I know! Let`s have a hackers` union!

A proposal to create an association to represent the interests of hackers and vulnerability researchers is gaining support, a security expert said yesterday.

CNet reports that the group, which would be geared toward researchers and not software vendors, would provide guidelines on vulnerability disclosures and lobby against legislation that could stifle security researchers` ability to tinker with software. Around 36 people have pledged financial support to help get the group started, said Thor Larholm, senior security researcher for US-based PivX Solutions.

The move, first publicly proposed on Tuesday to a security mailing list, is the latest by hackers and security researchers to fight off corporate public relations and government policies that aim to suppress information about vulnerabilities from the public.

.Net, Microsoft`s elusive strategy, was re-explained at the Comdex trade show, reports ZDNet. While it was initially understood as a strategy for delivering software functionality as a Web-based service, it actually represents several major changes in direction for Microsoft, said John Montgomery, a group product manager for the software giant.

"I think Microsoft did a poor job when we introduced this and just stuck the .Net name on different products," Montgomery said.

"We`ve really done two things at once with this term .Net," he said, saying the term refers to a new model for working with Windows developers and a commitment to working with open standards to ensure interoperability between disparate computing systems.

A US federal court judge has dismissed Wells Fargo`s motion to block a software maker that launches rival pop-up ads when customers access the bank`s Web site, reports CNet.

The court denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against WhenU, a distributor of free advertising software. Wells Fargo and plaintiff Quicken Loans charged that WhenU violated their copyrights and trademarks by delivering ads for rival Web sites to consumers while they were visiting their own sites.

"The fact that some WhenU advertisements appear on a computer screen at the same time [the] plaintiffs` Web pages are visible in a separate window does not constitute a use in commerce of the plaintiffs` marks," the judge wrote as one of the arguments against an injunction.

Seizing momentum on the growing popularity of open source software, PostgreSQL Global Development Group is working out the kinks in its open source object relational database software, reports eWeek.

The group announced the availability and some enhancements in version 7.4 of the PostgreSQL Object Relational Database Management System.

PostgreSQL 7.4 features optimisation tuning for systems running AMD`s 64-bit Opteron processor, and software upgrades include thread-safe embedded-C, improved index maintenance tools to monitor free space, support of full-text indexing and overhauled SSL protection.