In the beginning there was the Internet, which spawned from relatively humble beginnings into a vast global information repository. Next came the search engine, which tried to help us to find specific information within the Internet's vastness, but often produced voluminous amounts of irrelevant data. Then came Google, which improved searching efficiency and produced more relevant results ... so much so that the word "Google" has become nearly synonymous with search and has taken its place in the lexicon alongside words like Band-Aid and Kleenex. With its new Desktop Search utility, Google is hoping to improve the process of text-based...

If you often cheer for underdogs or don't particularly care for 800-pound gorillas, you may like the idea of using a non-Microsoft browser or e-mail client. While Mozilla's open source-based offerings – Mozilla Firefox, an internet browser, and Mozilla Thunderbird, an e-mail client – are free, they're also competent programs that provide some clever features of their own. And there's arguable safety in using non-Microsoft browser and e-mail clients that aren't the number one targets of hackers throughout the civilized world. A no-nonsense browser that competently does its job while serving as a viable alternative to Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox's...

Wouldn't it be nice to see what the competition is up to without having to take time out of your daily routine to check a dozen Web pages for updates that might offer a clue as to your competitors' evolving business strategies? Okay, maybe you never thought of checking their Web sites, but think about it. Competitors may be posting news of customer acquisitions, mergers, new products, or other vital information. And there's often valuable information right out there in the open world of the Web, available to anyone willing to take the time to look for it. Better still,...

How many passwords do you keep track of on a regular basis? Windows network logon, email, online banking, online shopping, regular Web browsing ... the list seemingly never ends. And while it's true that many sites today give you the option of storing your password for future use via the use of cookies and some browsers offer to recall and fill in passwords when you repeat a visit to a page, these helpful measures carry a certain security risk and are also highly unlikely to cover all of your password demands. Many users are wary of such functions, and for...

The next version of Gentoo, due for release in February 2005, will include a Live CD that allows users to run the operating system off a CD, and a graphical installer that allows users to automatically install the same set-up on multiple machines. Gentoo is a distribution of Linux that its developers claim is fully customisable for any application or need. According to a Netcraft survey in July 2004, Gentoo experienced the fastest percentage growth rate out of all Linux...

Nullsoft has issued a fix for a newly discovered security vulnerability affecting Winamp 3.0, 5.0 and 5.0 Pro or newer. The vulnerability takes advantage of the Winamp Skin installer mechanism coupled with a security hole within the Internet Explorer browser. To be vulnerable, a user must navigate to a specifically crafted web page which automatically installs a malicious Winamp Skin. This skin launches an embedded Internet Explorer browser within the Skin using a feature of the Winamp Modern Skin Engine.

The CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chat rooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal. In April 2003, the CIA agreed to fund a series of research projects that the documents indicate were intended to create "new capabilities to combat terrorism through advanced technology." One of those projects is research at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., devoted to automated monitoring and profiling of the behavior of chat-room...

Peer-to-peer program Kazaa is the number one spyware threat on the Internet, according to Computer Associates. According to the company's Pest Patrol research, Kazaa created a greater threat than other programs in its top five spyware list because of its widespread popularity. Kazaa claims that its sofware has been downloaded 214 million times. CA gave Kazaa a high 'clot factor', its measure of how much a program slows a machine by adding uncessary registry entries and directories.

Opera says the next version of its browser will improve Web page rendering to make it easier to view and print online content. The next version of the Opera browser, due at the end of the year, will improve the browsing experience, Opera Software said on Tuesday. Opera 7.60 will include new rendering technology that will cut out the need for horizontally scrolling across Web pages, regardless of screen size. The same technology also means that online content can be...

As Firefox marks its 5 millionth download and moves to retail stores, OneStat.com, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based provider of Web traffic measurement services, said that according to numbers gleaned from 2 million Web surfers around the world, the Mozilla Foundation's new Firefox releases appear to be cutting into Microsoft's still commanding lead in the browser market. "It seems that people are switching from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's new Firefox browser," Niels Brinkman, OneStat.com co-founder, said in a statement. IE's market...