Microsoft News Tracker

Over the weekend, there were reports of exploits appearing for the drive-by Internet Explorer security hole reported last week. Now they are cropping up in a lot of unexpected places. Brian Krebs at the Washington Post:

More than 200 Web sites — many of them belonging to legitimate businesses — have been hacked and seeded with code that tries to take advantage of a unpatched security hole in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser to install hostile code on Windows computers when users merely visit the sites.

In an update to its Security Response Web log, Microsoft security program manager Stephen Toulouse said the attacks Redmond is seeing against the IE flaw “are limited in scope for now and are being carried out by malicious Web sites.”

I have to call Microsoft out on both counts, and I think some of what I’ve uncovered so far about these attacks should make it clear that the situation is serious and getting worse by the hour.

According to a list obtained by Security Fix, hackers have infected at least 200 sites, many of which you would not normally expect to associate with such attacks (i.e., porn and pirated-software vendors). Among the victims are a regional business council in Connecticut, a couple of vacation resorts in Florida, a travel-reservation site, an online business consultancy, an insurance company, and a site featuring things to do at various cities across the country.

Many more details by following the link including reports from victims. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols asks, “Why Is Anyone Still Using Internet Explorer?” Even accounting for hyperbole, now might be a good time to try a different browser for a while.

It seems a trifle odd that Microsoft would join a group working on the OpenDocument standard since it has its own rival standard, Open XML, and consequently, the OpenDocument partisans are suspicious. Ingrid Marson explains at CNET:

Microsoft has joined a committee that has a key role in the ratification of the OpenDocument format as an international standard.

Microsoft asked to join the INCITS/V1 Technical Committee on March 15. This committee is responsible for reconciling the votes that are cast by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) over the acceptance of the OpenDocument format.

Pamela Jones, who runs legal Web site Groklaw, speculated that Microsoft may have joined the group to sabotage the ratification of ODF, hoping to give its rival standard a chance to catch up. Last year, Microsoft submitted its Office Open XML file formats to European standards body ECMA International, as a prelude to seeking ISO standardization later.

Jones’ post is here and Andy Updegrove has more. Microsoft denies any ulterior motive.

It’s nice to see that, besides the “people-ready” marketing, there’s some actual product news at Microsoft’s Convergence 2006 this week:

Microsoft Previews Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 at Convergence 2006:

Today at Convergence 2006, the Microsoft Business Solutions Group’s annual customer conference, Microsoft Corp. previewed Microsoft Dynamics™ AX 4.0, an adaptable, global business management solution.
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Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions–Axapta®) is a multilanguage, multicurrency enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that addresses intricate business scenarios involving complex collaboration within and across companies. Its core strengths in the manufacturing, supply chain management, wholesale and distribution, retail, government, and services industries are extended with Web services integration and portal technology to enable an end-to-end view of a customer’s business.

It will be available later this year.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Expands Customer Choice With New Hosting and Connector Initiatives:

At Convergence 2006, the Microsoft Business Solutions Group’s customer conference, Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM is introducing new programs for hosted CRM and real-time integration. These programs include a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional Edition for Service Providers as well as prepackaged connectors designed to give customers more choice and flexibility in the deployment of CRM technology across their businesses. These are being delivered through the Microsoft® global network of hosting and solution delivery partners:

• The Microsoft CRM team is delivering a new version of its full-suite Professional Edition that is enhanced for deployment in hosted environments. The new product will be deployed by hosting partners around the world; these partners will deliver hosted Microsoft CRM directly to end customers or through ISVs, VARs and other partners. This supports Microsoft’s goal of enabling hundreds of regional and vertical on-demand CRM businesses to develop rapidly around the world.

• The Microsoft CRM team is introducing a range of prepackaged connectors and templates for delivering real-time connections with Microsoft Dynamics ERP products as well as third-party CRM and ERP applications such as those from Siebel Systems Inc., SAP AG and Oracle Corp. These connectors will be delivered over the next 12 months, starting immediately with an updated connector to Microsoft Dynamics GP.

These programs are being delivered through Microsoft global network of hosting and solution delivery partners.

Microsoft Releases Microsoft Dynamics GP Extensions:

Today at Convergence 2006, the Microsoft Business Solutions Group’s customer conference, Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Microsoft Dynamics™ GP 9.0 Extensions, a wide range of enhancements to the Microsoft Dynamics GP enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that empower a user’s mobility, strengthen compliance tracking and reporting capabilities, increase business process functionality, and extend the standards-based tools available for developers. This broad set of offerings provides powerful tools for customers and partners and further supports Microsoft’s vision of delivering solutions that are familiar to users, fit with existing systems, fuel business productivity and enable confident decision-making.
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Microsoft Dynamics GP now provides more mobility options so users can access information relevant to their role when they need it. Among these new features is the Field Service Anywhere solution for service technicians, which can be deployed via handheld devices and synchronized with Service Call Management. Based on Microsoft® Windows Mobile®, SQL Server™ Mobile and the .NET Compact Framework, Field Service Anywhere will be deployable as a Windows Mobile version for Pocket PCs with and without phone capabilities.
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Two new pieces of functionality — audit trails and electronic signatures — when used together help ease compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Audit trails allow users to easily track, trace and report on changes made to data within the Microsoft Dynamics GP solution, including changes made to data within third-party software that resides in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

More details by following the link.

Finally, although it isn’t really product news, Microsoft is sponsoring a community web site for Dynamics users with “enhanced community infrastructure enabling RSS feeds, blogging, video blogging, “mash-ups,” collaborative participation in shared source development projects, and enhanced online discussions.” Fair warning: the marketing speak is fairly dense on this one.

BizTalk Server 2006 was “launched” last year with a promise that it would ship in 1H2006 and today was the day:

LONDON — March 27, 2006 — Following on the global launch of Visual Studio® 2005, SQL Server™ 2005 and BizTalk® Server 2006 in November, Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft® BizTalk Server 2006, Microsoft’s core business process management and application integration technology connecting employees, trading partners, processes and information. The release to manufacturing of BizTalk Server 2006 underscores Microsoft’s continued efforts to deliver extensive business process management capabilities as part of the overall Microsoft application platform.

BizTalk Server’s industry-leading installed base of more than 6,000 customers continues to grow. BizTalk Server 2006 early adopter customers include the UK supermarket chain Tesco and German-based electrical engineering and electronics company Siemens AG. In addition, over 1,100 systems integrators and 20 independent software vendors (ISVs) are building solutions and software on top of BizTalk Server 2006, including global systems integrators such as HP and Accenture and regional systems integrators and ISVs such as Sapient Corporation and Covast.

Update: Elizabeth Montalbano has more details at InfoWorld. Among other things, this release has some of the application adapters purchased last year from iWay Software.

Rob Fahey at gamesindustry.biz:

Chatter at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose is strongly suggesting that Microsoft is on the verge of signing a deal to acquire British developer Lionhead, with rival bidder Ubisoft reported to be out of the running.

Well-placed sources in the development industry claim that the two companies are in the final stages of negotiation and may announce the deal within the coming days - but Lionhead founder Peter Molyneux has flatly denied claims that further job losses could happen at the studio in the wake of the acquisition.

The latter is in reference to the fact that Lionhead hasn’t been doing too well lately. There are more details by following the link, but Microsoft was the publisher of Lionhead’s only hit game console title, Fable.