Microsoft has received a report of an unexpected behavior in the way that the Windows Firewall User Interface handles malformed entries in the Windows Registry. By creating malformed Windows Firewall exception entries in the Windows Registry, an exception could be created in the firewall that would not be displayed in the Windows Firewall User Interface. However, this exception is displayed by the command line firewall administration tools.
It is important to note that this is not a vulnerability. Administrative privileges are required to access the associated section of the Windows Registry that contains this configuration information. By using documented methods to manage and create Windows Firewall exceptions, it is unlikely that a malformed registry entry will be produced which would exhibit this behavior. It is more likely that an attacker who has already compromised the system would create such malformed registry entries with intent to confuse a user.
Related Software- Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition
Microsoft plans to include an update to address this concern as part of a future service pack on the affected supported platforms.
(Continue at source).
Fully patched Windows systems may be at risk from an unpatched, high-risk security hole affecting the latest version of Internet Explorer.
An attacker could exploit the bug to execute malicious code and take over a user's system, Ferris said. He said the attack works via a specially crafted Web page, doesn't need any user interaction and doesn't give the user any warning that code has been executed. The bug isn't related to previous Explorer flaws, Ferris said.
Microsoft has confirmed it is investigating the flaw, but hasn't yet said what action it will take, if any. Possible actions could include a patch included with the company's monthly patching cycle, or an out-of-cycle patch, if warranted, Microsoft said in a statement.
(Continue at source).
MARK STACHIEW writes in The Montreal Gazette: Caught in vicious cycle with automatic reboot. Recovery settings, motherboard or incompatibilities with software or drivers are likely sources of problem.
Q: I restored Windows XP professional, but now I can't shut the machine down. It just reboots. Undoing restore doesn't help. Any suggestions?
For the answer to this question and more read the full article.
(Continue at source).
Today our Windows Server product development team reached a very important milestone - the release of Windows Server 2003 R2 RC0. If you haven't heard about R2 before, R2 is an update release of Windows Server 2003 with SP1, and provides improved branch office server solutions, identity and access management and storage management. You can get R2 RC0 from the R2 web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/r2. Both x86 and x64 versions are available for download.
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Originally published on
The Hotfix (site is overloaded at the moment) a pre XP SP3 has been made available. It's a 100+ hotfix pack of many of the Windows XP SP3 fixes up for download. A list of all fixes can be found
here.
They've got a 100+ hotfix pack of many of the Windows XP SP3 fixes up for download. These are fixes that you would have to call Microsoft and get through their support center. These probably won't be up for download for more than a few days, so grab them while their hot! Download size is 103.3 MB.
(Continue at source).
As Microsoft readies the next version of its Windows operating system, called Vista, the software giant is building in unprecedented levels of safeguards against video piracy.
For the first time, the Windows operating system will wall off some audio and video processes almost completely from users and outside programmers, in hopes of making them harder for hackers to reach. The company is establishing digital security checks that could even shut off a computer's connections to some monitors or televisions if antipiracy procedures that stop high-quality video copying aren't in place.
Techlog note: I wonder how they will deal with non-Microsoft operating systems like Linux MacOS or even Windows XP running in a virtual machine on Vista...
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For the past 2 days, the Internet Storm Center (ISC) shared a warning on long registry key values that can be made hidden from REGEDIT by malware making removal more complicated than in the past.
The ISC is offering a free Registry Search Tool. This neat new tool will locate the registry key values greater than 255 characters in length. Download the tool at
isc.sans.org.
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Microsoft has quietly released a beta version of WinFS, the file system originally slated to be part of Windows Vista, to MSDN subscribers. This
beta release works on Windows XP and requires the .NET Framework version 2.0.
WinFS is the codename for Microsoft’s next-generation relational file system for Windows. As an essential piece of Microsoft’s Integrated Storage strategy, WinFS bridges the gap between file systems and databases and provides a unified, rich programming platform for all data: structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. With WinFS, Developers will be able to use its unified Item Data Model across applications, present new relational organization constructs for data, and create applications that exploit data more powerfully. WinFS is a development platform that will improve developer productivity and reduce organizations’ time to market.
(Continue at source)
In my never ending quest to get rid of all "command window" windows when starting applications I just had to change the source code of the great
Microsoft tool DropMyRights. This tool allows you to run Windows as an administrator and access Internet data safely by dropping unnecessary administrative privileges when using any tool to access the Internet. The way it does this is to start the tool before your browser (for example) does, you just supply the executable name of the browser as a parameter to dropmyrights and the browser will be started by dropmyright without administrative privileges. But the originel DropMyRights version by Microsoft is implemented as a Win32 Console Project. In this case I don't realy like that, because you see a command window flashing by, however short, but still irritating enough in my opinion..
So what I did a couple of weeks ago is just recompile it as a real Win32 window based application, added some messagebox error messages to it. The rest is of course the same only that is now available to you all!
Some 'screenshots':
In the zip file attached to this article you will find the source code and the executable of the new and improved DropMyRights. Hope you all like it. Download this Techlog.org hosted tool here:
DropMyRightsGUI
Security Now podcast on dropmyrights by Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte.
Coming from the Windows Server Division weblog:
Intel’s Pat Gelsinger just demo’d a future version of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 running Intel’s Virtualization Technology (VT). IDF attendees saw an early preview of a future release (post-Virtual Server 2005 R2) of Virtual Server. This future release will provide support for both Intel VT and AMD Pacifica. This release is scheduled for beta in 1H 2006 and availability in 2H 2006. One great thing about CPU-assisted virtualization is improved performance for non-Windows guest OSes (i.e., Linux), which will be supported on Virtual Server R2 later this year.
