Microsoft just released an out-of-band security update, addressing a remote code execution vulnerability affecting, Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista, and Server 2008, virtually all Microsoft computing platforms out there.

This vulnerability allows unauthorized remote code execution (in XP and earlier) via SMB (server message block) communication. In Vista and later, the code execution must past an authentication.

There are over one billion Windows personal computers worldwide. Approximately 180 million of those are Vista. So that leaves about 820 million computers vulnerable to an anonymous remote code execution, which is a serious vulnerability. Given the magnitude of Microsoft's install base there, the situation is grave indeed. This is why Microsoft is taking the extraordinary step to issue an out-of-band security update to address this situation.

by Ray Wang

About 200 attendees were present as Ramon Chen, VP of Marketing, kicked off the event to the theme of adventurers and pioneers in MDM at the Bridgewater Marriott (New Jersey).   CEO, Peter Caswell, led the keynote session with a view on where Siperian has been, where Siperian is going, and then introduced the Ravi Jagannathan VP of Product Management and Manish Sood, Senior Director of Product Management. They presented Siperian's road map well into 2012.  Key announcements include:

By Zach Thomas

HR Technology (not “tech” according to show chairman Bill Kutik) was again a success despite economic woes constricting travel budgets — or maybe it was highly attended because arrangements to get to the windy city were made a few months back. In any case, here are some key take aways:

11th Annual Analyst Panel: I was invited to participate in the highest attended analyst panel session (1,268 people to be exact) alongside other leading analysts and consultants. View the results. The topics varied from Web 2.0 to the impact this economy will have on product sales. Bill Kutik (moderator) asked the audience a series of questions with electronic voting. One interesting tidbit is that two-thirds of user companies did not expect their HR technology spend to get cut. We will have the exact numbers later this week — can’t wait to see the raw numbers.

By Boris Evelson

I am appalled at what has been happening in the economy lately. Seems like we are moving from one crisis management to another. First it was the oil price increase crisis, now it’s the credit markets crisis, while the oil crisis seems to have disappeared. There are revolutionary approaches to solving these crises being thrown around very lightly and carelessly these days: nationalization of certain industries, redistribution of wealth and other extremist approaches. Haven’t we learned from history? Don’t we know by now that revolutions do not work? It’s been proven time and time again in Soviet Union, China, Cuba and many other nations that revolutions only lead to disasters: terror, holocausts, starvation, turning societies and social structures upside down, and people leading miserable existence. I know. I lived in one of those countries. I do not want to live in another country going through revolution.