"Microsoft is telling Windows users that they'll have to reinstall the operating system if they get infected with a new rootkit that hides in the machine's boot sector.

A new variant of a Trojan Microsoft calls "Popureb" digs so deeply into the system that the only way to eradicate it is to return Windows to its out-of-the-box configuration, Chun Feng, an engineer with the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), said last week on the group's blog.

"Microsoft is reportedly working on a microtransactions service that would allow users to play games for free while charging for additional features. According to Develop, Redmond is calling on developers to discuss possible free-to-play game deals. Under the free-to-play price structure, players can play the game for free and Microsoft will make its money from in game purchases of different objects or upgrades."

"Valve has once again turned to Team Fortress 2 as the studio’s outlet for experimentation, this time with a daring move to make the triple-A game entirely free to play."

"Why it seems like only yesterday that our little Firefox had its last major upgrade. As expected, the browser turned 5.0 today, and you can celebrate by downloading it now from Mozilla's site. We'd like to know how your test drive of the update is going so far. Let us know in the poll and the comments below."

"DICE has confirmed that the console versions of Battlefield 3 will only support a frame rate of 30fps. That is right: both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will both only run at 30 frames per second, while the PC version will run at 60fps. The 30fps will be delivered on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at a resolution of 720p. The PC version, however, will run at full 1080p. Actually, a number of the most popular titles run at 720p, so the decision isn’t that surprising."

"Firefox 5 has been in Beta for quite a while, and the current iteration of Beta works just fine. It doesn't crash, it opens any site that we usually visit and Flash works for all of them.

This is not a big surprise considering that beta is supposed to come on June 24th and one big feature that was even requested by US Congress was the do not track option. To elaborate, Google and other advertising giants tend to look at what are you searching for, let’s say tablets or shoes, and they will serve you ads to match you interest."

"This article provides information on the latest posting of AMD’s software suite, AMD Catalyst™ 11.6. This particular software suite updates both the AMD display driver, and the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision™ Engine Control Center. This unified driver has been updated to provide enhanced level of power, performance, and reliability."

"Microsoft today warned that scammers have taken to the phone lines to dupe Windows users into putting malware on their machines or paying for worthless help.

The ploy isn't new -- security experts have seen it in circulation for at least a year -- but Microsoft was the first to quantify the problem.

According to Microsoft, which sponsored surveys in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Canada, 15% of the people polled said they had received unsolicited calls from fraudsters posing as computer support technicians who claimed they were offering PC security checks.

"XBMC is software that lets people watch movies and tv shows, listen to music, and look at photos all from the comfort of their couch. This means you always get to watch the shows you want to watch. You get to listen to the music you want to listen to. And you get to force Uncle Phil to watch the picture slideshow of your first vacation and/or your baby’s first diaper changing. So many beautiful memories!.."

"Microsoft has warned that it will release 16 security bulletins tomorrow, nine involving critical vulnerabilities. In total, it plans to patch 34 vulnerabilities.

Redmond will patch critical vulnerabilities in all supported versions of Windows for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Critical vulnerabilities as bugs "whose exploitation could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action."