War on Error

Microsoft's free anti-virus - a friend for free or one that won't leave?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:20 GMT

Much to the AV community’s surprise (and in some cases, chagrin) Microsoft’s free-to-download Security Essentials turns out to be half decent, a step up from the ‘why would anybody bother’ mediocrity of Windows Live OneCare, which Microsoft could never make...

Windows 7 - a computing tax people are willing to pay

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:10:54 GMT

In the Internet age, operating systems are made little by little, update by update. So why the fuss about Windows 7 upgrade which comes on a DVD inside a cardboard box?Every other bit of software feels like a choice, but...

Getting Windows XP to work with fast Wi-Fi

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:32:46 GMT

The WEP encryption standard fell first in the war against wireless insecurity, discredited by simple hacks. Now, with the arrival of high-speed wireless technology in the form of 802.11n, it is WPA's turn to feel the chill of obsolescence. The...

Getting Windows XP to work with WPA2

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:32:46 GMT

The danger of the 'part-time' application

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:06:58 GMT

No application better typifies the ubiquity of ‘part-time software' than Acrobat Reader. Everyone uses it at some point, but very few use it every day. And that's where the danger starts.It's suffered a consistent flow of vulnerabilities in recent times,...

Fast Wi-Fi's little secret - you have to turn on WPA2 encryption

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:55:58 GMT

Here's what most people know about 802.11n high-speed Wi-Fi: it offers much higher throughput and signal stability over greater distances. Now the bit that hasn't yet sunk in for many: getting that throughput could mean changing the type of encryption...

Thinking of a Windows 7 upgrade? Read this first.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:47:00 GMT

Is Windows 7 a good upgrade for a recent Vista PC that is otherwise performing quite happily? The first timings are in for Windows 7's boot and shutdown performance and the figures aren't that flattering. My test was to compare...

Microsoft's 'free' anti-virus is long overdue

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:13:45 GMT

Microsoft has just thrown the anti-virus industry a problem called Microsoft Security Essentials. The problem is the incredibly obvious one - it's free.What's amazing is not that Microsoft is handing out something for free, but that it has taken them...

Microsoft's Security Essential is long overdue

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:13:45 GMT

Warning: handle USB 3.0 with care

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:35:14 GMT

USB 3.0 will turbocharge throughput speeds for external hard drives, but buyers beware. To get the best out of the new standard will probably take a SATA 3.0 hard drive.With the news from Freecom (coincidentally recently bought by giant Verbatim)...

The limits of anti-virus restated

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:52:24 GMT

The Zbot Trojan's ability to evade anti-virus engines is bothering security company Trusteer, although whether their depressing detection numbers tell us much about the effectiveness of AV is moot.The company collected data from 10,000 PCs using the ‘Rapport' browser agent...

The limits of anti-virus restated once again

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:52:24 GMT

My favourite computer store is PC World. Seriously.

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:22:57 GMT

Imagine a retail store that has falling sales, apparently isn't much loved by its customers and which analysts think will pretty soon be beaten out of existence by Internet-based rivals. Anyone want to stand up for PC World?Let's ignore the...

The perfect netbook word processor lives in a browser

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:44:10 GMT

Slow on the uptake, it took me months to work out why the world really needs online office suites, and then it hit me like a thunderbolt - netbooks.The cost, complexity and processor drain of Microsoft's Office on a humble...

Microsoft's netbook bullying

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:03:42 GMT

People with too much time on their hands have wondered what a netbook is, and now Microsoft has decided that the world should be told in no uncertain terms - S.M.A.L.L. As far as Steve Ballmer is concerned, for Windows...

Twitter's DDoS day - who did not do it

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:56:47 GMT

Internet watchers reckon that the DDoS merchants that hit Twitter et al were out to get a blogger named Cyxymu who writes about Georgian affairs. If in doubt, blame the Russians. That theory doesn't add up, or at least not...

Twitter's DDoS day - who did not do it

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:33:00 GMT

Internet watchers reckon that the DDoS merchants that hit Twitter et al were out to get a blogger named Cyxymu who writes about Georgian affairs. If in doubt, blame the Russians.

Chrome will not beat Windows. It doesn't have to

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Google hasn't gone anywhere much with its Chrome browser, so why does it fancy a crack at taking on Windows in 2010? Have they gone mad and are their pockets deep enough?

Chrome will not beat Windows. It doesn't have to

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:06:00 GMT

Google hasn't gone anywhere much with its Chrome browser, so why does it fancy a crack at taking on Windows in 2010? Have they gone mad and are their pockets deep enough? The obvious answer is that it is doing...

Bad Phorm from BT

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:51:00 GMT

Years after its founding, Phorm is still burning through money like a junior dot.com, and now the Guardian reports that the unloved UK startup has been dropped by its biggest potential customer BT.

Bad Phorm from BT

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:51:00 GMT

Years after its founding, Phorm is still burning through money like a junior dot.com, and now the Guardian reports that the unloved UK startup has been dropped by its biggest potential customer BT. It leaves the company deep in the...

Adobe shutdown shows the need to think beyond the box

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

There are signs that the end of the ‘easy years' in software might be affecting some companies more than others.

Adobe shutdown shows the need to think beyond the box

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

There are signs that the end of the ‘easy years' in software might be affecting some companies more than others. The latest to experience an embarrassing degree of suffering has been Adobe, one of the last of the old-name software...

Anti-virus for netbooks, a good idea?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:56:00 GMT

So, do netbooks need special anti-virus programs or not? We're still not sure.

Anti-virus for netbooks, a good idea?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:56:00 GMT

So, do netbooks need special anti-virus programs or not? We're still not sure. First, niche-filler Kaspersky Lab announced a special ‘netbooked' version of its suite, and this week it was the turn of the equally ambitious (and also European) Panda...