Microsoft

US judge rules Microsoft must handover personal data stored abroad

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– US judge rules Microsoft must handover personal data stored abroad (RT, Aug 31, 2014):

Microsoft has been told it must handover emails stored abroad to US prosecutors by a New York court. However, the software giant says it will fight the ruling, saying that an email deserves the same privacy protection as a paper letter sent by mail.

The company says they will not release any emails to US authorities, while it appeals the ruling, made by Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the US District Court in Manhattan. She said that Microsoft must hand over information, regardless of where it was stored.

Read moreUS judge rules Microsoft must handover personal data stored abroad

China May Unveil Homegrown OS Rivals To Windows, Google And Apple

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– China may unveil homegrown OS rivals to Windows, Google and Apple (RT, Aug 25, 2014):

Following revelations of America’s National Security Agency’s global internet surveillance system, combined with a desire to enhance domestic production, China is beating a path towards unveiling its own operating systems in October.

The Chinese-made substitutes would first be introduced on desktop devices, later expanding to include smartphones and other hand-held devices, Ni Guangnan heads an official operating system development alliance established in March, Xinhau reported at the weekend.

“We hope to launch a Chinese-made desktop operating system by October supporting app stores,” Ni told the trade paper.

Read moreChina May Unveil Homegrown OS Rivals To Windows, Google And Apple

Frontrunning: July 23

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Flashback:

– This Is The Government: Your Legal Right To Redeem Your Money Market Account Has Been Denied – THE SEQUEL

– Frontrunning: July 23 (ZeroHedge, July 23, 2014):

  • Here come the gates which we predicted in 2010: SEC Is Set to Approve Money-Fund Rules (WSJ)
  • Dick’s cuts 400 jobs as golf now less popular (MW)
  • Kerry arrives in Israel, pushes for peace (Reuters) (Sure!)
  • Pay Penalty Haunts Recession Grads as U.S. Economy Mends (BBG)
  • Appeals Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings on Health-Law Subsidies (WSJ)
  • Rebel Stronghold Donetsk Holds Breath as Shellfire Mounts (BBG)
  • Business executive wins Georgia Republican runoff in U.S. Senate race (Reuters)
  • Five held in China food scandal probe, including head of Shanghai Husi Food (Reuters)
  • Jobs Hold Sway Over Yellen-Carney as Central Banks Splinter (BBG)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* Two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings on subsidies for health coverage purchased on federal insurance exchanges, clouding a major part of Obama’s health law. (http://on.wsj.com/1pb81yo)

* The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Deutsche Bank AG’s U.S. operations suffer from a litany of serious financial reporting problems that the lender has known about for years but not fixed. (http://on.wsj.com/1jUoOXe)

Read moreFrontrunning: July 23

The Marginal ‘Benefit’ Of A Terminated Microsoft Employee: $1.5 Million

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– The Marginal “Benefit” Of A Terminated Microsoft Employee: $1.5 Million (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

Since the advance reports of layoffs at Microsoft started circulating this Sunday, the giant tech company has surged over 8%. This has raised the market cap of the behemoth by almost $28 Billion. Today we get the ‘news’ that Microsoft was laying off a record 18,000 employees (more than tripled the 2009 dump of 5,900 employees).That means – for all activist investors out there looking to raise MSFT share price – a $1.5 million market cap boost for each scalp, which, in other words, is the marginal “value added” of every currently employed Microsoft worker.

20140717_MSFT

 

Microsoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected

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Microsoft

–  Microsoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

While the news was reported earlier this week, it is perhaps notable that what was once considered the leading US tech company has also succumbed to the great “jobless” US recovery (in which the US economy is somehow adding 200K+ jobs every month even as it is firing millions). Furthermore, what was supposed to be 6,000 layoffs has just tripled to 18,000, which also happens to be the largest round of layoffs in MSFT history, surpassing the previous record of 5,800 set back in 2009.

