explorer

Microsoft offers up a bounty for finding bugs in beta

Microsoft on Wednesday announced it will launch a "bug bounty" program, designed to stamp out security vulnerabilities in its software before and after its products are launched.

The software giant has previously offered as much as $250,000 for security vulnerabilities disclosed as part of its BlueHat prize during contests, but the company had yet to offer a long-term, ongoing bug bounty program to encourage researchers to find flaws in its products.

"This is the smartest thing we can do," Katie Moussouris, senior security strategist lead at Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), told ZDNet on the … Read more

Google sharpens ax for Chrome Frame

Google's controversial Chrome Frame, a secure Internet Explorer plug-in that fought to bring the modern Web to legacy versions of Internet Explorer, will soon be going the way of Reader, Wave, and other Google projects not deemed worthy of a future.

Chrome engineer Robert Shield wrote in a blog post on Thursday that Chrome Frame had outlived its usefulness. Basically, it wasn't being used. Google said that its lack of appeal was because the use of browsers that support modern Web site technology has advanced far enough beyond where it was in 2009, when Chrome Frame launched.

Gary … Read more

Review: Tablacus Explorer brings much-needed tabs to your file menu

Tablacus Explorer offers a stylish, useful way to look at your files and doesn't have many drawbacks. It simply adds new features to the layout you're used to in order to make finding your files as easy and convenient as possible. You'll wish it was the default in Windows so you could use it all of the time.

This download borrows heavily from the default file explorer in Windows, but makes some much-needed changes. The most obvious of which are tabs, so you don't need to have a dozen explorer windows open at once. Thanks to … Read more

Episode 38: Google's ChromeBook Pixel gets the ultimate road test

This week's episode kicks off with our first ever unboxing performed in a motorcycle club. Yep, we went down to Piston and Chain in San Francisco to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. The 8-inch tablet sure is pretty, but with a hefty price tag it will have a tough battle against its strongest competitor, the iPad Mini. However, the Note 8 should expect a road test from the Always On crew in the very near future.

Next up, the Google ChromeBook Pixel endures a grueling, three person road test. Molly couldn't contain herself when … Read more

IE piggybacks on Everest celebration to showcase new browser tech

There's much more to climbing Mount Everest than the trek to the summit, mountaineer David Breashears would tell you.

To help emphasize that point, the filmmaker and explorer has teamed up with Microsoft to build an interactive examination of the mountain and the Greater Himalaya region, which have enthralled imaginations since Edmund Hillary made his successful ascent of the Everest summit 75 years ago this week.

Everest: Rivers of Ice is a new Web site open to the public on Tuesday night built in HTML5 and CSS3 for touch screens. Created by the Internet Explorer 10 team, Microsoft Research, … Read more

Streaming radio with flexibility

Watch out, Pandora. Google's new Google Music "all access" subscription service just painted a target on your back.

Launched at Google's annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco, the $9.99-per-month Google Music All Access adds new streaming options in the form of radio algorithms and curated playlists, on top of the existing (free) Google Music app.

This puts Google in direct competition with other popular streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, Slacker Radio, and -- if the rumors are correct -- Apple, if the company's talks with music labels lead to its own … Read more

Three essential security add-ons for Firefox, Chrome, and IE

If you ask people what they like least about the Internet, the three items at the top of their list of complaints will likely be trackers, ads, and viruses.

While you may not be able to eliminate these and other Web nuisances, you can minimize their effect on your browsing via three free add-ons for Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer: Ghostery, Adblock Plus, and Web of Trust. (Note that Adblock Plus is not available for IE; blocking ads in Internet Explorer 10 is accomplished by using the program's Tracking Protection feature, as explained below.)

Do-it-yourself do not track … Read more

Review: Learn the keyboard with your children using the Keyboard Explore app for iPad

Typing is a skill that many of us take for granted, but for growing children, it is important that they become proficient in word processing as early as possible. So much so that there are numerous apps now available to help children as young as three years old learn how to use a keyboard, even on the iPad. Keyboard Explore is a very easy-to-use app, providing a limited number of features, but it presents them well and is quick and responsive. It's a useful tool when helping a young child learn how to type.

The app starts by asking … Read more

Everything you need to know about Google Glass (FAQ)

You've scanned the headlines, gawked at the photos, and guffawed at the "Saturday Night Live" video (also embedded at the end). But you still have questions about Google Glass, the Big G's futuristic new techie facewear.

This FAQ tackles some of your most-often-asked questions about what Google Glass is and isn't, what it does, who it's for, when and where you can buy it, and what it's like to wear and use. I break questions into overarching sections to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for, and this … Read more

How to improve security in Firefox, Chrome, and IE

Like their counterparts in the real world, computer criminals are always looking for vulnerabilities they can exploit. Instead of an open window or unattended wallet, malware purveyors watch for holes in software that allow them to install their spying and stealing payloads onto the computers of unsuspecting users.

As the most recent Volume 14 of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report indicates, browsers have become the favorite target of computer crooks. In the last quarter of 2012, JavaScript and HTML were the most likely source of computer infections, according to statistics gleaned by the company from its Malicious Software Removal Tool.… Read more