Some 18 months after Bill Gates pledged to revamp Internet Explorer, Microsoft is ready with the final version of Internet Explorer 7. The new Web browser, which has been in testing for months, is now available for download from Microsoft’s Web site.

On the feature side, Microsoft is playing catch-up in many areas. It has added support for Web standards, RSS Web feeds and tabbed browsing. The new browser also offers protection against phishing sites–malicious Web sites designed to trick users into handing over their personal information.

Download: Internet Explorer 7
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News source: News.com

It’s official: The problem of worms and viruses is “solved”–at least according to Symantec chairman and CEO John Thompson. The more relevant security threats today are phishing and fraud, as well as organized crime’s interest in stealing and reselling personal information, Thompson says. Not that Symantec will stop cashing checks made out to it for antivirus software. But the company’s “Security 2.0″ strategy, detailed for the first time last week, tackles broader threats beyond its popular Norton PC security line, including database, E-mail, and identity-theft protection.

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News source: InformationWeek

I’ve consciously refrained from weighing in on Symantec’s mounting efforts to fight back against Microsoft with Windows Vista.

The reason? I’ve been vacillating. When I see some of Symantec’s Vista complaints, I shout out (in my head, not on the streets of New York City, mind you): “Grow up, Symantec! Find something real to complain about!” (Not a feature that Microsoft fixed in a more updated test release.)

But in the next moment, I find myself nodding in agreement with Symantec’s claims that Microsoft is a monopolizing bully that needs more Neelie Kroes to push the company around.

Symantec’s latest complaints – which company officials are detailing to anyone who will listen this week — focus again on various security elements Microsoft is embedding in Vista, including the Windows Security Center, PatchGuard and Windows Defender.

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News source: All About Microsoft