Microsoft 'protects own site with Linux`
Microsoft has made a big deal out of asserting that Linux is not fit for the enterprise, reports TechWeb. But ironically, it says, the company is using Linux to help protect its servers against denial-of-service attacks.
According to a post on the Netcraft Web site, Microsoft changed its DNS settings on Friday so that requests for www.microsoft.com no longer resolve to machines on Microsoft`s own network, but instead are handled by the Akamai caching system, which runs Linux.
Akamai runs a service to help boost Web site performance by caching copies of Web sites on many servers in many locations. It can help defend against denial-of-service attacks by spreading the attack among many servers.
Power cable broadband trial goes live
The future of broadband in rural areas of the UK via electrical cables hinges on the success of a commercial trial that has got under way in Winchester, reports The Register.
Powerline Communication technology, which uses the existing electricity network to deliver broadband by simply plugging a specially adapted modem into a socket, has already been on trial in Scotland.
IBM tests grid with games
IBM has begun a real-world test of its grid-computing system by turning to a familiar geek pastime: games. Eweek reports that a group of students developed GameGrid, a derivative of IBM`s OptimalGrid, in conjunction with IBM. The students adapted the open source version of id Software`s Quake 2 first-person shooter, and attempted to scale it across the grid to stress the system. Read the full report here.
Microsoft warns of critical IE flaws
Microsoft yesterday alerted PC users to three critical security flaws in Internet Explorer and Windows, as the MSBlast worm and its variants used a previous vulnerability in Windows to spread across the Net for a second week.
CNet reports that the software giant released a cumulative patch for Internet Explorer that fixes several vulnerabilities previously disclosed by the company, and it re-released an advisory for Microsoft`s SQL Server software, warning that a flaw in that program actually affects most Windows users.
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