Windows 7: Still Vulnerable to Viruses

Windows 7 is a valuable upgrade delivering an awesome new user interface, but don’t expect any major improvements in security.

Anti-virus software vendor Sophos tested Windows 7’s built-in anti-virus capabilities by feeding a clean system 10 pieces of the newest malware. Eight out of the 10 samples ran successfully, claims Sophos.

“Unfortunately, despite Microsoft’s claims, Windows 7 disappointed just like earlier versions of Windows,” says Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisor at Sophos, in a blog post. “The good news is that, of the freshest 10 samples that arrived, 2 would not operate correctly under Windows 7.”

Sophos’ findings aren’t surprising: Windows 7 promises backward compatibility with most software that works on older operating systems, such as Windows XP. It would be reasonable to infer most malware compatible with Windows XP or Windows Vista is likely going to harm Windows 7.

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Google Dashboard: One Service to Rule Them All

If you’ve ever wanted to see all the Google services you use — and how you’re using them — in one spot, then the new Google Dashboard is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Google Dashboard is a one-stop shop for browsing through of almost all the Google services you’re using and, by extension, shows you everything Google knows about you. The nice thing about the new dashboard is that it gives you central way to manage and control that data — change privacy settings, control sharing and limit what data Google stores about you.

Each service listed in your dashboard contains an overview of your usage and links to change any data-sharing settings, edit any associated profiles and control who can see what. For example, the Google Reader entry in the dashboard shows a summary of your feeds, starred items and followers, and includes handy links to control your sharing settings.

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Physical storage vs digital storage

Again, illustration by mozy.com. Click to see larger image.

If browsers were women

If browser were women, they would look like these.

Sauce: the Internet

Lost in the cloud

I recently stumbled upon a rather interesting insight into cloud computing in NY Times article. Jonathan Zittrain, a law professor at Harvard, share his view on correlation between cloud computing and online privacy. His points are somehow true and relevant. This is quite a long article, but nevertheless, a pretty good read.

Lost in the Cloud

EARLIER this month Google announced a new operating system called Chrome. It’s meant to transform personal computers and hand-held devices into single-purpose windows to the Web. This is part of a larger trend: Chrome moves us further away from running code and storing our information on our own PCs toward doing everything online — also known as in “the cloud” — using whatever device is at hand.

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