TG Daily

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Linksys is teaming up with Trend Micro to put the Home Network Defender internet security software into the their routers, helping to block out unsafe sites before they reach any computer on your network.

Home Network Defender previously existed as an application for PCs that more or less did the same thing. But now that it’s installed on the router, any PC connected to the network will be protected. It’s not so much software to detect and clean viruses, since that would cause a certain amount of router lag, but instead a way to filter out dangerous sites before they reach your computer. There has been talk suspecting more advanced protection software to come in the future.

The software will basically deny access to any site it deems unsafe based on a set of predetermined criteria and constantly talks to Trend Micro’s server to determine how secure a site is. You will be able to adjust the sensitivity level of the filter and/or filter out specific sites as you desire. And if there’s a site deemed unsafe you think shouldn’t be, you can notify Linksys for consideration.

Home Network Defender will first be available preloaded on new Linksys WRT310N and WRT610N routers, and also available as an upgrade for those who already own these same models. Pricing runs at $60/year (with a special $10 discount for the first 60 days) for the service and includes 4 free copies of Trend Micro’s AntiVirus software, which will keep Windows machines disease-free.

via: Gizmodo

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