Ed Bott's Microsoft Report

Mozilla and Google have complained that Microsoft is competing unfairly with its decision to block their desktop browsers in Windows RT. But this isn’t 1998, and Microsoft can make a strong case in its own defense based on its own weak market share.

In 2002, after a series of widespread, high-profile, and highly embarrassing Windows-related security incidents, Bill Gates wrote his now famous “Trustworthy Computing” memo. So what’s happened in the intervening 10 years? Plenty. Take a trip with me down bad memory lane…

This week Apple rolled out a new version of Safari and announced that the update will “disable out-of-date versions of Adobe Flash Player.” Too bad the actual update doesn’t do what it promises.

Discussions of malware have their own equivalent to Godwin’s Law: As the conversation grows longer, the probability that someone will derail the discussion by arguing over the meaning of ‘virus’ approaches near-certainty.

Microsoft will restrict third-party browsers like Firefox and Chrome to the Metro sandbox in Windows 8 for ARM devices, while treating Internet Explorer 10 as an “intrinsic feature” of Windows. Mozilla and its primary backer, Google, say that’s not fair.

Microsoft just released seven security updates to fix 23 vulnerabilities in Windows and other products. In February, Apple released a massive update that covered 51 vulnerabilities and also introduced an embarrassing security flaw. The contrast is striking.

The amounts required to license digital media decoders on Windows PCs seem like chump change. But multiply those pennies times hundreds of millions of PCs, and the bill for Microsoft and its PC OEM partners could be as much as $800 million per year. Who pays, and who gets paid?

Microsoft’s decision to remove support for playing DVD movies in Windows 8 has caused some confusion. If the VLC media player can provide DVD support for free, why can’t Microsoft? For starters, Microsoft isn’t French.

New details have emerged in a massive lawsuit by Microsoft and the banking industry to take down a global botnet based on the Zeus Trojan. Ironically, the leak occurred when Google exercised its privacy policy to notify the suspects.

A new blog post from Microsoft fills in details about how Media Center will fit in Windows 8, as an extra-cost option. And it’s pretty clear that Media Center is not part of “the future of entertainment in Windows.”

In a pair of candid blog posts, a member of Oxford’s network security staff says the Flashback malware episode is the worst they’ve seen since the Blaster worm of 2003. And Apple is “making minimal effort” and “putting customers at risk.”

Malware isn’t just for Windows anymore. As the number of Macs rise, the economic incentive for criminals to build cross-platform attacks rises. And so do the stakes.

If you’re a Windows user looking for free online storage, three services stand out from the rest. Although Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive are superficially similar, there are some big differences. Here’s what to look for.

A pair of high-profile malware attacks have given Apple a crash course in security response. Based on recent actions, 70 million current Mac owners have a right to expect much more from Apple than they’re getting today.

New details about the extent of the Mac-specific Flashback malware epidemic emerged today. The Russian security firm that has been actively investigating infected Macs found older versions of OS X are more vulnerable, and many infected Macs have missed security updates.

Microsoft plugged a serious security hole in its Hotmail password reset service last week, after one report claims it was widely exploited.

Entries are closed in my Windows 8 release schedule prediction pool. Four finalists are still in the hunt, based on their accurate predictions so far. So when do these fearless prognosticators think Windows 8 will ship?

Google caused a flap this week with seemingly unfair terms of service for its new Google Drive service. But are those terms really different from the competition? I’ve gathered equivalent terms from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox, and more, so you can judge for yourself.

Google Drive looks like just another ho-hum Dropbox clone. Same feature set, same market positioning. But was it really necessary for Google to copy the outrageously unfair terms of service Dropbox published and then hastily dropped last summer?