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Cracking Down on Botnets
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Posted by Tim Cranton
Associate General Counsel
Botnets - networks of compromised computers controlled by hackers known as “bot-herders” - have become a serious problem in cyberspace. Their proliferation has led some to worry that the botnet problem is unsolvable. Under the control of a hacker or group of hackers, botnets are often used to conduct various attacks ranging from denial of service attacks on websites, to spamming, click fraud, and distribution of new forms of malicious software.
At Microsoft, we don’t accept the idea that botnets are a fact of life. We are a founding member of the Botnet Task Force, a public-private partnership to join industry and government in the fight against bots. Given the recent spread of botnets, we are getting even more creative and aggressive in the fight against botnets and all forms of cybercrime. That’s why I’m proud to announce that through legal action and technical cooperation with industry partners, we have executed a major botnet takedown of Waledac, a large and well-known “spambot.”
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Microsoft Bolsters Efforts to Create More Opportunity for College Grads
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Posted by Fred Humphries
Managing Director, U.S. Government Affairs
Career prospects for recent college graduates got brighter today thanks to a new initiative announced in Washington, D.C.
America’s strength and future growth in the global economy rests in the next generation, and in the opportunities that will nurture their talent and lead to technological innovation. Yet recent graduates have had a tough time finding jobs.
Today, Microsoft is proud to join the Invest in America Alliance in a significant commitment to jump start the U.S. economy through job creation for this year’s college graduates. Seventeen major corporations, brought together by Intel Corporation, committed today to substantial increases in hiring goals. In total, this initiative will result in 10,500 new college graduate hires in 2010 for a range of positions.
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Surfacing Human Potential at TED 2010
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Posted by Dan’l Lewin
Corporate Vice President, Strategic & Emerging Business Development
Dan’l Lewin
This week at TED 2010 in southern California, conferees will have an opportunity to experience the power of innovation and entrepreneurship in some new and extraordinary ways at the World of Entrepreneurs tent, hosted by the Kauffman Foundation.
Among the 30 largest foundations in the United States, Kauffman focuses on advancing entrepreneurship and improving the education of children and youth – causes that we at Microsoft also totally believe in and support. So, in keeping with the spirit of TED – “Ideas Worth Spreading” – the foundation and Microsoft have used the latest technology for digital storytelling to bring to life the many stories of how we each are working to make a positive difference in the lives of people and communities around the world.
Building on the local stories in the Microsoft Local Impact Map, an online application, we added stories from the work of the Kauffman Foundation. And to put all the stories on a human scale, we moved the application to Microsoft Surface. Surface is a new computer that responds to natural hand gestures and real-world objects, creating unique new ways for people to collaboratively interact with digital content and to communicate. The Surface computer at TED lets you navigate the Local Impact Map with your hands, finding and exploring stories through text, video and pictures from around the world.
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Changing the World, One Community at a Time
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Posted by Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director, Global Community Affairs
Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Global Community Affairs
We’ve been extremely pleased and inspired by the tremendous response to our online competition, 7 Ways to Change the World, which we launched last October along with Microsoft Windows 7. The competition asked people to share their ideas on how personal computers can help nonprofit organizations make a greater impact in their communities. More than 130 videos were submitted by local and national nonprofits, each providing a creative and heartwarming demonstration of the power of the PC to help change the world.
With so many excellent entries, it was incredibly difficult to choose just 7 winners, each of whom received a new PC running Windows 7 and a $7,000 grant to help implement their ideas:
- American Red Cross-Dallas Area Chapter produced a humorous video demonstrating how the snap, shake and sticky features of Windows 7 could help the organization be even more effective in fulfilling its vital responsibilities for disaster relief, fire response, and service to military families.
- The Bremerton, Washington, branch of Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound produced a winning video that introduc ed Windows 7 as a new club member and demonstrated how it would enhance club programs, helping the organization overcome budgetary challenges in a tough economy.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area, runs after-school programs that help young people succeed and stay in school, but “Without the necessary technology, we’re having a hard time keeping kids engaged as they age,” says Associate Unit Director Peter Pheap. The clubs’ video shows a student using his computer in 7 imaginative ways to improve and get involved in his community.
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Microsoft Reports Results for Second Quarter FY10
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Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues
Microsoft this afternoon reported results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010, which ended December 31, 2009. The company recorded revenue of $19.02 billion, operating income of $8.51 billion and net income of $6.66 billion in the period.
