Yahoo calls 20 per cent layoff report 'inaccurate'

Yahoo calls 20 per cent layoff report 'inaccurate'

The company doesn't deny layoffs outright but calls reported figure 'misleading' By Sharon Gaudin
12 Nov 2010

FRAMINGHAM, 12 NOVEMBER 2010 - Yahoo is denying reports that the company is in the midst of a 20 per cent reduction of its workforce.

Rumors began swirling online late on Thursday afternoon when high-tech blog TechCrunch , citing unnamed sources, reported that the online company is preparing to lay off 20% of its entire staff of about 14,000, or 2,800 people.

The company is not denying there are layoffs in the works, but is trying to temper the report. " Yahoo is always evaluating expenses to align with the company's financial goals," Yahoo representative Dana Lengkeek told Computerworld by e-mail. "However, a 20% reduction in Yahoo's workforce across the board is misleading and inaccurate."

Speculation about layoffs at Yahoo comes just one day after reports surfaced that another Internet icon, Google , was getting ready to hand out 10% pay raises across the board at the beginning of the new year.

Once an Internet giant and pioneer, Yahoo has slipped into a distance second-place to Google in the hot search market, where Yahoo recently tossed out its own search engine and formalized a deal with Microsoft to use Bing search for all of Yahoo's sites.

Last month, the Internet was abuzz with speculation that AOL was interested in buying Yahoo.
Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that AOL's plan to buy Yahoo was so preliminary that it hadn't even included entered discussions with Yahoo.

"Putting AOL and Yahoo together is like tying two rocks together to make one of them float," Gabriel Consulting Group analyst Dan Olds has said previously of a potential Yahoo-AOL deal.

Tags: Yahoo

- wong chee tat :)

More younger people suffer hearing loss

More younger people suffer hearing loss

By Ng Jing Yng , TODAY | Posted: 12 November 2010 1115 hrs 

	Photos 1 of 1 Hearing-impaired children undergoing a music therapy session. More younger people, especially men, are being affected by hearing loss. TODAY file photo.

		Twitter	Digg

SINGAPORE - Being hard of hearing is no longer only an affliction of the elderly. More younger people, particularly men, are also being affected by the problem these days.

Statistics from the Changi General Hospital (CGH) show that 40 per cent of those diagnosed with hearing loss are younger than 40 years old.

This figure is a two-fold jump from what CGH was seeing five to eight years ago.

Dr Yuen Heng Wai, a consultant otolaryngologist at CGH, explaining this trend, said males - more so than females - are more frequently exposed to noise such as that at night outlets and from audio devices.

Acknowledging that higher awareness of the issue could contribute to the figures, Dr Yuen is, however, more concerned about getting youth to seek treatment.

"To them it is a big blow ... as hearing loss has always been associated with old age ... they feel they have become less complete (and stigmatised)," said Dr Yuen.

To make matters worse, these hearing-impaired youths are resisting the use of hearing aids.

At Raffles Hospital, one to two young men - between the ages of 15 and 30 - are seen every week for the treatment of hearing difficulties.

The hospital's specialist in ENT surgery, Dr Stephen Lee, noted that "there has been a perceptible increase" over the past two years. He recommends that those who use audio devices go for a test at least once to check if their hearing ability has been affected.

Engaging in water sports is another emerging cause.

Bacteria in dirty water stays in the ear and causes discomfort, said Dr Yuen of CGH. When patients try to ease the discomfort by "sticking all sorts of things" into their ears, the situation worsens.

In the past year alone, he has seen more than 10 patients who have experienced hearing problems after swimming in places like the Kallang River and the sea off Batam Island.

There is also the need for regulation of working conditions in sectors such as the construction industry, suggested Dr Raymond Ngo, consultant at the National University Hospital's Department of Otolaryngology. He cited his concern over young construction workers and their constant exposure to excessive levels of loud noise.

But, fortunately, only a few of the afflicted have suffered total irreversible hearing loss as most recover partial or full hearing capacity after treatment.

One safety guideline for those who could suffer impaired hearing would be to seek treatment if they experience difficulty in understanding what others are saying or having to ask them to repeat themselves, said Associate Professor Low Wong Kein, director of the Centre for Hearing and Ear Implants at Singapore General Hospital.

- TODAY/rl

- wong chee tat :) 

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for November 2010

Published: November 09, 2010 | Updated: November 09, 2010

Version: 1.1

This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for November 2010.

With the release of the bulletins for November 2010, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued November 4, 2010. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification.

For information about how to receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft security bulletins are issued, visit Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.

Microsoft is hosting a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on November 10, 2010, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the November Security Bulletin Webcast. After this date, this webcast is available on-demand. For more information, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Summaries and Webcasts.

