Security experts have found a silver lining in the recession: it’s hitting cybercriminals hard too, leading to a drop in malware. That’s right; there really are hard times all over. A German security firm has released a report showing a 30% drop in unique malware signatures and says it’s no holiday lull.

Yesterday, Microsoft let go more than 3,000 of its staff, almost double the amount that it laid off during their first wave of job cuts back in January. During that time, Microsoft had said that they planned to lay off 5,000 employees in order to stay afloat during the recession. This number has almost been more »

Google has reported first quarter net earnings at $1.42 billion, up 6 percent from last year despite the recession. Not including traffic costs, it came to be about $4.49 a share. However, revenue did drop since last quarter, which makes Google’s top execs uncertain how to navigate its components in the upcoming months. To bring more »

If I were Motorola this week, I’d be feeling a bit nauseated. The company took some particularly bad hits this week — hits that would take the wind out of almost anyone’s sails. Let’s give you a rundown of the fun this week at Moto.

Good news, everyone: Motorola’s co-CEOs have declined to take their bonus for 2008. On the surface, that sounds like a great thing; Motorola can use that money to help the company out. However, in reality, the bonuses were mainly from stock awards, which would be virtually worthless considering Motorola’s current stock price.

The bad news: Motorola had to shut down one of its plants in China and let go about 5000 employees. This should be another good cost-cutting measure for Moto. And it is going to need that money to pay its legal fees because Motorola is being sued by its former CFO for retaliatory discharge (usually this refers to a firing in response to an employee acting in the public interest). If his allegations are true, and Moto is firing people who are looking out for the public interest, it is time to be afraid of who they are keeping around.

A common trend within the past year is the laying off of employees. Even though many companies are trying to cut costs by being more efficient, some still have to resort to lay offs. Today, Nokia announced that they are planning to cut 1,000 jobs globally as a means to save some money.

Nokia has undergone a new restructuring process, which requires 1,000 job cuts in order to make their plan effective. Nokia is trying to be as fair as possible with this by letting their employees volunteer to quit. Hopefully, people who don’t need a job at Nokia take the time to quit, while those who really need their Nokia job to provide for their family doesn’t lose their job. Starting March 1, the applications for the Voluntary Resignation Package will be available, and will run until 1,000 employees have submitted an application. The deadline is May 31, 2009.

In the first time in their company’s financial history, Sharp Corporation has suffered an annual profit loss. The announcement came after the company found itself in the red after their third quarter, contributing the financial downfall to price drops in flat panel television sets and a firmer yen. The company has warned of an operating loss of $30 billion yen for the year when its fourth quarter ends March 31.

Due to the recession, the company must take steps in order to ensure its survival. They plan to make operational adjustments in order to save $2.2 billion as well as cut the jobs of 1,500 workers that don’t hold permanent positions with the company. Financial forecasts predict that the losses suffered by Sharp can prove even more significant in 2009.

The CEO of Lenovo, William Amelio announced his resignation today as his three year contract with the company comes to a close. Insiders speculate that the resignation stems from the company’s stunning $97 million loss for the third quarter. This number is a dramatic comparison to Lenovo’s $172.6 million profit in the same quarter the previous year.

Amelio will remain with the company until September 30 as a special advisor while Yang Yuanqing takes over the CEO position. Yang Yuanqing had filled the position previously until 2005 when he was appointed head of the chair.

In a wave of closings, layoffs, and cutbacks one company in the gadget world is looking to stand their ground against the economic tide. Best Buy, the tech and gadget superstore, could hugely benefit from store closings, but one particular may catch their eye.

Circuit City is looking to soon close thousands of stores in the U.S. alone as it liquidates its assets and closed shop. Best Buy is looking to potentially snatch up some of those locations around the country according to CEO, Brad Anderson. Anderson apparently told Reuters recently that quality financial standing was more important at the present time, though.

AOL has sent out a companywide e-mail to announce plans to lay off approximately 10 percent of its workforce. The job cuts will continue through March and are part of the company’s recession survival plan. Along with the job cuts, none of the current AOL employees will be receiving merit raises over the course of the year.

Besides layoffs, AOL will consolidate a number of its major departments into a single unit. During this period, the company will spend funds focusing on its three major businesses: Platform-A advertising, People Networks social networking, and MediaGlow content.

Each day, headlines are screaming about plunging profits and frightening layoffs. However, Netflix seems to be actually making money and has experienced a major period of growth during the company’s fourth quarter. Profits rose 45 percent, a fact that the company attributes to their new streaming video feature, which allows viewers to instantly watch movies over their computer. The company also offers low cost subscription plans that allow you to access their extensive library of DVDs.