Business - E-business latest news

Attention! We're listening! Seeking competitive advantage and profitability through good relations with the social media, the B2B world has energetically embraced the grand online colloquy known as the two-way talk-back "conversation." Online social media platforms are now in play in the B2B relationships that organizations have with their vendors, suppliers, partners and contractors.

A new type of Trojan horse malware application is hiding inside fake MP3 media files, infecting approximately 500,000 consumer PCs, McAfee Avert Labs reported. The nefarious files have been delivered primarily on peer-to-peer networks during the last several days. The trojan, known as "Downloader-UA.h," was added to McAfee's DAT files about a week ago.

New e-commerce security requirements for payment processing are vague enough to leave everyone wondering what to do, as the June 30 deadline approaches. We offer compliance strategies for different budgets.

Are social networking sites ever going to reap big sales for e-tailers? Media executives discuss the topic as the phenom goes from fad to trend to mainstream.

If you could clone your best agent hundreds or thousands of times over, you could ensure that each and every customer calling your contact center receives the same high-quality, friendly and informed response. In reality, natural language speech self-service is probably the closest and best alternative to delivering cost-effective and customer-friendly service.

Sankersen Banerjee, CEO of FutureBazaar

Brick-and-mortar stores still tops for last-minute buys.

The long list of companies Microsoft might acquire post-Microhoo includes such outré possibilities as Netflix, Cisco and Salesforce.com. Facebook is also on that list -- but its potential as a Microsoft acquisition target is beginning to look less unlikely. In fact, it's looking downright plausible. Rumor has it Microsoft has already approached the social networking site about a possible sale.

Google's top executives on Thursday expressed hope that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo -- a deal that would lower the odds of Microsoft renewing its attempts to buy Yahoo. "We have been talking to Yahoo, and we are very excited to be working with them," Google cofounder Sergey Brin told reporters before the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Gas prices are setting record highs, homeowners are facing foreclosure, the dollar's slipping further down a black hole, and the credit industry is collapsing. These are frustrating times -- and perhaps that's partly why "Grand Theft Auto IV" just set some new records for video game sales.