From the PR:

Read moreMicrosoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected

What Your ‘Startlingly Intimate, Voyeristic’ NSA File Looks Like

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NSA intercept 2

– What Your “Startlingly Intimate, Voyeristic” NSA File Looks Like (ZeroHedge, July 6, 2014):

A few days ago, we asked a simple rhetorical question: “Are you targeted by the NSA?”

The answer, sadly for those reading this, is very likely yes, as it was revealed that as part of the NSA’s XKeyscore program “a computer network exploitation system, as described in an NSA presentation, devoted to gathering nearly everything a user does on the internet” all it takes for a user to be flagged by America’s superspooks is to go to a website the NSA finds less than “patriotic” and that user becomes a fixture for the NSA’s tracking algos.

So assuming one is being tracked by the NSA – or as it is also known for politically correct reasons “intercepted” – as a “person of interest” or worse, just what kind of data does the NSA collect? The latest report by the WaPo titled “In NSA-intercepted data, those not targeted far outnumber the foreigners who are” sheds much needed light on just how extensive the NSA’s data collection effort is.

According to WaPo, the files on intercepted Americans “have a startlingly intimate, even voyeuristic quality. They tell stories of love and heartbreak, illicit sexual liaisons, mental-health crises, political and religious conversions, financial anxieties and disappointed hopes. The daily lives of more than 10,000 account holders who were not targeted are catalogued and recorded nevertheless.”

The Post reviewed roughly 160,000 intercepted e-mail and instant-message conversations, some of them hundreds of pages long, and 7,900 documents taken from more than 11,000 online accounts.

Read moreWhat Your ‘Startlingly Intimate, Voyeristic’ NSA File Looks Like

China ‘Sanctions’ US, Bans Use Of Windows 8 On Government Computers

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– China “Sanctions” US, Bans Use Of Windows 8 On Government Computers (ZeroHedge, May 20, 2014):

Considering the epic production and sales flop that Windows 8 has been, one probably does not need an actual sales ban from preventing anyone sane from using it let alone buying it, however in yet another symbolic step, banning its government employees from using the latest Windows operating system is precisely what China did in retaliation to yesterday’s DOJ announcement it was charging five PLA members with hacking offenses against the US. According to Reuters, this latest blow to Microsoft came when the Central Government Procurement Center issued the ban as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products. So Windows 8 lead to global warming? Who knew…

Read moreChina ‘Sanctions’ US, Bans Use Of Windows 8 On Government Computers

Microsoft Includes Windows XP Users In Internet Explorer Fix

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– Microsoft includes XP users in Internet Explorer fix (BBC News, May 2, 2014):

Microsoft has said users of its Windows XP operating system will also get the security update it has issued to fix a flaw in the Internet Explorer browser.

It issued the update on Thursday to fix a bug that let hackers gain access and user rights to computers.

Read moreMicrosoft Includes Windows XP Users In Internet Explorer Fix

Hackers Find First Post-Retirement Windows XP-Related Vulnerability

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– Hackers find first post-retirement Windows XP-related vulnerability (Computerworld, April 27, 2014):

Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 arent being exploited yet, but harbor a critical flaw

Computerworld – Microsoft on Saturday told customers that cyber-criminals are exploiting an unpatched and critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer (IE) using “drive-by” attacks.

“Microsoft is aware of limited, targeted attacks that attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11,” the company said in a security advisory.

Read moreHackers Find First Post-Retirement Windows XP-Related Vulnerability

IRS Misses Windows XP Deadline, Pays Microsoft Millions For Patches

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Related info:

– Dutch Government To Pay Microsoft ‘Millions’ To Extend Windows XP Support

– IRS Misses XP Deadline, Pays Microsoft Millions For Patches (Computerworld, April 11, 2014):

Tax collector has 58,000 PCs still running the aged XP; will spend $30M to upgrade to Windows 7

Computerworld – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) acknowledged this week that it missed the April 8 cut-off for Windows XP support, and will be paying Microsoft millions for an extra year of security patches.

Microsoft terminated Windows XP support on Tuesday when it shipped the final public patches for the nearly-13-year-old operating system. Without patches for vulnerabilities discovered in the future, XP systems will be at risk from cyber criminals who hijack the machines and plant malware on them.

