Sean Michael Kerner

UPDATED: Whether you’re running Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, there may be new reason for concern today. Both browsers are allegedly open to a number of high-risk vulnerabilities. Security researcher Michal Zalewski has alleged in a mailing list posting that fully patched versions of the top browsers contain two vulnerabilities. And to add further […]

UPDATED: Novell was the first Linux vendor to get Microsoft’s intellectual property assurance pledge. But it might not be the last. Xandros and Microsoft today announced they have entered into an agreement that, on the surface, is remarkably similar to the one forged between Microsoft and Novell last year. As part of the deal, Xandros […]

Interoperability, intellectual property and security are among the perceived barriers to adoption for open source software. With the help of one of its members, the Open Solutions Alliance is now aiming to solve all of those issues in one swoop. As part of its requirement for membership to the OSA, which launched in February to […]

Building cross-platform applications just got a bit easier with the release of Trolltech’s Qt 4.3 Qt (pronounced Cute) is perhaps best-known as the application development framework behind the open source KDE Linux desktop. It is dual-licensed under the GPL version 2 , and a commercial license from Trolltech. Qt is a C++ application development framework […]

This is it. After a year and a half of debate and derision, the final last-call draft of the cornerstone open source GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3 is out for discussion. The biggest change in the fourth and likely final draft of the GPL version 3 is that the new license will be […]

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. Mozilla has plugged a few holes in Firefox 1.5.x for what ostensibly may turn out to be the last time. The final release of Firefox 1.5.0.12 accompanies the release of Mozilla’s current standard bearer Firefox 2.0.0.4, both of which are being patched for at least five […]

Red Hat users have long been able to select the packages they want to install on their systems. The latest Fedora release improves that customization and puts Red Hat squarely in the face of custom Linux appliance builders, such as rPath, that have recently begun to challenge Red Hat’s dominance in the Linux market. Fedora […]

Accelerating network security has historically involved the development of proprietary hardware and components in order scan traffic more quickly. Network security vendor Check Point is going a different route by taking advantage of standard Intel multi-core processors in order to speed up network security scanning. The new offering is Check Point’s attempt to validate that […]

Considering how dependent Google’s success is on the underlying security of the Web, it should come as no surprise that the company has a vested interest in Web security. To that end the search giant has picked up anti-malware firm Green Border for an undisclosed sum. A Google spokesperson said the company will not disclose […]

Microsoft’s Jason Matusow is a man who knows his way around both licensing and interoperability standards. Formerly the head of Microsoft’s Shared Source initiative, Matusow now helps lead Microsoft’s standards efforts to make good on its promise of interoperability by design. But there is that pesky problem of patents, that Microsoft alleges certain Linux and […]

Reporter’s Notebook: LAS VEGAS — As a city built on excess, Las Vegas was the perfect venue for this year’s Interop. But how much of what went on in Vegas this week actually stay in Vegas? In session after session, booth after booth and briefing after briefing, I heard only one word ringing in my […]

LAS VEGAS — Decisions, decisions — especially network access control decisions (NAC). Should enterprises choose Microsoft’s NAP, Cisco’s NAC or Juniper-backed TNC for their NAC needs? And, most important, can they all get along? Panelists from Microsoft , Cisco , Juniper and McAfee  took on the question in a debate at the Interop Conference here. […]