Netscape has finished their beta of the new version 8 browser that incorporates features from both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Right now, a visit to Netscape.com in any browser but Netscape 8 results in a ad page telling you your browser is out of date and suggesting you download the new browser. Following the link provided takes you to the NS8 page.

Netscape 8 looks pretty slick, and it might be an option for companies that don’t want IE, but have some reliance on it’s rendering engine for corporate intranets. Myself, I’m quite happy sticking with Firefox, Netscape don’t have anything like Firefox extensions and those extensions are the main thing that puts Firefox ahead of the competition. The other side of the coin is that Netscape are touting the security of their new browser, when in fact the Firefox code Netscape 8 includes is out of date and contains flaws that Mozilla themselves fixed in Firefox some time ago. Update: Within hours of Netscape’s version 8 release, 8.0.1 has come out containing fixes for all the flaws in 8.0, so if you were an early adopter, you need to go and get the newer version.

In a fairly unusual turn of events, a virus author has knocked up a version of Sober worm (Sober.Q), and the main purpose of this one seems to be to spam as many people with right wing German political messages, with links usually. This comes hot on the heals of the Sober.P worm that spread all over the world last month. As always, this is a Microsoft Windows only virus, Macintosh and Linux users are totally unaffected. (however that doesn’t mean they won’t get the right wing spam emailed to them from infected Windows machines.)

Update your anti-virus pattern files and if you are concerned you are infected, then head over to Symantec and download their free sober removal tool.

For general online security tips and freebies, you might check out our list of free anti-virus/anti-spyware and related security software.

The IEBlog has confirmed speculation that Microsoft is going to release an innovative new approach to web browsing called Tabs. Tabs allow a user to have several different pages open in the same browser instance rather then requiring that a user open a new instance of IE to view another site. Oh wait. Mozilla/Firefox, Opera and Safari have had tabbed browsing for a long time now. In the case of Mozilla and Opera that time is measured in years. I like the idea of a safer more featured Internet Explorer, but I hope they don’t call it “innovative” in their marketing as they appear to be just playing catch up to keep them in the same ballgame as the other modern browsers which did not have the disadvantage of having had development stopped for several years due to lack of market share competition. When you give a product away for free with your Operating System, and that product has over 94% of market share (as IE did until Firefox started reversing the trend) you don’t have much incentive to continue development and that is what caused the stagnation of IE.

Several flaws have been revealed by software security company eEye. The new flaws allow remote compromise of Windows PC’s without much in the way of user interaction. The flaws affect Internet Explorer, Outlook and possibly other MS software running on any Microsoft Operating System from NT4 to XP and possibly Win 2003 as well. Keep your eyes peeled for Windows update patches and in the mean time be careful of the sites you visit and the email you read. An Alternative is to install Firefox 1.0.4 for web browsing and Thunderbird for e-mail as they are patched with lightning speed when flaws are found and nobody is as yet actively targeting past flaws in either. You can read eEyes upcoming advisory site for more information. Eweek have done a nice write up on the issues also.

Microsoft has announced plans to offer a paid subscription service to remove malicious software like Viruses, Worms, Trojans and Spyware from their subscribers computers as well as providing backup services and a two way firewall. The new service is to be called “Onecare” and it’s announcement has lead to a great deal of discussion. The reason for the discussion is simply because Microsoft are often the reason that new viruses are introduced. Bugs in their software allow remote exploitation of machines over the Internet (often using ActiveX technology or other flaws in Internet Explorer) and somebody decides to create a new Virus to take advantage of the new flaw to spread to other machines.

The announcement has lead to many comments along the lines of: “Wow, Microsoft have just worked out how to turn their dismal security record into a revenue stream.” and: “Microsoft really have turned their security bugs into features”. This ZDnet spoof even likens Onecare to a Mafia protection racket.