Microsoft also provides information to help customers prioritize monthly security updates with any non-security, high-priority updates that are being released on the same day as the monthly security updates.
Please see the section, Other Information.

Bulletin Information

Executive Summaries

The following table summarizes the security bulletins for this month in order of severity.

For details on affected software, see the next section, Affected Software and Download Locations.

Bulletin ID	Bulletin Title and Executive Summary	Maximum Severity Rating and Vulnerability Impact	Restart Requirement	Affected Software
MS10-087	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2423930) This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability and four privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The most severe vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens or previews a specially crafted RTF e-mail message. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Critical Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Office
MS10-088	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2293386) This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Office
MS10-089	Vulnerabilities in Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2316074) This security update resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG). The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if a user visits an affected Web site using a specially crafted URL. However, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit such a Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade users to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site.	Important Elevation of Privilege	May require restart	Microsoft Forefront United Access Gateway

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Exploitability Index

The following table provides an exploitability assessment of each of the vulnerabilities addressed this month.

The vulnerabilities are listed in order of decreasing exploitability assessment level then CVE ID. Only vulnerabilities that have a severity rating of Critical or Important in the bulletins are included.

How do I use this table?

Use this table to learn about the likelihood of functioning exploit code being released within 30 days of security bulletin release, for each of the security updates that you may need to install. You should review each of the assessments below, in accordance with your specific configuration, in order to prioritize your deployment. For more information about what these ratings mean, and how they are determined, please see Microsoft Exploitability Index.

Bulletin ID	Vulnerability Title	CVE ID	Exploitability Index Assessment	Key Notes
MS10-088	PowerPoint Parsing Buffer Overflow Vulnerability	CVE-2010-2572	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-089	UAG XSS Allows EOP Vulnerability	CVE-2010-2733	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-089	XSS Issue on UAG Mobile Portal Website in Forefront Unified Access Gateway Vulnerability	CVE-2010-2734	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-087	RTF Stack Buffer Overflow Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3333	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-087	Office Art Drawing Records Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3334	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-087	Drawing Exception Handling Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3335	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-087	Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3337	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	This vulnerability has been disclosed publicly
MS10-089	XSS in Signurl.asp Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3936	1 - Consistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-088	PowerPoint Integer Underflow Causes Heap Corruption Vulnerability	CVE-2010-2573	2 - Inconsistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-087	MSO Large SPID Read AV Vulnerability	CVE-2010-3336	2 - Inconsistent exploit code likely	(None)
MS10-089	UAG Redirection Spoofing Vulnerability	CVE-2010-2732	3 - Functioning exploit code unlikely	This is a spoofing vulnerability only

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Affected Software and Download Locations

The following tables list the bulletins in order of major software category and severity.

How do I use these tables?

Use these tables to learn about the security updates that you may need to install. You should review each software program or component listed to see whether any security updates pertain to your installation. If a software program or component is listed, then the available software update is hyperlinked and the severity rating of the software update is also listed.
 
Note You may have to install several security updates for a single vulnerability. Review the whole column for each bulletin identifier that is listed to verify the updates that you have to install, based on the programs or components that you have installed on your system.

Microsoft Office Suites and Software

Microsoft Office Suites and Components
Bulletin Identifier	MS10-087	MS10-088
Aggregate Severity Rating	Critical	Important
Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3	Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (KB2289169) (Important)	Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB2413272) (Important)
Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3	Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB2289187) (Important)	Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB2413304) (Important)
Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2	Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (KB2289158) (Critical)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office 2010 (32-bit editions)	Microsoft Office 2010 (32-bit editions) (KB2289161) (Critical)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office 2010 (64-bit editions)	Microsoft Office 2010 (64-bit editions) (KB2289161) (Critical)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office for Mac
Bulletin Identifier	MS10-087	MS10-088
Aggregate Severity Rating	Important	Important
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac	Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac[1] (Important)	Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac[1] (Important)
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac	Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac[1] (Important)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011	Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 (KB2454823) (Important)	Not applicable
Open XML File Format Converter for Mac	Open XML File Format Converter for Mac[1] (Important)	Not applicable
Other Office Software
Bulletin Identifier	MS10-087	MS10-088
Aggregate Severity Rating	None	Important
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer	Not applicable	Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2007 Service Pack 2 (KB2413381) (Important)

Notes for MS10-087

^[1]The security updates for Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac are unavailable at this time.

Note for MS10-088

^[1]The security update for Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is unavailable at this time.

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Microsoft Remote Access Software

Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway
Bulletin Identifier	MS10-089
Aggregate Severity Rating	Important
Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway	Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010[1] (KB2433585) (Important) Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Update 1[1] (KB2433584) (Important) Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Update 2[1] (KB2418933) (Important)

Note for MS10-089
^[1]This update is available from the Microsoft Download Center only.

