Microsoft Flops and Loses 7% of the Browser Market in Last 12 Months - Vista Still Only Used by Less Than 15% of all Users, per Janco

Janco and the IT Productivity Center have just released their Browser and Operating System Market Share White Paper. The major findings are: Microsoft's browser market share has continued to erode and has fallen to 58.50% versus 65.48% (loss of 6.96%) in August 2007 and 82.99% (loss of 24.49%) in August 2005; Firefox has maintained its number 2 browser position and now is used by almost 19% (18.94%) of all users; Google Desktop has over 4% (4.01%) of the market; and Time Warner made a strategic error in abandoning Netscape as users continue to use Netscape even though AOL no longer supports it.

The study also finds that on the Operating System front, Microsoft's Vista has just under 15% (14.94%) of the market after almost 20 months since Vista's first release candidate (RC1). Victor Janulaitis, the CEO of Janco, said, "Both Vista and Netscape show that large companies make huge blunders in technology. In the case of Microsoft, they no longer count on moving users to new products as quickly as they want. Time Warner's short-sighted decision to abandon Netscape shows technology decisions are long-term ones, and companies that want to create value in that market need to look beyond quarter-to- quarter earnings. But the real story is the continued erosion of Microsoft's market share."

Windows Updates Hijacked

Windows Updates Hijacked

Malware could be installed onto a PC in the security updates issued by Windows, experts have stated.

There is currently a program in circulation that is capable of hijacking Windows Update and installing malware that could leave a computer vulnerable to attack. The program works by bypassing a user's firewall and then downloading damaging files that then remain undetected.

A Microsoft spokesman stated: "Microsoft is aware of phttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifublic reports that Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is being used by TrojanDownloader:Win32/Jowspry. "The bypass most commonly occurs after a successful social engineering attempt lures the user into inadvertently running [Jowspry], which then utilizes BITS to download additional malware."

Speaking to the BBC, security consultant Robert Schifreen said that the way to avoid infecting one's PC is to not click on any links or attachments unless one is sure that they are not infected. Meanwhile, management company Fortinet has joined the Microsoft Virus Information Alliance (VIA) to collaborate on monitoring the distribution of internet viruses.

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