Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2B to expand its business products

Microsoft has made a big bet on LinkedIn, announcing Monday that it will spend nearly $26.2 billion in cash to purchase the enterprise-focused social networking and recruiting company. The acquisition -- which is the largest in Microsoft's history and one of the biggest tech acquisitions ever -- will combine the world's largest enterprise-focused social network with one of the biggest enterprise software companies.It's more than just a social play, though. In addition to LinkedIn's core professional networking product, Microsoft also gains access to products including presentation- sharing software SlideShare and professional training service Lynda.com. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Machine learning could help companies react faster to ransomware

File-encrypting ransomware programs have become one of the biggest threats to corporate networks worldwide and are constantly evolving by adding increasingly sophisticated detection-evasion and propagation techniques.In a world where any self-respecting malware author makes sure that his creations bypass antivirus detection before releasing them, enterprise security teams are forced to focus on improving their response times to infections rather than trying to prevent them all, which is likely to be a losing game.Exabeam, a provider of user and entity behavior analytics, believes that machine-learning algorithms can significantly improve ransomware detection and reaction time, preventing such programs from spreading inside the network and affecting a larger number of systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Machine learning could help companies react faster to ransomware

File-encrypting ransomware programs have become one of the biggest threats to corporate networks worldwide and are constantly evolving by adding increasingly sophisticated detection-evasion and propagation techniques.In a world where any self-respecting malware author makes sure that his creations bypass antivirus detection before releasing them, enterprise security teams are forced to focus on improving their response times to infections rather than trying to prevent them all, which is likely to be a losing game.Exabeam, a provider of user and entity behavior analytics, believes that machine-learning algorithms can significantly improve ransomware detection and reaction time, preventing such programs from spreading inside the network and affecting a larger number of systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT badges: A new path to better pay?

If you’re an IT pro looking for a new gig, that old "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" line about not needing no stinking badges may soon no longer apply, thanks to a relatively new credentialing system finding favor with some large companies and a growing number of job applicants.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Microsoft Blows $26 Billion To Buy LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a good cultural fit for Microsoft. It's not a fun or happy place. It’s a boring, bland site where people go to do dull, grown-up things. You could say the same thing about Office365.

The post Microsoft Blows $26 Billion To Buy LinkedIn appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Microsoft’s open source .Net Foundation eats Cake

Cake, a C#-based cross-platform build automation framework, has moved to the jurisdiction of the .Net Foundation.Joining the foundation ensures the long-term viability of the project, according to Cake builders. The independent foundation, formed to promote open source technologies for Microsoft's .Net Framework, will provide support and guidance while the team currently maintaining the project continues to do so.[ Free tools! Get the most out of Windows with 15 open source tools for system admins. | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with InfoWorld's Windows newsletter. ] Supporting builds on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, Cake was built on top of the Roslyn and Mono compiler. "It's a DSL (domain specific language) that uses C# and it lets you do things like compile code and copy folders," said Scott Hanselman, Microsoft principal manager for Visual Studio and .Net. Cake also lets developers build NuGet packages, run unit tests, and compress files.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Meet Microsoft’s ‘planet scale’ NoSQL database

Given the strength of SQL Server in business, you might be surprised to learn that Microsoft has spent the last five years building a distributed NoSQL database – until you remember that services like Power BI, Bing and the Office Web apps face the same challenges as services like Netflix. They’re problems more and more enterprises have to deal with too: the deluge of data, the demands of mobility and the need for low latency even though you’re relying on cloud services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Apple: Want apps? Then subscribe

Apple announced that by this fall it will let nearly all iOS app makers switch to a subscription-based business model, a move that could make it easier for some small-scale developers to turn a profit but risks backlash from consumers burdened by subscription fatigue."Ultimately, this should lead to more apps, better apps and more innovation," Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, said of Apple's plans.As revealed in a pair of interviews that marketing chief Philip Schiller did with The Verge and Jon Gruber of Daring Fireball -- an unusual tactic for Apple -- the Cupertino, Calif., company will expand subscription pricing to all app categories, after previously restricting the model to just a handful: periodicals, business apps and media content services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Millennials are shaking up workplace communication

Millennials are now the largest generation in America, and as they work their way into the corporate world, they are driving change in business communication, says Jeff Corbin, CEO and founder of APPrise Mobile, a provider of mobile communication apps."As the workplace evolves and millennials continue to comprise the vast majority of the workforce, the importance of communicating and engaging with employees has never been more important. There is definitely a shift taking place from 'old school' and legacy communications solutions like email and corporate intranets to newer, more mobile friendly tools," Corbin says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Study: Most companies can’t protect confidential documents

A majority of companies don't have the technology in place to keep employees from sharing confidential documents, according to a study released today.In particular, only 36 percent of over 600 IT practitioners at large companies said that their companies were able to restrict the sharing of confidential documents with third parties, and only 27 percent were able to restrict sharing between employees."A lot of people focus on regulatory compliance, like personally identifiable information or PCI," said Ron Arden, COO at data security vendor Fasoo, which sponsored the study. PCI DSS, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, spells out how companies must protect credit card data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Study: Most companies can’t protect confidential documents

