2010

Trend Micro's 2010 suite is sharp at the top

Trend Micro released its 2010 security products earlier this week, with three programs offering varying levels of security and service. The comparatively barebones Trend Micro Antivirus + AntiSpyware clocks in at $40, with the basic suite Trend Micro Internet Security available for $10 more and $70 for the premium Trend Micro Internet Security Pro. They all come with a full-feature 30-day trial.

There's a lot that's new in the Pro version and some of that filters down to the other editions. Users can expect to get full Windows 7 support, auto-run disabling for USB keys, gaming, and video-watching awareness … Read more

Kaspersky 2010 in pictures

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 went live this week, and we've created a slideshow to help users see what's new and what needs work in one of the leading security programs.

132: Clunkers program ends with a bang

Clunkers ends with a bang, Toyota is either smarter--or dumber--than other car companies, we'll turn you on to an unintentional collectible car, and yes, FINALLY, we take a ride in the new Camaro!

Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | RSS (audio) SHOW NOTES

• CNET review of the 2010 Camaro

• Big, bad Infiniti M56 on the way

• Aha Mobile traffic app for iPhone is, er, interesting

• CNET coverage of the TomTom iPhone app

• What does Toyota have against electric cars? (NYT)

Living with Office 2010

With Windows 7 having been finalized, I realized that my main work set-up was utterly lacking in the unfinished software department.

Clearly, that couldn't stand. So, last week, I installed the technical preview of Office 2010 on the Windows 7 machine I have been using every day. For the foreseeable future, I'll be trying to see how the new applications stack up in handling my day-to-day work.

As for my early impression, I think my colleague Rafe Needleman said it best in a tweet he wrote earlier this week, while tying out the new Office.

"I wish … Read more

Kaspersky updates security suite for 2010

UPDATED: Benchmarks provided by CNET Labs were added on Monday, August 24.

A new season of security suites is upon us, and Kaspersky has made improvements to its Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Anti-Virus programs that include changes indicative of where security software as an industry is leaning. Three new features along with expected upgrades to its antivirus engine keep Kaspersky competitive.

The full-feature suite Kaspersky Internet Security offers a complete and competitive range of security options. The new features in the 2010 edition include a behavioral-based detection system called the Urgent Detection System. The UDS utilizes the anonymous data of 10 million Kaspersky customers who choose to participate in submitting their system scans to Kaspersky's central servers for analysis. In fact, the UDS must be opted-out of--there's a check box and data collection statement to read when you install the program.

Although this might sound insidious, it's actually a smart way to leverage a huge consumer base for security purposes as long as the data remains anonymous. Symantec's Norton 2010 will contain a behavioral check, too, and what both do is look at programs installed on your computer and judge their safety based on how many people have them installed and how they behave. Among UDS's better sub-features are the ability to customize how long it takes to pass judgment on a new program and per-user configuration of the rules governing program behavior.

Even if a program has deep penetration and it starts behaving badly, Kaspersky will block it. If it's an unknown, Kaspersky will treat it skeptically, monitoring and restricting the program until it has been proven safe. The Vulnerability Scan option, available under the Scan tab, utilizes tech from Secunia to determine which programs are potential security risks because they lack recent updates or patches. For programs that may not warn you that they have a pending security update, such as Adobe Flash, having this tool baked-in could be exceptionally useful. … Read more

Microsoft: Online shift is more than even Exchange

The fact that many customers are shifting from running their own e-mail servers to getting mail as a hosted service doesn't have to spell doom for Microsoft, insists Rajesh Jha, the man who heads the Exchange business.

In an interview on Monday, Jha said that, although many see the rise of services as more of a benefit to companies like Google, he sees it as an opportunity for his business.

"I feel we will grow our share overall with the move to services," Jha said. In particular, Jha said that Microsoft has a better option for small … Read more

Barbecue companion and a NFL football game: iPhone apps of the week

Before I get to the iPhone apps of the week, I want to share with you an interesting tidbit I read over at AppleInsider regarding the long-awaited Mac tablet. It's one of those cloak-and-dagger-type stories, where an unnamed, (possibly) credible source made a mysterious phone call to an editor about new hardware from Apple. It all sounds kind of fishy to me, but the source apparently described how he had been at a meeting with Apple and had handled what looked like an iPhone (touch screen, black back panel, home button, and all), except it had a 10-inch screen. … Read more

Apple tablet may be under wraps until 2010

For all the breathless pontificating and predicting on the worst-kept secret in tech, the Apple tablet, most pundits have pointed to Apple's traditional September press event as the likely launch point for this new product.

Now, some are saying that Apple's unconfirmed September confab will be primarily about music devices, and any tablet PC will remain under wraps until sometime in 2010. According to Mac news site The Loop:

Very reliable sources familiar with the product have said speculation of the tablet being introduced during the September event are flat-out wrong. The Apple tablet, they said, would not … Read more

Can NFL 2010 for iPhone topple Madden?

NFL game fans, we feel your pain. Ever since EA locked up video game-publishing rights to consoles and PCs, Madden has become the only game in town--a monopoly on NFL gaming that eliminates free choice and, some say, removes a competitive need for change. We played the new Madden 10, and we happen to like it. Still, we miss the days when competitors such as NFL 2K5 actually existed.

But, in fact, one still does, and it's made by Gameloft. NFL 2010 (App Store link) hit the iPhone last week with relative quiet. Not only is it an NFL-licensed game, but it's a full-3D game with playbooks and complete league-accurate rosters. In case you're wondering how this happened, EA Sports doesn't own exclusive rights to NFL mobile games. In the mobile arena, competition still exists. Gameloft currently has a license to make NFL games as well, although only on phones and not for DS/PSP hardware.

EA is reportedly preparing an iPhone version of Madden, but for now, Gameloft's title is the only real-deal gridiron action on Apple's App Store. Of course, we were extremely curious as to how it would play, especially with no physical control pad. Read on for our impressions, and check out the gallery below. … Read more