Microsoft introduced the first version of its Forefront Security tools for its newly released Exchange Server 2007 software, saying the integrated systems defenses will help companies ward off malware programs and spam. Shipped to coincide with the release of the long-awaited update to Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007 email and collaboration platform, the Forefront Security package aims to help companies better protect their critical information and control access to their underlying IT infrastructure.

Microsoft will make its new enterprise voice communications server available to 2,500 companies under a private beta program. The product, which will be known as Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, brings with it the ability for companies to integrate VOIP (voice over IP) technology into existing telephony infrastructure, Chris Cullin, the director of product management in Microsoft’s Unified Communications Group. This server is also the successor to Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005, and forms part of Microsoft’s unified communications portfolio.

Microsoft took great pains to improve security in its newly released computer operating system, Windows Vista, redesigning it to reduce users’ exposure to destructive programs from the Internet. Outside researchers commend the retooled approach–yet they also say the changes won’t make online life much safer than it is now. Why not? Partly because of security progress that Microsoft already had made in its last operating system, Windows XP. Also because a complex product like Vista is bound to have holes yet to be discovered. And mainly because of the rapidly changing nature of online threats.

A second security vulnerability has been discovered in Microsoft Word in less than a week. The zero-day flaw, which is could let an attacker gain remote access to a person’s system, affects Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003 and Word Viewer 2003, according to a Microsoft security advisory posted Sunday night. Word 2007 is not affected, Microsoft said.

A Microsoft-commissioned study that looks at the economic impact of Windows Vista in the United States in its first year of shipment estimates that for every dollar of Microsoft revenue from the new operating system, the ecosystem around it will reap $18 in revenues. That would result in about $70 billion in hardware, software packages and services being sold in 2007 by OEMs, the IDC study found.

The Sent Items Organizer add-in from Sperry Software allows you to dynamically save your sent emails in Outlook folders other than the default. You can save them according to who you’re sending to, keywords in the subject or body of the email, or you can have it prompt you where to save each time–or all three. This saves space when trying to overcome the Outlook 32k rules limit, and keeps you organized by keeping related mails together in one folder. To help you further, after you set up the add-in the way you like you can run it on all your existing sent emails to help you get organized quickly.

Star quarterback Tom Brady has sued Yahoo, claiming that the Internet business used his image without his consent to advertise its fantasy football service. Brady, who led the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl championships, is demanding Yahoo stop running the ads and is seeking unspecified damages, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles. A spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo declined comment, saying it was company policy not to discuss pending litigation.

As part of its monthly patch cycle, Microsoft plans to release on Tuesday six security bulletins, at least two of them deemed "critical." Five of the security bulletins will include fixes for vulnerabilities in Windows, Microsoft said in a notice on its Web site Thursday. The sixth bulletin will offer an update for Visual Studio, it said. Microsoft has not scheduled a patch for Office. Earlier this week, it warned that a yet-to-be-patched security hole in multiple versions of Word–part of the Office suite–is being exploited in cyberattacks. The software maker is working on a security update, but apparently needs more time.

Organized gangs have adopted "KGB-style" tactics to hire high-flying computer students to commit Internet crime, a report said on Friday. Criminals are targeting universities, computer clubs and online forums to find undergraduates, according to Internet security firm McAfee. Some gangs have sponsored promising students from other disciplines to attend computer courses before planting them in businesses as "sleepers." McAfee said the students write computer viruses, commit identity theft and launder money in a multi-billion dollar industry that is more lucrative than the drugs trade.

There’s a reason a lot of workers dread holiday parties. Can you drink? Must you wear a tie? What if you say the wrong thing? What if your manager says you should loosen up but doesn’t really mean it? What if you make a bad joke? To some, it feels like walking a tightrope and its reason enough to just want to stay home. You’re going to have to show up, and you’ll have to clean up your mess if you blow it. But eWEEK strives to make this a lot less daunting with by leading you through a guided tour of the things you should not do.