A vulnerability in Solaris puts systems running the Sun Microsystems operating system at risk of being taken over by an attacker, experts warned late Monday.
A buffer overflow flaw lies in Sun's implementation of the X Windows Font Service (XFS), which serves font files to clients and runs by default on all versions of Solaris, according to advisories issued by Internet Security Systems (ISS) and the Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center (CERT/CC).
By formulating a specific XFS query, remote attackers can either crash the service or run arbitrary code with the privileges of the "nobody user." This privilege level is limited and similar to a normal user. However, after gaining access an attacker could use privilege escalation flaws to attain root status, the highest privilege level, ISS said.
Customers wanting to upgrade to the upcoming Microsoft Jupiter software suite from one of its component applications will be able to do so for no charge, Microsoft confirmed this week. Jupiter, which will integrate technologies now found in BizTalk Server, Content Management Server and Commerce Server, is slated to ship in phases starting late next year. When Jupiter was formally unveiled at the MEC 2002 conference in October, Microsoft executives would not comment on pricing except to say it would be an "easy upgrade" from the component server pieces.
The first Jupiter iteration, due in the second half of 2003, promises support for XML Web Services, workflow and BPEL (Business Process Execution Language). The second release, due in 2004, is slated to add site analytics, campaign management, catalog management, content management and personalization, Microsoft executives said in October.
Nearly a month has passed since the announcement of the Siebel-Microsoft alliance shook the CRM landscape. Still, the deal's strategic underpinnings and eventual impact remain unclear. The winner in the deal, of course, is Microsoft.
For the first time, Microsoft's much-ballyhooed .NET technology received a real endorsement from a giant software developer. And not just anyone, but the leading CRM vendor. Indeed, CRM is arguably the hottest enterprise software in the tech sector today; CRM could be .NET's killer application, says Pombriant. The partnership also brings some validity to .NET as an enterprise platform. "It's pretty clear where I sit that very few enterprise CRM vendors are capable of giving Siebel a run for their money," Pombriant told CRMDaily.com.
With the antitrust suit basically over, Microsoft is again an aggressive--and public--innovator. This company clearly intends to keep leading the way toward new uses for computers and technology. Some of these newly announced innovations will probably fail. But despite the fact that each one costs many millions to develop, rest assured that Microsoft will keep tossing out ideas to see if they catch on.
Gates announced a new way to print documents that will be especially useful when you're away from the office. It's a service due to launch in the middle of next year called "File Print Kinko's." When you go to print a document, besides the conventional printer options, you'll get the choice to enter your location and see a list of nearby Kinko's. You can choose one, enter credit card information, and the file will be printed there, in any volume. This may be a godsend to business travelers doing big jobs away from their normal office equipment. It's also an early example of the kinds of services that Microsoft's .Net strategy will make possible.
Microsoft this week is updating its solution bundle for building and maintaining corporate intranets. Microsoft Solution for Intranets 1.5, available starting Monday, adds Microsoft Producer, which easily posts PowerPoint slides complete with multimedia flourishes to intranet sites. It also boasts tighter integration with Content Management Server 2002 and embeds the Microsoft .Net framework, said Nancy Jensen, SharePoint group product manager. The first release shipped last year. The software bundle includes Sharepoint Portal Server, SharePoint Team Services, Office and Windows Media integration along with "glue code" to integrate them, Microsoft said.
Microsoft Corp and BT Group said on Monday they will jointly promote high-speed Internet access built around Microsoft's new MSN 8 Web browser. The deal enlists the software giant's first major European distributor for MSN 8, a subscription-based product with enhanced Web browsing features. Microsoft is hoping that MSN 8 will bring its loss-making Internet business unit into the black.
In teaming with one of the Web's most popular brands, BT hopes to kickstart its broadband business, seen as a major growth engine for Britain's dominant fixed-line telecoms operator. Judy Gibbons, vice president for MSN in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the companies will spend $4 million to promote MSN 8-enhanced broadband services. Ads will target the early adopter crowd, a group traditionally willing to pay up for high-end features.
Microsoft really, really wants to be loved by corporate IT. There is no doubt about that whatsoever. Not just for its desktops, its productivity tools, or the ubiquity of Exchange-on-2000. It wants to be part of the infrastructure. Product announcements include .Net Server and Titanium, next year's Exchange server. Between them these aim to do things from making it easier to build Active Directory structures that reflect the corporate map, to dealing with the issues of server consolidation.
"If you run fewer servers, applications will have to coexist on the same server," said Joseph Reger, chief technical officer of Fujitsu Siemens. "We see Microsoft putting a lot of effort there." Visitors I spoke to agreed that Microsoft is addressing the right questions--mostly those visitors are IT staff, not directors, but their opinions will count.
Microsoft's new SMB licensing option and new channel model, which recasts the role of midsize resellers as agents, received mixed reactions from channel partners. Last week, the software giant began briefing partners about a new SMB licensing option, called Open Value, that allows SMB customers to purchase a companywide license and spread out payments over a three-year term. The current program is a two-year program and requires up-front payments.
The program, which Microsoft has been mulling for more than a year, is similar to the Enterprise Agreement (EA) option offered to large accounts. Microsoft currently offers Open Business and Open Volume deals to SMB customers. With the Open Value option, however, SMB customers with up to 750 seats can enjoy the benefits of annuity payments, software savings and upgrade rights via Software Assurance, Microsoft said.
Microsoft is working to get its planned digital rights management (DRM) server into beta next summer and out the door by the end of 2003, company sources confirmed last week. The server, code-named Tungsten, is being handled by the Business and Productivity Services unit, which typically is responsible for client-focused software including Office and the newly announced OneNote (see related story page 10), although it also has responsibility for SharePoint Portal Server. The bulk of Microsoft's server software, including Content Management Server, Commerce Server and BizTalk Server, is handled by the .Net Enterprise Server group.
Former Microsoft general counsel Bill Neukom yesterday reflected on a 23-year legal career at the Redmond software company, discussing everything from his role in the landmark antitrust trial -- "a very gratifying end result" -- to his trademark bow tie -- "more of you ought to try it, women too." In a hour-long discussion at the CityClub yesterday, Neukom -- who joined Microsoft Corp. as a legal consultant in 1979 and retired this year -- candidly described the ups and downs as the top lawyer at the world's most powerful software company. As Microsoft's general counsel during the four-year legal fight with the U.S. government, Neukom was often criticized for his tactics.