Redmond

A man once accused of being one of the world’s top three spammers has agreed to pay -million in a settlement with Microsoft, the software maker announced on Tuesday. The money will be used to boost efforts to combat the illegal sending of unsolicited and misleading e-mail known as spam, a Microsoft news release said.

Microsoft dropped the code name Longhorn on Friday, announcing the next version of its flagship Windows operating system will be called Windows Vista. The world’s largest software maker also said it will release the first of two test versions to developers and information technology professionals by August 3.

Microsoft released five security bulletins to fix flaws that could allow an attacker to take complete control of someone else’s computer system. The security flaws rated ”critical” — Microsoft’s highest threat level — affect the company’s Windows computer operating system, Internet Explorer browser, MSN Messenger, Microsoft Word software and Exchange server system.

Microsoft released a long-awaited security update for its Windows XP program on Friday, a response to the growing number of security shortcomings in the market-dominant computer operating system. The free upgrade won’t be available to everyone right away, however.

Microsoft is unveiling copyright protection software to allow rented songs or movies to be used on portable players, cellular phones and other devices. The company’s latest ”digital rights management” software, code-named Janus, was released on Monday.

When Microsoft unveiled a multimillion-dollar makeover of its MSN Internet-browsing software last fall, the company had nine-million subscribers and a -million marketing campaign designed to draw hordes of new customers.