Following on from the report about the latest Internet Explorer 7 exploit, Microsoft has issued an ‘out-of-band’ (unscheduled to you and me…) security update for IE: MS08-078. This update is classified as critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 and Internet Explorer 7 as well as Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2.

So what impact has this vulnerability had on the take-up of other browsers?
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Hacking attacks on the most popular applications are inevitable but what makes the latest Internet Explorer 7 exploit interesting is that it’s left Microsoft floundering to get a fix - and the problem is snowballing.

MS reckons some 0.2% of worldwide users may have been exposed to the dodgy websites that exploit the IE vulnerability but the trend is not good: they received a 50% increase in the number of reports in just one day over last weekend.
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Coming to an AdWords account near you soon is Google’s latest matching option: automatic matching.

Currently in beta, automatic matching will allow Google (with your ‘permission’) to show your ads on the Google network for any search queries it believes to be relevant but that aren’t already being captured with your current keywords.
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I change my mobile about every 3 years - I’m not into technology for the sake of it. All I want to do is to make calls and send text messages. Well, until I got an iPhone that is…

OK, I admit I was taken in by the sexiness of it all but I promised myself that I only wanted it for the web and email; I wouldn’t go mad and buy loads of apps. Just Crash Bandicoot and Super Monkey Ball (for my kids, of course) and Texas Hold’em, err, and MetaSquares, OK, and Koi Pond but that’s it. Then a colleague tells me about Kizoom’s MyRail Lite (sic) app and it’s free (for now) so that’s gone on too.

If you’re UK-based and like letting the ‘train take the strain’ (TM) this is a brilliant app. It hooks into the National Rail enquiries database and provides a real-time visual guide to train times: arrivals and departures even scheduled times and actual times with all those nice delays showing up in red. It even integrates with the iPhone’s sat nav to find the nearest station to where you are.

Did I also say it’s free? It’s on iTunes. I don’t work for the company. I don’t know anybody who works for the company and there’s not an affiliate link in sight!

Why is AdWords Quality Score important?
If you’re interested in squeezing every last bit of performance from your AdWords campaign and your budget, you should spend at least a few minutes getting to grips with AdWords quality score; so why not grab a cup of coffee and read on!
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No sooner has it been announced that Yahoo Co-founder and CEO, Jerry Yang, is to step down as soon as a replacement can be found, Yahoo once again finds itself in the news: this time for selling the comparison shopping site Kelkoo that it acquired back in 2004 to a UK private equity firm Jamplant.

The Kelkoo transaction is said to net Yahoo a cool (place your little finger to the corner of your mouth in a European Dr Evil way) 100 million Euros (source: TechCrunch).

Not bad until you consider Yahoo paid 475 million Euros for it. That’s, erm, not a good investment, is it Jerry? Oh well, at least he gets his old job back, ‘Chief Yahoo’, whatever that is…

Google has announced that it’s beta testing an updated interface for AdWords. Details are sketchy (well, none existent actually) on what the changes will be, but they won’t be affecting how ads are run nor will they change any AdWords performance characteristics.

Sounds like it’s a usability update with possibly some features from the Google AdWords Editor application folded in to simplify edits across ad groups. Google does tend to slip in some nice stuff with their updates so there may well be some surprises.

Unfortunately the beta interface is currently only available in the US so everyone else will have to wait. It makes sense to limit the number of beta-testing candidates but why not include International testers to begin with? A wider range of requirements and feedback would give Google much greater value from this exercise.

Those very nice people over at Google webmaster tools have pulled together a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) starter guide. It’s a good introduction to some basic SEO best-practices and perfect for anybody new to the subject. As Google readily admits, it doesn’t reveal any secrets to a top of page 1 slot, but we all have to start somewhere!

Depending on who you speak to, some people will entice you with the ‘dark art’ of obtaining quality visitors through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Others will say that paid search in the right hands is like watching a skilled surgeon at work. Others may say that getting a life should be a high priority for the first two groups. 

Fortunately, I get paid for doing both so I have no axe to grind! In my opinion, both are useful and complementary: paid search is quick and precise, SEO takes longer but you are building inherent value into your website. Here’s my extended list :
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Google AdWords quality score is not the most exciting subject but it’s important to understand. Why? Because if a keyword you’re bidding on has a high quality score, you’ll be paying less for clicks on your adverts and it is likely to get a better advert position or Ad Rank. The formula for Ad Rank that Google uses should make this clear:
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