Microsoft has rushed out a fix for a serious bug in its Hotmail webmail services.

The bug allowed a hacker to reset the password for a Hotmail account, locking out its owner and giving the attacker access to the inbox.

The fix was put together because the bug was starting to be actively exploited online.

One security news site reported that some hackers were offering to hack Hotmail accounts for $20 (£12).

Computer security researchers discovered the vulnerability in early April and told Microsoft about it soon afterwards. The bug revolved around the way Hotmail handles the data that must pass back and forth when a user wants to reset their password.

Details of the bug leaked out and led to attackers trying to find a way round it.

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Today, after 1 year and 4 months of work, we are pleased to announce the release of the Xfce desktop 4.10, a new stable version that supersedes Xfce 4.8.

In the 4.10 cycle we mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. Highlights of this release are:

A new application finder that has been completely rewritten and combines the functionality of the old xfce4-appfinder and xfrun4.
The panel now has an alternative vertical display mode (a deskbar). What is more, panel plugins can be arranged in multiple rows, which is particularly useful in the deskbar mode.
A new MIME type editor that allows you to easily change applications used for opening different file types. The mouse and touchpad settings dialog and the settings editor were extended in terms of functionality. The former now supports tablets in a much better way.
It is now possible to launch applications and open files on the desktop with a single click of the mouse. In addition, the 4.10 desktop can display thumbnails and automatically advance through the wallpaper list.
The window manager can be configured to tile windows when dragging them to the screen edges. The tab window (Alt+Tab) supports more flexible theming and cursor key navigation.

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The House ignored Obama administration objections Thursday and approved legislation aimed at helping stop electronic attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure and private companies.
On a bipartisan vote of 248-168, the GOP-controlled House backed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which would encourage companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists.

"This is the last bastion of things we need to do to protect this country," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said after more than five hours of debate.

More than 10 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, proponents cast the bill as an initial step to deal with an evolving threat of the Internet age. The information sharing would be voluntary to avoid imposing new regulations on businesses, an imperative for Republicans.

The legislation would allow the government to relay cyber threat information to a company to prevent attacks from Russia or China. In the private sector, corporations could alert the government and provide data that could stop an attack intended to disrupt the country's water supply or take down the banking system.

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Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings saw his overall compensation increase by 68%, a proxy that the DVD rental and online streaming company filed today at the SEC reveals. While this data is somewhat hidden by the fact that his salary decreased, it is unlikely to please the company’s shareholders after a difficult year.

As you can see on this chart, Reed Hastings’ salary went down to $500,000 in 2011, compared to $519,231 in 2011. However, his stock option award increased greatly, heavily impacting his total compensation

This may come as a surprise to shareholders, as Hastings took the blame for Netflix’s erratic strategy in 2011. As you may remember, the company announced that it would spin off its DVD rental business and name it ‘Qwikster’, before backtracking mere weeks later.

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For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.

Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system is to be shut down.

The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner, DCWG | DNS Changer Working Group , that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.

Most victims don't even know their computers have been infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.

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