A majority of companies don't have the technology in place to keep employees from sharing confidential documents, according to a study released today.In particular, only 36 percent of over 600 IT practitioners at large companies said that their companies were able to restrict the sharing of confidential documents with third parties, and only 27 percent were able to restrict sharing between employees."A lot of people focus on regulatory compliance, like personally identifiable information or PCI," said Ron Arden, COO at data security vendor Fasoo, which sponsored the study. PCI DSS, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, spells out how companies must protect credit card data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Recorded Future aligns with other threat intelligence vendors

Recorded Future is teaming up with other security vendors to blend the threat intelligence they all gather so it’s easier for corporate security pros to connect the dots that reveal actual incidents that need attention.With the Omni Intelligence Partner Network, businesses that are customers of both Recorded Future and participating partners can import threat intelligence gathered by the partners and display it within Intelligence Cards that are one interface within Recorded Future’s platform.So the Intelligence Card for a particular suspicious IP address would include information gathered by Recorded Future but also information about that IP address gathered by any of the other Omni Intelligence partners.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Recorded Future aligns with other threat intelligence vendors

Recorded Future is teaming up with other security vendors to blend the threat intelligence they all gather so it’s easier for corporate security pros to connect the dots that reveal actual incidents that need attention.With the Omni Intelligence Partner Network, businesses that are customers of both Recorded Future and participating partners can import threat intelligence gathered by the partners and display it within Intelligence Cards that are one interface within Recorded Future’s platform.So the Intelligence Card for a particular suspicious IP address would include information gathered by Recorded Future but also information about that IP address gathered by any of the other Omni Intelligence partners.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Computer science salaries rise with demand for new graduates

As scores of college graduates hit the job market this spring, their employment prospects are more promising than those of last year’s graduating class. In particular, computer science graduates are a hot commodity.“Not only does computer science provide every student foundational knowledge, it also leads to the highest-paying, fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. economy. There are currently over 500,000 open computing jobs, in every sector, from manufacturing to banking, from agriculture to healthcare, but only 50,000 computer science graduates a year,” reads an open letter released by the nonprofit Computer Science Education Coalition in partnership with Code.org. The letter urges Congress to boost federal funding to broaden access to computer science in K-12 classrooms. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Computer science salaries rise with demand for new graduates

As scores of college graduates hit the job market this spring, their employment prospects are more promising than those of last year’s graduating class. In particular, computer science graduates are a hot commodity.“Not only does computer science provide every student foundational knowledge, it also leads to the highest-paying, fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. economy. There are currently over 500,000 open computing jobs, in every sector, from manufacturing to banking, from agriculture to healthcare, but only 50,000 computer science graduates a year,” reads an open letter released by the nonprofit Computer Science Education Coalition in partnership with Code.org. The letter urges Congress to boost federal funding to broaden access to computer science in K-12 classrooms. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft scoops up LinkedIn for $26.2B in cash

Microsoft announced early Monday that it will acquire enterprise social network LinkedIn for approximately $26.2 billion in cash.  In a press release announcing the news, Microsoft said that LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence as part of the deal. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner will remain in power there, and will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as a member of his senior staff.  This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history, worth more than its acquisitions of Nokia and Skype combined.  The deal is supported by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn. It's expected to close by the end of 2016.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Did the free Windows 10 upgrade push hamstring PC sales?

It has always been tradition with a new Windows release that there is both an upgrade path for some users with the smarts to do it and the guts to risk it, while those preferring a safer path would just buy a new PC with the new operating system.So, what happens when Microsoft practically shoves a new OS down people's throats, pesters people to upgrade and even performs upgrades they didn't ask for? Well, that gets the installed base to 300 million in under a year, as Microsoft recently announced. It also kneecaps the PC market for new desktops.+ Also on Network World: Credibility and trust: Microsoft blows it +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware launches new service to manage endpoint security

VMware wants to help companies get a better handle on the security of the computers their employees use. The new TrustPoint product the company announced Monday uses software to make it possible to track and manage computers easily and quickly, without taking up a whole bunch of data.  First off, the software allows companies to detect what devices are on their networks, along with which ones are being managed by IT. That helps businesses understand if they have machines operating outside the reach of their security systems, which could be a problem for protecting company data.  In addition, businesses will also be able to use TrustPoint to handle operating system imaging with VMware's technology, so it's easier for them to patch systems that are managed with TrustPoint. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware launches new service to manage endpoint security

VMware wants to help companies get a better handle on the security of the computers their employees use. The new TrustPoint product the company announced Monday uses software to make it possible to track and manage computers easily and quickly, without taking up a whole bunch of data.  First off, the software allows companies to detect what devices are on their networks, along with which ones are being managed by IT. That helps businesses understand if they have machines operating outside the reach of their security systems, which could be a problem for protecting company data.  In addition, businesses will also be able to use TrustPoint to handle operating system imaging with VMware's technology, so it's easier for them to patch systems that are managed with TrustPoint. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Gartner tips virtual data centers as future

As the amount of structured and unstructured data generated through digital growth increases, the need for places to put the stuff is also growing.And it’s going to be in Hyper-converged Integrated Systems (HCIS), according to Gartner analyst Michael Warrilow, speaking at Gartner’s Tech Growth and Innovation Conference in Los Angeles last week.Hyper-converged systems are where software tools are used on commoditized hardware. HCIS is the platform for shared computing and storage resources. It’s “based on software-defined storage, software-defined compute, commodity hardware and a unified management interface,” Gartner explains on its website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here