What if all software was open source?

Anybody would then be able to add custom features to Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, Apple iTunes or any other program. A University of Washington project may make this possible.

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The Best Free Software of 2010

Get what you DON’T pay for: Here are some programs that cost nothing but will make your computing life richer—all while keeping your wallet fat.

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Why does Security Scan behave like the malware I remove?

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate Symantec by any stretch. In fact, I rather like Norton Antivirus 2010 — it’s their second really solid effort in a row after a string of releases I was less than enthusiastic about. What I don’t like, however, is their free Security Scan.

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Government Stops Shielding Corporate Breach ‘Victims’

For the past few months, national retailer J. C. Penney has been fighting an under-seal court battle to keep you from knowing that its payment card network was breached by U.S. and Eastern European hackers…

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School laptop spy case prompts Wiretap Act rethink

A Senate committee today held a field hearing in Philadelphia to discuss whether the alleged webcam spying by the Lower Merion school district should count as “wiretapping.” Right now, silent video recordings are not covered.

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Gov’t, certificate authorities conspire to spy on SSL users?

A recently discovered hardware device, for sale to law-enforcement agencies, has raised concerns about the security of SSL. The encryption itself is secure: the weak link is the trust placed in Certificate Authorities, trust which they might not deserve.

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EMP: The Next Weapon of Massive Destruction?

Some argue it’s time for the US to worry about an electro-magnetic pulse attack by setting aside a day every year to worry about it.

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Fake Facebook Antivirus Spreads Thru Tagged Pics & Wall Spam

Most savvy netizens would know better than to install a site-specific antivirus app…But unfortunately for the Internet, there are plenty of people who will believe that something called Facebook Antivirus could really offer them protection from malware on the popular social networking site. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course.

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University To Give All Students an iPad

According to TUAW, Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania has announced that starting in Fall, 2010, every full-time student will get an iPad.

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The ‘With tears in my eyes’ e-mail

When the e-mail arrived the other day, I knew instantly who it was from. Then something started to feel wrong to me…

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