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Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Security Central

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile computers in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The TechNet Security Center provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. Consumers can visit Security At Home, where this information is also available by clicking "Latest Security Updates".

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update and Windows Update. Security updates are also available at the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update".

Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The Microsoft Update Catalog provides a searchable catalog of content made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including security updates, drivers and service packs. By searching using the security bulletin number (such as, "MS07-036"), you can add all of the applicable updates to your basket (including different languages for an update), and download to the folder of your choosing. For more information about the Microsoft Update Catalog, see the Microsoft Update Catalog FAQ.

Detection and Deployment Guidance

Microsoft provides detection and deployment guidance for security updates. This guidance contains recommendations and information that can help IT professionals understand how to use various tools for detection and deployment of security updates. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 961747.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA, visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can quickly and reliably deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000 to Microsoft Windows 2000 and later operating systems.

For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit Windows Server Update Services.

Systems Management Server
 
Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) delivers a highly-configurable enterprise solution for managing updates. By using SMS, administrators can identify Windows-based systems that require security updates and to perform controlled deployment of these updates throughout the enterprise with minimal disruption to end users. The next release of SMS, System Center Configuration Manager 2007, is now available; see also System Center Configuration Manager 2007. For more information about how administrators can use SMS 2003 to deploy security updates, see SMS 2003 Security Patch Management. SMS 2.0 users can also use the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT) to help deploy security updates. For information about SMS, visit Microsoft Systems Management Server.

Note SMS uses the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to provide broad support for security bulletin update detection and deployment. Some software updates may not be detected by these tools. Administrators can use the inventory capabilities of SMS in these cases to target updates to specific systems. For more information about this procedure, see Deploying Software Updates Using the SMS Software Distribution Feature. Some security updates require administrative rights following a restart of the system. Administrators can use the Elevated Rights Deployment Tool (available in the SMS 2.0 Administration Feature Pack) to install these updates.

Update Compatibility Evaluator and Application Compatibility Toolkit

Updates often write to the same files and registry settings required for your applications to run. This can trigger incompatibilities and increase the time it takes to deploy security updates. You can streamline testing and validating Windows updates against installed applications with the Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, a Microsoft Security Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

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Other Information

Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Microsoft has released an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center.

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Non-Security, High-Priority Updates on MU, WU, and WSUS

For information about non-security releases on Windows Update and Microsoft Update, please see:

•	Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 894199: Description of Software Update Services and Windows Server Update Services changes in content. Includes all Windows content.
•	Updates from Past Months for Windows Server Update Services. Displays all new, revised, and rereleased updates for Microsoft products other than Microsoft Windows.

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Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)

To improve security protections for customers, Microsoft provides vulnerability information to major security software providers in advance of each monthly security update release. Security software providers can then use this vulnerability information to provide updated protections to customers via their security software or devices, such as antivirus, network-based intrusion detection systems, or host-based intrusion prevention systems. To determine whether active protections are available from security software providers, please visit the active protections Web sites provided by program partners, listed in Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) Partners.

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Security Strategies and Community

Update Management Strategies

Security Guidance for Update Management provides additional information about Microsoft’s best-practice recommendations for applying security updates.

Obtaining Other Security Updates

Updates for other security issues are available from the following locations:

	•	Security updates are available from Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update".
•	Updates for consumer platforms are available from Microsoft Update.
•	You can obtain the security updates offered this month on Windows Update, from Download Center on Security and Critical Releases ISO CD Image files. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 913086.

IT Pro Security Community

Learn to improve security and optimize your IT infrastructure, and participate with other IT Pros on security topics in IT Pro Security Community.

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Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

	•	team509, working with VeriSign iDefense Labs, for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Dyon Balding of Secunia for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Will Dorman of CERT Coordination Center for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Chaouki Bekrar of VUPEN Vulnerability Research Team for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Haifei Li of Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Simon Raner of ACROS Security for reporting an issue described in MS10-087
•	Alin Rad Pop of Secunia Research for reporting an issue described in MS10-088
•	An anonymous researcher, working with TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative, reporting an issue described in MS10-088

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Support

•	The affected software listed have been tested to determine which versions are affected. Other versions are past their support life cycle. To determine the support life cycle for your software version, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.
•	Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Security Support or 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. For more information about available support options, see Microsoft Help and Support.
•	International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit International Help and Support.

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Disclaimer

The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

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Revisions

•

V1.0 (November 9, 2010): Bulletin Summary published.

•

V1.1 (November 9, 2010): For MS10-088, corrected the affected version from "Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer" to "Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2007 Service Pack 2". This is an informational change only. Customers who have already successfully updated their systems, including customers with automatic updating enabled, do not need to take any action. Customers who have not installed this update previously may need to reassess whether their systems require this update based on the affected software as revised. - wong chee tat :)