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The OEMpire strikes back

Microsoft’s best buddies are increasingly going Google.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Want to work on Bing?

Have I got an Easter Egg for you.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Adobe Reader and Flash Player updates, and Avira vs Win8

This just in from EP -

Another round of monthly security updates for Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player have been posted this May.

Adobe security bulletin APSB13-15 mentions new security patches for Adobe Reader:
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb13-15.html
while Adobe security bulletin APSB13-14 mentions new security patches for Flash Player:
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb13-14.html

As for Avira Antivirus software and Windows 8, only Avira Free Antivirus (aka. Avira
Antivir Personal) has been certified as Windows 8 compatible since early April 2013
as mentioned here:
http://www.avira.com/en/support-for-home-knowledgebase-detail/kbid/1385
the rest of their products (Avira Antivirus Premium, Avira Internet Security, etc.) have yet to receive the Windows 8 certification from Microsoft.

Windows RT’s race to the bottom

Free covers for European Surface RTs.

33% discount on Dell XPS10 Windows RT tablets.

It’s all going down, fast.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

MS-DEFCON 2: Another huge crop of patches

The Black Tuesday patches are out and, as usual, there’s no reason to install any of them immediately…

… with one exception: if you’re still using Internet Explorer 8, you should stop using it, as I explained in January. Get Firefox or Chrome (my current favorite) and stop using IE 8. If you absolutely must continue using IE 8, install MS13-038 / KB 2847204 (one of today’s patches) immediately. The hole covered by this patch was well documented weeks ago, and is now widely available.

Let’s see how this month’s patches fare. We’ve had two bad patches so far this year, and a couple that were a bit dicey.

I’m moving us up to MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.

Don’t believe the rumors about Windows 8.1 “Blue”

There’s a lot of uninformed drivel running around.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Google Chrome IQ Test

This is a fun one – especially if you use Chrome.

InfoWorld.

KB 2670838 fries Firefox fonts

Thanks to Arianna…

Our old favorite botched Windows update patch, KB 2670838, has even more tricks up its sleeve.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.