Read moreIRS Misses Windows XP Deadline, Pays Microsoft Millions For Patches

Dutch Government To Pay Microsoft ‘Millions’ To Extend Windows XP Support

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– Dutch government to pay Microsoft ‘millions’ to extend XP support  (Dutch News, April 4, 2014):

The Dutch government has signed a ‘multi-million euro’ deal with Microsoft for continued support for its Windows XP systems, according to website Webwereld.

Between 34,000 and 40,000 Dutch national government civil servants are still using computers equipped with Windows XP, even though Microsoft is ending its support for the programme this month.

Read moreDutch Government To Pay Microsoft ‘Millions’ To Extend Windows XP Support

A Disaster In The Making: 95% Of ATMs Still Run Windows XP

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See also:

– Windows XP: Microsoft’s Ticking Time Bomb

– A disaster in the making: 95% of ATMs still run Windows XP (Yahoo News/BGR, Jan 17, 2014):

As we’ve mentioned multiple times, now is really the time to upgrade from Windows XP if you haven’t done so already. Even though Microsoft will extend support for its Windows XP security products through July 2015, the company has warned that “the effectiveness of antimalware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited.” Bloomberg Businessweek reports that some of the most important machines that desperately need to upgrade from Windows XP are ATMs, of which an estimated 95% still run on Microsoft’s older operating system.

Read moreA Disaster In The Making: 95% Of ATMs Still Run Windows XP

Microsoft’s Secret Battle Against The Tor Botnet – Microsoft Can ‘Remotely Remove Progams En Masse From People’s Computers’

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– Microsoft’s secret battle against the Tor botnet (The Daily Dot, Jan 16, 2014):

In August 2013, 4 million infected computers woke up and waited instructions from their master.

The pathogen was Sefnit, a nasty bit of malware that makes infected computers mine bitcoins. Once the computers woke up, they worked under the command of Ukranian and Israeli hackers named Scorpion and Dekadent. The malware communicated with the two by downloading Tor, the powerful anonymizing software, and talking over encrypted channels. It was the first time a botnet, as a collection of slave computers is called, used Tor in such a potentially powerful way.

By using an unconventional method to exploit Windows, the hackers unwittingly forced Microsoft to show a hand few knew it had: The ability to remotely remove progams en masse from people’s computers, without them even knowing it.

Read moreMicrosoft’s Secret Battle Against The Tor Botnet – Microsoft Can ‘Remotely Remove Progams En Masse From People’s Computers’

Windows XP: Microsoft’s Ticking Time Bomb

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– Windows XP: Microsoft’s ticking time bomb (PC Pro, Dec 19,2013):

Shona Ghosh examines the security threat posed by Microsoft’s decision to end support for its 12-year-old OS in April

The final deadline for Windows XP support will act as a starting pistol for hackers, as they target hundreds of millions of users on unpatched systems.

Microsoft has already granted the 12-year-old OS several stays of execution, but the firm has said it will finally end extended support on 8 April 2014 – despite the fact that XP remains the second-most popular OS, with almost a third of PCs running it.

Read moreWindows XP: Microsoft’s Ticking Time Bomb

Edward Snowden’s NOT The Story … The Fate Of The Internet Is

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– Edward Snowden’s not the story. The fate of the internet is (Guardian, July 28, 2013):

The press has lost the plot over the Snowden revelations. The fact is that the net is finished as a global network and that US firms’ cloud services cannot be trusted

Repeat after me: Edward Snowden is not the story. The story is what he has revealed about the hidden wiring of our networked world. This insight seems to have escaped most of the world’s mainstream media, for reasons that escape me but would not have surprised Evelyn Waugh, whose contempt for journalists was one of his few endearing characteristics. The obvious explanations are: incorrigible ignorance; the imperative to personalise stories; or gullibility in swallowing US government spin, which brands Snowden as a spy rather than a whistleblower.

