Most popular downloaded programs?

For an upcoming post, I’m putting together a list of the programs that someone is most likely to download and install after completing a clean installation of Windows.

Here are the programs that I come up with quickly:

* Firefox
* Picasa
* Skype
* iTunes + QuickTime
* Windows Live Essentials
* Adobe Reader
* Flash
* Java

Of course, I have more entries on my list of personal faves, and there are some essential categories where there isn’t a clear leader antivirus and security programs, for example. There’s also a second tier of popular but not essential software, like file compression tools, disk utilities, and disk-burning software. But right now I’m looking for the ones that are really , where someone is very likely to want a quick download link. Read more

New Security Programs from Microsoft

Black Hat USA 2008 was the stage where Microsoft revealed that it was kicking its security game up a notch. The software giant’s commitment to protecting its customers has spawned a pair of new initiatives designed to enable a new level of security-information sharing. In this regard, the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) along with the new vulnerability Exploitability Index, are the programs offered to both end users and partners for added security.

“The introduction of these new programs helps address evolving online threats and provides more practical guidance to assess and manage risk,” said Andrew Cushman, director of security response and outreach at Microsoft. Read more

Mac Owners Told ‘Don’t Panic’

Security specialists Sophos are doing a fine impression of Dad’s Army’s Corporal Jones with its latest advice to Apple Mac users, which is ‘Don’t Panic’. This follows the discovery of a Trojan horse web popup that targets OS X users, called Troj/MacSwp-B or ‘Imunizator’. Windows PC owners will be familiar with the trick it plays, it purports to be a security program checking for problems, which needless to say it finds, it then tries to frighten Mac users into paying out for bogus software. Read more