Microsoft and the Linux Foundation are both opposing a law group’s proposal that would create an implied warranty that software products ship with no material defects.

Finally, Microsoft and the Linux Foundation agree on something.

“While the principles reflect a lot of hard work and thought by the ALI, Microsoft and the Linux Foundation believe that certain provisions do not reflect existing law and could disrupt the well-functioning software market for businesses and consumers, as well as create uncertainty for software developers”, Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in a blog posting.

The ALI is meeting in Washington this week and is scheduled to take up the issue, noted ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley.

Microsoft and the Linux Foundation aren’t the only ones against this. As Foley points out, the University of Houston’s Raymond Nimmer also wrote a biting critique of the ALI proposal.

Linux Foundation chief Jim Zemlin noted in a blog that its partnership with Microsoft makes for strange bedfellows. But, he said, the proposed legal standard would hurt open source and commercial software makers alike.

“The principles outlined by the ALI interfere with the natural operation of open source licenses and commercial licenses as well by creating implied warranties that could result in a tremendous amount of unnecessary litigation, which would undermine the sharing of technology,” Zemlin wrote.

Gutierrez also noted that Microsoft and its partner in this effort don’t necessarily see eye to eye on everything.

“The mere fact that the Linux Foundation and Microsoft are joining forces may be viewed by some as remarkable, given that our differences receive far more public attention than when our interests converge,” Gutierrez said. “Our industry is diverse and sometimes contentious, but if nothing else unites us it is that we all believe in the power of software.”

Gutierrez held out an olive branch, of sorts. “I hope that this represents just one of many opportunities to collaborate with the Linux Foundation and others going forward,” he said. “We have a lot more we can do together.”

The joint letter comes just a couple short months after Microsoft, for the first time, sued a company over its implementation of the Linux kernel. The company eventually settled with TomTom, but the move has created uncertainty over whether Microsoft intends to take legal action against Linux vendors that refuse to take a license to Microsoft’s patents.

Credit: cnet

OK, I know we’re all anticipating the release of Windows 7 (OK, maybe not everyone) but, there are going to be quite a few who will stay with either XP or Vista. If you are one of those, then the following Windows Vista & XP run commands thread should be useful to you.

A new computer worm called Downadup as infected 3.5 million personal PCs by exploiting a vulnerbility Microsoft patched last October. It reached 3.5 million in such a short period of time, using several different methods to spread, and has the ability to download new versions of itself.

This worm is actually pretty clever. It will attempt to call home to a variety of random domains that haven’t been registered which infected machines attempt to establish contact with. All its creators have to do is register one of the generated domains and bingo – they have your personal information

F-Secure’s CFO, Mikko Hyppönen explains: “The bad guys only need to predetermine one possible domain for tomorrow, register it, and set up a website, and they then gain access to all of the infected machines — pretty clever.”

F-Secure also managed to take a peek at the inner workings of the worm by registering one of the randomly generated domains. This has allowed them to analyze the connections that Downadup is making and, in fact, they have gained the ability to modify the worm’s update mechanism to remotely disinfect affected systems. However, for legal reasons, the company has decided not to do so.

Now is a very good time to run an anti-virus scan and also make sure you are using a strong password. And don’t forget to install Microsoft’s latest security updates. Additionally, Microsoft has added detection to the latest version of its free Malicious Software Removal Tool, which is available here.