A copy of the earnings release is now available. Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein will discuss the results on a conference call with investment analysts at 2:30 p.m. PT, which will be Webcast on our Investor Relations page.
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Supporting Relief Efforts in Haiti
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Posted by Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director, Global Community Affairs
The earthquake in Haiti is an absolute tragedy.
I clearly remember the precise moment when the Tsunami struck Indonesia in 2004 and how that set in motion a chain of events that would hopefully allow us to be better prepared to respond to such tragedies in the future.
We have learned from the Tsunami, and from subsequent tragedies including Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the Sichuan earthquake in China. Since 2004, Microsoft has been supporting NetHope, a membership organization of some of the world’s largest humanitarian relief organizations, which focuses on ensuring that these organizations are prepared to react quickly and effectively to work together during an emergency. Technology is playing a key role in mobilizing support for the victims of the Haiti earthquake and also in coordinating relief efforts. PC World reports that Twitter, Facebook and Skype are all being utilized to get the word out around the world and tell the story of the tragedy that is unfolding locally.
Microsoft is making an initial commitment of $1.25 million, which includes cash and in-kind contributions. Other support efforts include:
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Steve Ballmer on Huffington Post
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Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues
As you may know, the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show gets underway tonight in Las Vegas. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer will deliver the opening keynote tonight at 6:30 p.m. PT. Ahead of the event, Steve has posted a blog on Huffington Post entitled “CES 2010: Beyond Fun and Games,” which talks about the important role technology can play advancing social and economic progress -- as well as entertaining us and making our lives easier.
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North Carolina Becomes 8th State to join Elevate America
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By David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues
North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue announced yesterday that North Carolina will partner with Microsoft to implement Elevate America, an initiative designed to help get people back to work by giving state and local governments the tools and resources they need to provide no-cost or low-cost technology skills training to job seekers.
North Carolina joins seven other states that have launched Elevate America since the program began in February, including Illinois, Iowa, Virginia, Washington, Maryland, Mississippi and Missouri.
As Microsoft Corporate Vice President Pamela Passman previously blogged, more than 50 percent of today’s jobs require technology skills, with experts predicting that percentage will rise to 77 percent in the next decade. In today’s market, jobs in almost every industry and at every level require at least basic proficiency with computers and other digital technologies.
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Microsoft Shareholders Vote on “Say-on-Pay,” Other Measures
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Posted by John Seethoff
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
Over the last few months Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith and I have blogged about our Board of Directors’ consideration of “Say-on-Pay” proposals that enable shareholders to weigh-in on our executive compensation practices.
As we shared in September, our Board approved a policy that enables Microsoft shareholders to cast a non-binding, advisory vote every three years on the compensation programs for our senior executive officers. The first vote took place at our annual shareholders’ meeting today in Bellevue, Washington. Nearly 99 percent of the ballots received supported Microsoft’s compensation practices.
Earlier this week, Brad and Edward J. Durkin, director of the corporate affairs department of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, co-authored an op-ed in Roll Call that explains why Microsoft chose a three-year voting cycle, rather than annual “Say-on-Pay” votes as some have advocated. The three-year cycle was actually drawn from a proposal Microsoft received from the UBC. If you’re interested in this issue, please take a look at the op-ed and leave us a comment to let us know what you think.
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White House CIO Vivek Kundra Helps Showcase Windows Azure
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Posted by Teresa Carlson
Vice President, Microsoft Federal
When it comes to cloud computing, federal customers have a lot to consider and new business options to explore nearly every day. And while “the cloud” is still in its infancy, today, I’m excited to extend our cloud announcements coming out of Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference (PDC09) in L.A., to the federal community. One of our own fearless leaders in the federal government, CIO Vivek Kundra, today joined Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie as Ray unveiled Microsoft’s cloud-based platforms Windows Azure and SQL Azure. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage power to host, scale and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft data centers. Think of Windows Azure as a sort of operating system in the cloud, extending the Windows platform to allow for the creation of new, transformative cloud experiences that federal enterprises can take advantage of.
With help from Vivek, we showcased a community technology preview (CTP) of a subset of Windows Azure - codename “Dallas. ” Powered by Windows Azure and SQL Azure, this “data as a service” provides an open catalogue and marketplace for data – both public and commercial. Vivek demonstrated an app we helped to build for his iPhone - to find, query, and make meaningful use of Department of Labor teaching information and data that stored and catalogued in Windows Azure’s “Dallas.” Not only could he find out where teachers were most needed, but he could even get to the level of jobs for special education teachers.
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