There are lots of possible repercussions of the move. Up until recently, Microsoft have had a fairly good relationship with anti-virus companies like Symantec, Trend Micro, Mcaffee and the rest. Now that Microsoft is moving onto their turf in a major way, the water might get somewhat colder. The anti-virus companies may well start looking to other Operating Systems to replace the income Microsoft is likely to take from them. They may also become part of another anti-competitive lawsuit against MS in the future. I imagine that newer versions of Windows will prompt people to subscribe to their service during the install or ‘first use’ routines, meaning they get to embed it into their Operating System to get the same competitive advantage they do with Internet Explorer.

This really shouldn’t be surprising anyone in the industry though. Microsoft has always gone after any potentially profitable industry related to their Operating System. Be it Web browsers, Instant messaging, digital music, photo and video editing, they saw the dollar signs and off they went. If you make an application that has mainstream possibilities, you can bet that sooner or later Microsoft will join the party and have a go at pushing you out, (ask Netscape for example).

One problem Microsoft have always had with their software, is that it’s a one off payment. You buy the software license and you use it. There is no ongoing revenue stream, (unless you need support that is). With this new subscription service Microsoft gets to sell you the software, and then they get to charge you an ongoing fee to keep it running properly. They have long said that subscription services were the future, it just came as a surprise to many that this is the service they are going to start the ball rolling with. My final word on the subject is that although I am extremely sceptical that a company should profit from selling buggy security flaw ridden software. If it lessens the amount of spyware/virus problems I have to fix then I’m not that fussed about it. But if any of the other anti-virus companies make a competing service, I’ll be recommending them to my clients rather then Microsoft because security software can often create new remote compromise security holes, and if there is one thing Microsoft does really well, it’s creating great remote compromise flaws, (Ms Blaster anyone?)

I’ve been watching the latest technology releases with anticipation for years now, and with the advent of hi-end gaming consoles and smart phones, PDA’s and such, there is much more then just PC’s to get excited about nowadays.

Tonight I started thinking after reading about the Xbox 360 release. Is it really innovation to essentially build a networked PC into a gaming console? By the same token is it innovation to build a PC into a tablet form? or to embed a PC into a phone? Basically all of the current innovation in these devices is simply building PC functionality into them. Should that really class as “innovation”? I suspect not. We’re now building PC’s or PC functionality into everything from watches and music players to cars. but it isn’t really innovation is it? For the most part it isn’t worthy of the raft of patents it is creating. After all, that was the whole idea behind PC’s in the first place. Multifunction programmable devices. I don’t remember any of the original specs insisting that they be shaped as a big box and have drives on the front. We are not really making smart phones for example, we’re making really small PC’s that have phone software and hardware built in (heck some even run Windows). The old Xbox was actually a low end Celeron PC with different connectors and a TV for a display. How is that really innovation? My first half decent PC was a Commodore Vic 20, which could run games and business applications and used a TV for a monitor and that came out decades ago. All this new tech gear is great and useful, but keep in mind that we are not inventing new stuff here, we’re just making PC’s into new and unusual shapes. As far as I am concerned, if a device can have software installed that add to it’s original functionality, (in essence “programmed”) and it displays an interface on a screen of some sort, then it isn’t a new device, it’s a modified PC. Hang onto that thought the next time you hear a big company touting their latest “innovation”.

According to Cnet, 10 percent of IBM’s staff already use the Open Source Firefox web browser, and IBM is going to offically back Firefox as the browser of choice for IBM staff. That accounts for an extra 300,000 users. They think it will save them money by allowing them to create extensions specific to their needs. No doubt it will also help IBM transition their staff towards Linux on the desktop, something they have alluded to several times in the past. Since Firefox looks and works the same in Windows and Linux, getting the staff to use it on Windows means they won’t need to learn a new browser when Linux time rolls around. IBM has had a dislike of Microsoft since the OS2 debacle and perhaps before, so the transition to non MS software is hardly surprising. The Cnet article goes into much more detail.