Miles Associates LLC

“The public release of the exploit code increases the possibility of widespread attacks using the Internet Explorer vulnerability.  This attack is especially deadly on older systems that are running XP and Internet Explorer 6.”

via FOXNews.com – Google Hack Leaked to Internet; Security Experts Urge Vigilance.

When you’re traveling this holiday season, you can enjoy free WiFi at 47 participating airports and on every Virgin America flight. Just bring a WiFi-enabled laptop or mobile device and stay connected to family and friends for free while you travel now through January 15, 2010.

via Free WiFi – A 2009-2010 Holiday Gift from Google.

Google’s Gmail and Yahoo’s Mail were also targeted by a large-scale phishing attack, perhaps the same one that harvested at least 10,000 passwords from Microsofts Windows Live Hotmail, according to a report by the BBC.

via networkworld.com.

May 15, 2009:

A new round of Web sites hijacks is attempting to install malicious, Google-focused software on unpatched PCs, …cementing the drive-by-download approach as a bad-guy tactic of choice.

The attack, dubbed “Gumblar” by ScanSafe, starts by hijacking legitimate sites and inserting attack code. The more than 1,500 hacked sites, including Tennis.com and Variety.com, don’t represent an especially huge number, but its growing rapidly. Since last week, the attack has grown by 80 percent, according to the company, and has spiked 188 percent since yesterday.

The attack code has largely gone after PDF and Flash flaws discovered in the last year … these particular assaults can be largely neutered by making sure you have the latest versions of the Adobe software.

… The PDF attack approach is more bad news for Adobe, whose programs have become a favorite target of late.

via Gumblar Hacked Sites Install Google-Targeting Malware.  (CIO Magazine)

An interesting compilation of new types of searches…

Forbes.com – Magazine Article

There is life after Google–though the increasing number of search alternatives popping up around the U.S. are careful not to take the search giant head-on.

With three-quarters of all search traffic, Google might seem unassailable. But potential competitors are busy developing new ways of finding information and hunting down the investors they need to support them. Last year, more than 50 new search companies raised $330 million in venture financing, according to MoneyTree.

So how are these aspiring search engines proceeding? …

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Undo Send

… Turn on Undo Send in Gmail Labs under Settings, and you’ll see a new “Undo” link on every sent mail confirmation. Click “Undo,” and we’ll grab the message before it’s sent and take you right back to compose.

By Chris O’Brien, San Jose Mercury News

How Twitter could be a threat to Google

Google’s search engine is so dominant that it’s hard to imagine how anyone could knock the Mountain View company from its pedestal. And yet if history is any guide, such reigns never last. IBM gave way to Microsoft, which now has been usurped by Google.

It could be a shift in technology. It could be a more nimble, innovative rival. But something always comes along and turns things upside-down, often emerging from a direction so surprising that the incumbent never sees it coming until it’s too late.

In this case, it’s hard to imagine a company that might post a more surprising threat to Google than Twitter. But just this scenario is suddenly generating some heated discussions around the Web.

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