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Critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Calendar and Adobe's Macromedia Flash Player in Windows can lead to a remote execution of code on a user's system, according to Microsoft's security bulletins. The software giant also issued a "moderate" update for flaws in Windows, according to the software giant's bulletin. A malicious attacker could launch a denial-of-service attack by sending a specially crafted network message through the system to exploit the flaw. The critical Microsoft Exchange flaws affect Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 with Post-Service Pack (SP) 3, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 with SP 1 or SP 2. "An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted message that could potentially allow remote code execution when an Exchange Server processes an e-mail with certain...properties," according to Microsoft's bulletin. Security firm Symantec said the Microsoft Exchange flaw is the most serious of the three. "Because the majority of Exchange servers are configured to receive e-mails from anonymous users, this vulnerability has the potential to manifest itself in the form of a worm if machines are not properly patched," Oliver Friedrichs, Symantec Security Response director, said in a statement.

Hoffman, who works for KEA Advertising in Valley Cottage, N.Y., has built MySpace profiles for several car dealers. He then contacts other members of the network asking them to be a "friend" to the business, using software tools to target those he thinks might be interested. "You can become part of their network and develop a relationship. It is better than banner advertising, because you get to interact with the actual potential customer," he said. Hoffman is one of a growing number of enterprising MySpace users who are using software to exploit the hugely popular social networking site for profit or fame. But the tools they use are controversial. While they aren't illegal, they clearly are designed to get around some of MySpace's security and other restrictions--something the service expressly forbids. MySpace has become one of the most talked-about sites on the Web. The online community service, owned by media conglomerate News Corp., claims to have about 70 million users. It caters mostly to a young crowd, between the ages of 16 and 25. This hasn't gone unnoticed by marketers, who have used the site to promote music and movies.

The 11-page House of Representatives bill aims to deter identity thieves and dismantle cybercrime operations, such as phishing scams, that swipe personal information. It was introduced this week by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner and backed by three Republicans and one Democrat. The Republican-backed bill would require "whoever owns or possesses data in electronic form" that contains personally identifiable information--such as a person's name, Social Security number or date of birth--to inform the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI within two weeks of discovering a "major breach." Those law enforcement agencies could then decide to delay notification to consumers by as much as 30 days, if they determine that disclosure would harm criminal investigations or national security.

The 2006 model year will be the last for the Hummer H1, the hulking, gas-guzzling status symbol that has attracted celebrities and off-road enthusiasts but has drawn the ire of environmentalists.General Motors Corp. announced plans Friday for the H1, which is the foundation for the automaker's Hummer brand. Based on the military's Humvee, the about 12,000 put on the road since 1992 defined the Hummer name.Walsh said Hummer plans to focus on models with broader appeal instead of the niche-market H1.  Read More »

It's not that women are less effective or productive — they just have different priorities. A 2001 survey of business owners with MBAs conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology found that money was the primary motivator for only 29% of women, versus 76% of men. Women prioritized flexibility, fulfillment, autonomy and safety. among workers who have never been married and never had children, women earn 117% of what men do. (This factors in education, hours worked and age.) Without husbands, women have to focus on earning more. They work longer hours, they're willing to relocate and they're more likely to choose higher-paying fields like technology. Without children, men have more liberty to earn less — that is, they are free to pursue more fulfilling and less lucrative careers, like writing or art or teaching social studies.

Stocks tumbled for a second straight session Friday, dragging the Dow Jones industrial average down 120 points, as a pullback in oil prices hit energy shares, such as Dow component Exxon Mobil, and a jump in import prices fanned worries about inflation.Friday’s sell-off, which ended a week of disappointing profits and outlooks from technology companies, dragged the Nasdaq composite index to  Read More »

Velocity Micro's Raptor Extreme Edition PC defines the word more. It has more processing power, more L2 cache, more memory, more drive space, and more A/V panache than your average high-end PC. With all that power, plus Intel's new Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU, Nvidia's latest graphics card, and a mighty set of peripherals, the system can also do more than the competition and do it quickly. Of course, the Raptor's $4,972 price tag is more than you'd pay for a used car, and this system will consume a massive amount of floor and desk space. Not a PC you'd buy on a whim, the Raptor is just the system for bleeding-edge gaming and graphics applications or for thumbing your nose at your technologically inferior friends.

"We need to know what our government is doing in its activities that spy upon Americans," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat. Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania vowed to hold hearings to get to the bottom of how the NSA's data mining works and whether Americans' privacy rights were affected. To answer some questions about the program and how it likely works, CNET News.com has created the following list of answers to frequently asked questions. Keep reading.