Read moreEdward Snowden’s NOT The Story … The Fate Of The Internet Is

‘Facebook Is A Monstrous Surveillance Engine’ – ‘Mobile Phones Are Surveillance, Tracking And Listening Devices’ (RT Interview With Dr. Richard Stallman)

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– Richard Stallman: “Facebook is a Monstrous Surveillance Engine” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, July 17, 2013):

“If you want to have the possibility of some privacy someday, you’d better join the fight now, because now a bunch of other people are joining the fight. Now is the moment when you can make a difference. If you wait until the day you wish you had some privacy and only then try to do something…well, that day you will be one of a few people doing it and that won’t be enough. You’ve got to help make a critical mass when other people are doing it – and that’s now.”“We call Windows 8.1 ‘Windows PRISM Edition’ because it’s designed to require people to send data to Microsoft servers, and of course, Microsoft will hand over any of that data to the US government on request. It puts the users in PRISM.”

– Richard Stallman in the interview embedded below

If you don’t know who Richard Stallman, aka RMS is, it’s time to to get up to speed. I can’t think of a better way to do that than by watching the video interview below. He starts off explaining why he doesn’t own a mobile phone (it can continue to listen to you even when it’s turned off), and then goes on to answer almost every technology question imaginable to a layperson. Definitely worth the time.

Washington Post Releases Four New Slides From NSA’s Prism Presentation

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– Washington Post releases four new slides from NSA’s Prism presentation (Guardian, June 30, 2013):

Newly published top-secret documents detail how NSA interfaces with tech giants such as Google, Apple and Microsoft

The Washington Post has released four previously unpublished slides from the NSA’s PowerPoint presentation on Prism, the top-secret programme that collects data on foreign surveillance targets from the systems of nine participating internet companies.

The newly published top-secret documents, which the newspaper has released with some redactions, give further details of how Prism interfaces with the nine companies, which include such giants as Google, Microsoft and Apple. According to annotations to the slides by the Washington Post, the new material shows how the FBI “deploys government equipment on private company property to retrieve matching information from a participating company, such as Microsoft or Yahoo and pass it without further review to the NSA”.

Read moreWashington Post Releases Four New Slides From NSA’s Prism Presentation

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou: “We Have Over 1 Million Workers. In The Future We Will Add 1 Million Robotic Workers. Our [Human] Workers Will Then Become Technicians And Engineers.”

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– Foxconn to speed up ‘robot army’ deployment; 20,000 robots already in its factories (ITworld, June 26, 2013):

Manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group is on track with its goal to a create a “million robot army”, and already has 20,000 robotic machines in its factories, said the company’s CEO Terry Gou on Wednesday.

Workers’ wages in China are rising, and so the company’s research in robots and automation has to catch up, Gou said, while speaking at the company’s annual shareholder’s meeting in Taipei. “We have over 1 million workers. In the future we will add 1 million robotic workers,” he said. “Our [human] workers will then become technicians and engineers.”

Foxconn is the world’s largest contract electronics maker and counts Apple, Microsoft and Sony as some of its clients. Many of its largest factories are in China, where the company employs 1.2 million people, but rising are threatening to reduce company profits.

Read moreFoxconn CEO Terry Gou: “We Have Over 1 Million Workers. In The Future We Will Add 1 Million Robotic Workers. Our [Human] Workers Will Then Become Technicians And Engineers.”

Skype Provided Backdoor Access To The NSA Before Microsoft Takeover

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– Skype Provided Backdoor Access to the NSA Before Microsoft Takeover (Softpedia, June 20, 2013):

The NSA saga continues in the Redmond-based empire, this time with a new report aimed at Microsoft’s flagship VoIP platform Skype.

A report published by The New York Times and citing people who asked not to be named for obvious reasons, Skype developed its own user-monitoring system before the Microsoft acquisition in October 2011.

It appears that US intelligence agencies have insisted that local software companies must cooperate closer with the NSA, so it asked several top vendors, including Skype, to put together secret teams to develop systems that would provide them with backdoor access to users’ conversations.

