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Mozilla looks to summit 'Kilimanjaro' for project unity

Posted by Harshad

Mozilla looks to summit 'Kilimanjaro' for project unity


Mozilla looks to summit 'Kilimanjaro' for project unity

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 05:13 PM PDT

A demonstration of B2G (Boot to Gecko) at Mobile World Congress shows that Mozilla's browser-based mobile OS can send and receive text messages. It also can send and receive calls, play games, and be used to read e-books.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

It's been a busy year at the home of Firefox, as Mozilla went public with major developments meant to change the Web, but it's about to get much busier as it looks to make those initiatives a reality. A key step forward will be to unify its development schedules under a project named Kilimanjaro.

Oh, and it wants to have Kilimanjaro bagged by September of this year. The related bugs blocking Kilimanjaro have all been marked as "highest priority."

Damon Sicore, vice president of engineering at Mozilla, explained in a forum post that Kilimanjaro is about providing a high-level direction to solving problems that affect more than one of its products.

To explain to its developers what this means, Kilimanjaro identifies four scenarios involving people and Mozilla products.

  • Existing Firefox users: Jim upgrades to a new version of (desktop) Firefox and gets intr... [Read more]
  • Google Drive for Android is a beefier Google Docs app

    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:51 PM PDT

    If you haven't noticed, Google Docs for Android has just morphed into Google Drive. Or perhaps more accurately, it has been sucked up by the brand-new file-syncing and file-sharing app. This means that not only does it give you access to all of your old Docs, it also lets you access and store any kind of file in your cloud-enabled Google Drive account.

    Similar to the experience on the Web, Google Drive for Android opens up to a main navigation panel, from which you can see a list of all your files (My Drive), files that have been shared with you, starred files, recently modified files, or offline files. There's also a button at the top of the screen that lets you create new documents or spreadsheets, or upload a file to be stored on your Drive.

    (Credit: Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET)

    Next to each item in your list, there's a tiny arrow icon that brings up options like Share, Rename, Delete, and Send. This should feel familiar to anyone who previously used the Google Docs app. There's also an option to make files available offline, which is a godsend when traveling to areas with questionable data coverage.

    Just as it was in Google Docs, file editing with the Google Drive app is pretty basic. The Documents editor offers a few alignment options, lists, Bold, Italic, and Underline, as well as a ... [Read more]

    Microsoft releases fixed Office 2011 SP2 update

    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:15 PM PDT

    Microsoft has released a fixed version of its Service Pack 2 update for Office 2011. The update was originally on April 12 and offered a number of improvements for Microsoft's Outlook e-mail client; however, soon after its release a number of people found that the update had caused corruption in their identity databases. This resulted in the suite's programs not opening correctly.

    Microsoft initially addressed this problem by issuing instructions that users could follow to prepare their identities for the upgrade, or restore their identities if they had been corrupted after the upgrade; however, these did not help all people affected by the bug, and Microsoft subsequently removed this update from its AutoUpdate servers.

    Today Microsoft made a new version of the update available, which should upgrade Office installations without adversely affecting users' identities. Microsoft states in a blog posting that this latest update is targeted for those who have not yet installed the SP2 update, but recommends that everyone install it to ensure their installations are at the latest version.

    The update should be available for Office users via Microsoft's AutoUpdate utility, but also can be downloaded from ... [Read more]

    Renewed efforts to revert DNSChanger in effect

    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 02:40 PM PDT

    One of the more widespread malware attacks that has affected Macs, Windows-based PC systems, and even network hardware such as routers is the DNSChanger Trojan, which has also been known as "RSPlug," "Puper," and "Jahlav."

    This Trojan was first discovered in 2007, and was able to infect millions of PC systems worldwide. It remained active until 2011 when an FBI sting called Operation Ghost Click resulted in the arrest of an Estonian crime ring and seizure of the rogue DNS network used to maintain the attack.

    The DNSChanger malware worked by setting up a background process in an affected computer that changed the user's DNS server settings to the rogue DNS network, which was then used by hackers to redirect valid URLs to malicious Web sites. These sites tricked people into giving up personal information, and in the roughly three years in which it was active, the crime ring raked in about $14 million in stolen funds.

    After the FBI seizure, it was apparent the rogue DNS servers could not simply be shut down. The DNS system is known as the Internet's phone book, which translates URLs such as "http://www.cnet.com" to the IP address for the server hosting the Web site. This is not only true for Web sites, but also for any other Internet-based service being used, including servers for e-mail, backups, synchronization, chat programs, and calendars.

    ... [Read more]

    Facebook inks deal with McAfee, Symantec, others for free antivirus

    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:37 AM PDT

    A look at Facebook's Antivirus Marketplace.

    (Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

    Facebook has inked a rather interesting deal with several security vendors.

    The social network said today that it has launched the Antivirus Marketplace, a place on its security page where users can download anti-malware software from McAfee, Norton, Sophos, Trend Micro, and Microsoft for free. The software, which includes Norton AntiVirus, Trend Micro Internet Security, and others, can be used for free for six months to a year, depending on what a user downloads.

    In addition, Facebook said today that the five companies have agreed to hand over their URL blacklist databases to the social network. Facebook has its own blacklist, but with help from the others, it can go a long way in blocking more malicious links that might be shared on the site.

    Facebook's Antivirus Marketplace is available now to both Mac and PC users. In order to download the free software, Facebook users must be signed in to the service.

    [Read more]

    Avast ports Windows shields to Mac

    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 05:00 AM PDT

    Avast jumps into the deep end of Mac security

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    Avast will introduce the latest version of its Mac security suite as early as tomorrow, just a few weeks after Flashback, the third major OS X security scare in a year.

    The company touts an unblemished record of blocking the virulent malware as evidence that its suite is a must-have.

    Currently available from Download.com in beta, ... [Read more]

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