Yahoo

Security flaws found in Yahoo Music Jukebox

Folks who are tapping into their tunes via the Yahoo Music Jukebox music player may find themselves at risk of allowing a malicious attacker into their computer, according to a security advisory issued Monday by Secunia.

The "extremely critical" security vulnerabilities are found in Yahoo Music Jukebox version 2.2.2.056 and possibly other versions, according to Secunia. The heightened warning comes as exploit code has been made public, which could give malicious attackers a road map to follow should they want to compromise a user's computer.

According to Secunia, users who have the Yahoo Music … Read more

Microsoft and Yahoo: A marriage made in Internet heaven

Microsoft's unexpected marriage proposal to Yahoo has been the talk of the high-tech town. Who would have thought a possible geek betrothal could rival the coverage of Angelina and Brad?

And even though Microsoft has yet to get an answer from its intended partner, I've got a pretty good idea how this deal's going to go down. Here's my take on the outcome with respect to all involved parties:

Microsoft

It sucks being No. 3 in every Internet business metric--search, advertising, and properties. Microsoft is desperate to gain market share on Google. Also, it would probably be a good idea to turn a profit in its Internet business one of these days. That's the only reason Steve Ballmer's willing to take on the Yahoo mess.

Don't forget, the cost to the software behemoth means nothing. Win, lose or draw, Microsoft has nothing to lose and everything to gain.… Read more

Silicon Valley after a Microsoft/Yahoo merger: a contrarian view

This post is not about the potential Microsoft/Yahoo merger.

Instead, let's just assume for the moment that Microsoft succeeds in its bid for Yahoo.

What would a Microsoft/Yahoo merger mean for startups in Silicon Valley?

Some smart people whom I respect a great deal believe that a Microsoft/Yahoo merger would be bad for Silicon Valley startups.

Says Bill Burnham, for example: "By swallowing up Yahoo, Microsoft will be removing one of the biggest and most active acquirors of start-ups in Silicon Valley... [making] M&A less competitive in general and [reducing] the # of potential exits... [which is] bad news for Internet [startups] and their VC backers anyway you look at it."

I respectfully disagree;… Read more

Yahoo, Microsoft, and drowning puppies

On a radio program this morning about the possible Microsoft/Yahoo merger, CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos argued that one of Yahoo's problems has been its inability to kill off unsuccessful properties.

Citing Google as a counter-example, he discussed how Google has been able to pull out of less-than-successful businesses, such as its own social-networking tool and Google Video. (I would throw Froogle onto the list as well.)

To be fair to Yahoo, it recently yanked Yahoo photos in favor of Flickr, and just announced it is dropping its music service and transferring subscribers to Rhapsody.

But it'… Read more

Microsoft bid is better than stagnating, say Yahoo insiders

Sometimes change--any change--is good.

For a company hobbled by cultural and management problems, a $44.6 billion hostile takeover bid from Microsoft may be just the kick in the pants Yahoo needs to rejoin the fight against Google--and potentially Microsoft.

That's at least some of the sentiment inside Yahoo in the days following Microsoft's unsolicited buyout offer. Many Yahoo employees don't want to join Microsoft's workforce, but they see the bid as a catalyst for change, one way or another. As a result, the mood is surprisingly buoyant and business as usual among some Yahoo executives, … Read more

Yahoo IM affected by ActiveX vulnerabilities

On the heels of ActiveX vulnerabilities in the image uploading tools for Facebook and MySpace.com, researchers warned Monday that Yahoo Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger are vulnerable to ActiveX-based attacks.

Researcher Elazar Broad has disclosed a Boundary Condition vulnerability within mediagrid.dll, version 2.2.2 56. Researchers Krystian Kloskowski and Broad have disclosed a second Boundary Condition vulnerability within datagrid.dll, version 2.2.2 56c. And Kloskowski alone has disclosed a buffer overflow within datagrid.dll 2.2.2 56, which affects the AddImage function.

The three vulnerabilities are present within Yahoo Instant Messenger version 3.5 … Read more

Microsoft plans new Windows Live, Live search releases

Microsoft is planning a new release this spring of its Live search product, code-named Rome.

That tidbit was mentioned Friday as part of the software giant's employee Webcast to discuss the Yahoo bid. Microsoft filed a transcript of the employee meeting on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is just the first of many product tidbits one can expect as part of the regulatory filings being made in conjunction with the offer.

Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't share much on what can be expected with Rome. Microsoft updated its search product last September, although the company has continued … Read more

Update: Yahoo kills Yahoo Music

On Friday, I pondered if Microsoft would kill Yahoo Music. Now, it looks like Microsoft won't have to bother: this morning, Yahoo announced an agreement with RealNetworks to transfer all Yahoo Music subscription customers to Real's Rhapsody service. In all likelihood, this deal was well underway before the Microsoft announcement--Yahoo's been rumored to be considering a free service for several weeks now--but the timing certainly makes it look like Yahoo's accelerating its cuts. And it appears that Rhapsody's the default partner of choice for companies that want to cut their digital music ties with Microsoft--recall … Read more

Instead of complaining, Google should make bid for Yahoo

After Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo last week, everyone was waiting on bated breath to see what Google would have to say about it.

And in typical industry fashion, the company currently on the wrong side of a major deal has come out in protest.

In a statement on the company's website, Google's Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond indicated that his company is not all pleased with Microsoft's bid.

"Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another," he wrote. "It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation."

Please. By trying to take the "high road", Google sounded petty and made itself look foolish. And if the company really wanted to do something about it, it should stop complaining and make a bid for Yahoo.… Read more