.Yahoo rejects joint Microsoft, Icahn proposal

By Anupreeta Das and Tiffany Wu

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc on Saturday rejected a proposal to sell its search business to Microsoft Corp and hand over the remainder of the company to activist investor Carl Icahn.

Yahoo said in a statement it received the joint proposal from Microsoft and Icahn on Friday evening and was given less than 24 hours to accept. It said Microsoft and Icahn made clear they were unwilling to negotiate the fundamental terms, which include the immediate replacement of Yahoo's board and removal of top management.

The company said the "take it or leave it" deal that was offered would also preclude a potential sale of all of Yahoo "for a full and fair price, including a control premium."

"This odd and opportunistic alliance of Microsoft and Carl Icahn has anything but the interests of Yahoo's stockholders in mind," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in the statement.

"Clearly, Microsoft, having failed to advance in search, is aligning with the short-term objectives of Mr. Icahn to coerce Yahoo into selling its core strategic search assets on terms that are highly advantageous to Microsoft, but disadvantageous to Yahoo stockholders," Bostock said.

The move comes a few weeks before Yahoo's annual meeting on August 1, when Icahn is seeking to oust Chief Executive Jerry Yang and replace the nine-member board with his own slate of directors. Icahn owns nearly 5 percent of Yahoo shares.

Microsoft, which has been embroiled in on-again, off-again deal talks with Yahoo for six months, has said it no longer wants to negotiate with Yang's team, but that it is willing to resume talks if a new management is in place on August 1.

Yahoo did not detail the financial returns of the new proposal from Microsoft and Icahn, saying only that it was an improvement over an offer the software maker made in June but still carried less financial value and more risk than Yahoo's current search advertising deal with Google Inc.

Source from here.

.The Virus

So I was checking Rano's Site the other day and I saw something interesting. It's about the trojan link in the MSN Messenger. So what is it all about? Well, I'm sure most of us have experienced this; when one of your contact just private message you sending links to your picture, games etc, and when you look at their status they are actually offline. The links would look something like this.

Let me share my some of my knowledge to you my dear readers. Above are some examples of what is sent to you by the victims of this trojan.

It contains a link which is optional to press, and this link is supposedly gonna show of this picture. Nosy receivers click the link and they can then start regretting.

What happens when you press the link, is that your computer downloads a so called 'Downloader', a small program clip that again downloads a more vicious code. We are talking about a "bot-code", who in short terms means that the infected computer connects to a network who can be controlled by others, say Head Director Christophe Birkeland in NorCERT, a sub-department of National Security Authority who works secifically with IT-threats. In other words, if you click on the link, you would somehow become a "puppet" controlled by a stranger. In the IT Security world, people refer these PCs as a zombie PC, where it can become one of its puppet to hack into large organisation without exposing themselves. Plus, when you are affected by the trojan, the frightening thing is, it is very hard to detect it. Results shows that under half of the 30 anti virus program that was tested could not spot the trojan.

So what do you need to do when you get this links? My advice:

1. No matter how tempting or convincing the link might be, DO NOT attempt to click on it. The trojan has what we call a spreadvector, which adapts to the language your operatve system is in.

2. Check whether your contact is online.

3. Let them know that their machine has been infected by the trojan. And tell them to reinstall their Messenger.

Note that this virus only affects Windows Operating System. So Mac or Linux users who are connected to the MSN will have nothing to worry about.

*source taken from here

.Above the Sky

No posts today. Just a picture for you to stare at. Taken from one of the windows in the BI421 plan from Brunei to Singapore.

.The Wedding

Umi's Wedding was on the 1st June 2008 so sorry for the delay. *Hehe* Well these are some of the pictures from her wedding. 

Congratulations and Semoga Kekal Ke Anak Cucu.

.The Tobacco Order

Last week saw the launching of the Tobacco Order for the Civil Servants at the Council of States Building. The guest of honor was Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa Bin Haji Sirat. It was attended by the senior officers and director from all the Government Departments.

The Fountain

The Banquet Hall

Listening to the Forum

Stop Smoking