Adobe denies distributing insecure Acrobat Reader

Danish security research company Secunia has reported that Adobe has been offering an insecure outdated version of Acrobat Reader from their website. When the user installs the Acrobat Reader from Adobe.com, the version installed is an old one which has several vulnerabilities.

But Adobe claims that the software is automatically updated after installation. Adobe explains that once Adobe Reader 9.1.0 is installed, the Adobe Updater technology will subsequently offer the Adobe Reader 9.1.1 and 9.1.2 patches. Adobe Updater will check for updates immediately on first launch. Thereafter, Adobe Updater checks for updates every seven days from that first launch.

According to Secunia, the time taken to download and install updates is critical.

Microsoft accepting Windows Marketplace applications

Microsoft has announced that they would start accepting applications for mobile apps to be featured on their upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile from July 27.

The company added that the store would be available to the users of Windows Mobile 6 and Windows Mobile 6.1 and Windows Mobile 6.5.

Microsoft claims that Windows Mobile has more than 20,000 third party applications available.

Yahoo launches new homepage design

Yahoo! has introduced the long-awaited overhaul of its homepage with new features aimed at remaining relevant to web users and advertisers, including integration the most popular web-based sites and services up into its homepage in order to create a focal center piece for web users.

Users can visit these third party sites without ever leaving the Yahoo! homepage and are served with targeted advertising whenever they do.

Barnes & Noble gets into the eBook business

Barnes & Noble will sell eBooks compatible with a variety of smartphones, eReaders and computers.

Barnes & Noble announced that it will offer more than 700,000 titles, including more than 500,000 public domain books from Google Inc., and that it expects to be able to offer more than one million titles within a year.

Book formats supported by the new Barnes & Noble e-bookstore include those that can be viewed on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch, BlackBerry smartphones and most Windows and Mac computers.

BlackBerry Desktop Software coming to Mac

Research In Motion (RIM) announced that it will begin offering a Mac OS X version of its BlackBerry Desktop software. It will run on Mac OS X 10.5.5 and above.

The new application will allow Mac owners to sync iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts, notes, and tasks between their Mac computers and their BlackBerry smartphones.

It will also allow users to add or remove applications from a BlackBerry, update device firmware, backup and restore, and even manage multiple BlackBerry smartphones.