At least one researcher is saying that Microsoft's decision to reduce the number of security messages that its new operating system, Windows 7, delivers when users install software makes its more vulnerable to "malware" infection. "[User Account Control] was neutered too much by Microsoft," says Chester Wisniewski, a senior security adviser at Sophos PLC. UAC is a Windows security feature that Microsoft debuted with Vista, and prompts users for their consent before allowing a task such as the installation of a program or a device driver to take place. Users complained about what they considered constant intrusions, so Microsoft modified …

Google's Friend Connect accounts now let users share information about themselves for chance discovery, as well as a private email feature for users to connect with others they meet online through Friend Connected sites. The search giant also added an AdSense section to let Friend Connect site owners serve Google ads matched both to their site's content and to the interests users publicly share on the site. No, Friend Connect is no Facebook, but the service is presently used by over 9 million sites, with account for over 500 million unique viewers of Friend Connected Web pages each …

Apples says that its iPhone App Store has surpassed 100,000 apps, divided into 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. To date, App Store users have downloaded well over two billion apps. Thanks to the marketing and design genius of Apple, along with its first-mover advantage, the company presently boasts the largest and more used app store online. Rivals, and Google in particular, are expected to experience their own mobile app booms in the near future. Flurry, a San Francisco-based mobile metrics company, recently reported a 94% rise in the number of projects started …

If only for a moment, Google considered buying The New York Times. Yep, Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt tell author and New Yorker scribe Ken Auletta that the search giant took a serious gander at the Grey Lady. The two said their chief concern with the prospective deal was the damage it would have done to the company's status as a neutral source. In his new book, "Google: The End of The World As We Know It," Auletta writes that they "decided that if they succeeded it would sabotage their identity as a neutral search …

Marking the software giant's third round of layoffs this year, Microsoft is cutting another 800 jobs company-wide. Due to deteriorating sales and profits, the company said it would say sayonara to some 5,000 employees back in January. "Some portion of the new cuts will serve as the final phase of the company's original plan, announced in January of this year, to cut up to 5,000 jobs over 18 months," writes Seattle-based tech news site TechFlash, which first reported the news. "However, the new layoffs are expected to take the company beyond the original plan, as well." …

It's safe(ish) to assume that you've developed a truly killer app once device makers start making products dedicated solely to supporting your service. Even though it was at Twitter's urging, a company named Peek has developed just such a device for the micro-blogger service. Colored "Twitter blue," the so-called TwitterPeek allows all the functionality of a desktop Twitter client -- reading tweets, sending tweets, replying, "retweeting" and direct messaging. Why the need for such a device when most new smartphones have access to Twitter? TwitterPeek is built for consumers looking for an affordable alternative to expensive smartphones with higher monthly …

It looks like Amazon and its Kindle e-reader can count on monopolizing the digital book market for at least a little while longer. IT startup Spring Design is claiming that Barnes & Noble's forthcoming e-reader Nook infringes on its own Alex e-reader -- which it showed to the bookseller prior to its official debut. Both devices boast a dual-screen form-factor, powered by Google Android. What's the difference between two e-reader models, which are being produced by separate companies? Not much, according to Spring Design, which unveiled its Alex e-reader on Oct. 19. "Spring Design unfortunately had to take …

Gawker has long been an admirer of juicy video clips, but on Tuesday it made its devotion official with the launch of Gawker TV. Company head Nick Denton often attributes traffic peaks to the popularity of various video posts -- McSteamygate, anyone? -- and publishers can typically command much higher CMPs for video. How much of Gawker TV's content will be brand-friendly is a question that remains to be answered. Denton says Gawker TV will consist of "TV highlights, mashups, viral web video," and "all the things we know are popular from the main Gawker.com site." Running the …

Best Buy, a top seller of DVDs, is not ignoring their likely extinction. On Tuesday, it's expected to announce a partnership with Sonic Solutions' Roxio CinemaNow service, which will allow it to stream first-run DVDs directly to consumers online. With the service, consumers pay once for a "DVD," which they will eventually be able to play on any device: television, Blu-ray disc player, personal computer, handheld media player or smartphone. Best Buy-branded, the service is expected to be available starting early next year. This is not the retailer's first foray into the digital realm. Just last month, it …

"Business disruption," which requires incumbents to abandon core strategies for new ones, is the key premise behind recently successful business movements like Software as a Service, open source architecture, and the so-called "Freemium" Internet model, argues Benchmark Capital's Bill Gurley. In that context, Gurley takes a look at how Google is disrupting the navigation market by ditching the two big players in the space -- Tele Atlas and Navteq -- going it alone, and offering its navigation info for free. Calling the move "a disruptive play of a magnitude heretofore unseen," Gurley points to the GPS stocks, which …