Read moreSkype Provided Backdoor Access To The NSA Before Microsoft Takeover

UK’s Electronic Eavesdropping And Security Agency GCHQ Also Accesses NSA’s Secret PRISM Programme

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UK security agency GCHQ gaining information from world’s biggest internet firms through US-run Prism programme


Documents show GCHQ (above) has had access to the NSA’s Prism programme since at least June 2010. Photograph: David Goddard/Getty Images

– UK gathering secret intelligence via covert NSA operation (Guardian, June 7, 2013):

The UK’s electronic eavesdropping and security agency, GCHQ, has been secretly gathering intelligence from the world’s biggest internet companies through a covertly run operation set up by America’s top spy agency, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.

The documents show that GCHQ, based in Cheltenham, has had access to the system since at least June 2010, and generated 197 intelligence reports from it last year.

The US-run programme, called Prism, would appear to allow GCHQ to circumvent the formal legal process required to seek personal material such as emails, photos and videos from an internet company based outside the UK.

Read moreUK’s Electronic Eavesdropping And Security Agency GCHQ Also Accesses NSA’s Secret PRISM Programme

Microsoft Avoids Paying £159 MILLION In UK Corporation Tax EVERY YEAR

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– Microsoft avoids paying £159MILLION in corporation tax EVERY YEAR using Luxembourg tax loophole (Daily Mail, Dec 10, 2012):

  • Microsoft avoids UK corporation tax on £1.7billion a year in UK revenue
  • Along with other major companies, uses Luxembourg office to legally dodge tax
  • Tech giant claims it ‘fulfills all tax obligations’
  • Tax activist blast the company as ‘withholding money from the people who need it’

    • Microsoft pays no tax on £1.7billion of online sales in the UK thanks to a legal loophole, it has been reported.

    The technology monolith is funnelling cash generated by online sales of Windows 8 software to Luxembourg to sidestep tax obligations, according to The Sunday Times.

    Read moreMicrosoft Avoids Paying £159 MILLION In UK Corporation Tax EVERY YEAR

    UK: National ‘Virtual ID Card’ Scheme Set For Launch

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    – National ‘virtual ID card’ scheme set for launch (Is there anything that could possibly go wrong?) (Independent, Oct 4, 2012):

    Central online identity scheme ‘will be a target for criminals’

    The Government will announce details this month of a controversial national identity scheme which will allow people to use their mobile phones and social media profiles as official identification documents for accessing public services.

    People wishing to apply for services ranging from tax credits to fishing licences and passports will be asked to choose from a list of familiar online log-ins, including those they already use on social media sites, banks, and large retailers such as supermarkets, to prove their identity.

    Once they have logged in correctly by computer or mobile phone, the site will send a message to the government agency authenticating that user’s identity.

    The Cabinet Office is understood to have held discussions with the Post Office, high street banks, mobile phone companies and technology giants ranging from Facebook and Microsoft to Google, PayPal and BT.

    Ministers are anxious that the identity programme is not denounced as a “Big Brother” national ID card by the back door, which is why data will not be kept centrally by any government department. Indeed, it is hoped the Identity Assurance Programme, which is being led by the Cabinet Office, will mean the end to any prospect of a physical national ID card being introduced in the UK.

    Read moreUK: National ‘Virtual ID Card’ Scheme Set For Launch

    10 Most Profitable U.S. Companies Paid 9% In Federal Income Taxes

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    – 10 Most Profitable U.S. Companies Paid 9% in Federal Income Taxes (AllGov, Aug 18, 2012):

    The largest corporations in the U.S., consisting of oil, retail, banking and technology giants, paid an average of only 9% of their earnings in income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service last year.

    According to the tax code, companies are supposed to pay 35% income tax. But NerdWallet determined that the top 10 came nowhere near that.

    Exxon Mobil, the country’s biggest business, made more than $73 billion in 2011, but paid only $1.5 billion to the IRS.

    The second largest company, Chevron, paid $1.9 billion in taxes after collecting $47.6 billion in revenue.

    No. 3 on the list, Apple, made $34.2 billion. It paid $3.9 billion to the IRS.

    These were followed by:

    Read more10 Most Profitable U.S. Companies Paid 9% In Federal Income Taxes