The Gelsinger demo had PC #1 running a NT 4 Legacy app, web server app and SQL Server. Gelsinger then wrapped up the NT 4 Legacy app and moved it over to PC #2 to show the portability of VMMs running Intel’s VT.
Separately today, you should know that we announced that Virtual Server 2005 R2 – not Virtual Server 2005 SP1– will be the official name of the next version of Virtual Server 2005. The official name will appear in the RTM of the product in Q4 2005.
In another stage demo, Gelsinger announced VMware ESX (server) will run Intel’s VT. The demo showed WinServer 2003 x64, Oracle db on RedHat Linux, and Windows NT 4 on one PC. Gelsinger blue-screened the NT 4 server, while the other two remained stable/running.
Gelsinger wrapped up the virtualization conversation by saying Intel’s VT will first appear on Pentium (desktop) chips later this year, Itanium procs beginning of 2006, and Xeon procs later in 2006.
Now that yet another messenger has been launched (Google Talk) I wanted to compare them. Not the functionality, they basically all do the same: allow you to chat with friends. Ok, some of these messengers have some nice features, but these come at a price, a price called memory usage. I checked the memory usages of 4 messengers:
- Gaim 1.4.0 logged on to 2 msn accounts and 1 yahoo account
- MSN Messenger 7.5 logged on to 1 msn account, running with messenger plus extension and a lot of custom emoticons, weemees and winks (a configuration used by many because it is so nice to have)
- Google Talk first beta version logged on to 1 gmail account
- Yahoo Messenger 6.0 logged on to 1 Yahoo account
This screenshot was taken of the Sysinternals tool Process Explorer, the first column shows the process executable name, the second column shows the Private Bytes used, the third column shows the Virtual Size used and the last column shows the Working Set used.
(click to see full size image)
If you look at the virtual memory usage you see huge differences, MSN being the 'winner' with a whooping 320MB (yes Megabytes). The peak working set usage (that's real RAM) was over 230MB. This means that when you switch away or minimize the application this memory can potentially be paged out. To me this seems like a lot of memory for just a chat program. If you only use IM to chat maybe a switch to another messenger is a good advise or use something like Gaim or Trillian that supports more than one IM format (including msn, yahoo, jabber, icq/aim). Gaim only supports text chat, Trillian can also do videochat with msn, aim and yahoo. Draw your own conclusions.
While MSN Messenger 7.5 just came out, 8.0 is already being worked on and heading towards beta by the end of the year. A third party source whom is said to be from Microsoft has provided a list with this information.
There is a list of possible and rumored features Microsoft is contemplating on going into the IM client.
• Change of Messenger Skins
• Real-time Emotions
• Messenger Built Internal Windows Media Player 10
• Pause/Resumed File Transfers (File Blocked Extension Applied)
• Detailed File Transfer (Download/Upload Speed)
• Animated Display Pictures (.gif .jpg .png (File Support under Consideration))
• Mood Status
• Faster Contact List Loading and scrolling
• Public Profile and MSN Spaces Combined
• More MSN Space features
• New Hotmail and MSN Messenger Integration
• Downloadable MSN Messenger on Mobile
• News Updates according to Location
• Top 10 MSN Music Radio
• New Stylish Notifier Pop-up
• Downloadable Skins for MSN (Contact Window & Conversation Window)
• Complete Integration with Windows XP® & Windows Vista® Codename: Longhorn®
• Offline Voice/Message Machine
• Animated Buddy Icon Helper
• Display Picture Ratings
Microsoft has decided to christen Virtual Server 2005 Service Pack 1 as Virtual Server 2005 R2. But the follow-on release is still due out in the latter half of 2006.
Microsoft is adding another member to its growing family of R2 servers.
The latest addition is Virtual Server 2005 R2. Microsoft officials announced at the Intel Developer Forum this week that they had decided to christen the first service pack (SP) update for Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 product as an R2 release instead of SP1. The renamed product is still due to ship in the fourth quarter of this year.
Other products for which Microsoft is releasing R2 interim updates include Windows Server 2003 R2; Small Business Server 2003 R2; and Speech Server 2004 R2.(
continue at source)
Microsoft Corp. will soon make available to the general public a tool for warning users about "phishing" scams that could lead to identity theft.
Currently, such a tool comes only with the Internet Explorer 7 browser, which is available in tests only to a select group of developers.
But within a few weeks, Microsoft will incorporate it into a toolbar for older versions of IE. While still officially a test, the anti-phishing tool will be available to anyone running the Windows XP operating system with the Service Pack 2 security upgrade from last summer.
The company will eventually make it available to older Windows systems, too.(
continue at source)
As expected, Intel told attendees at this week’s Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco that the next generation of its processors will follow a low-power path to reduce heat leakage while still providing higher performance than ever.
Giving his first speech to an IDF crowd since becoming CEO in May, Paul Otellini said that the company will begin shipping in the second half of 2006 the first chips to use a new micro-architecture for notebook, desktop and server CPUs. The new micro-architecture is based on technology gleaned from the Pentium M and its predecessors. The Pentium M was originally designed for use in low-power notebooks.
During his keynote, Otellini showed off upcoming processors for notebook, desktop and server platforms – codenamed respectively Merom, Conroe and Woodcrest – built on Intel's coming 65-nanometer manufacturing process. The Merom multi-core mobile processor is due in the second half of 2006.(
continue at source)
In this article from MsEXchange.org Marc Grote gives some information about
Exchange Server SP2.
Exchange Server SP2 includes Mobile Messaging enhancements,better protection against spam and Mailbox and Public Folder enhancements. (
continue at source)
Download the Exchange Service SP2 CTP
Microsoft on Wednesday detailed changes to its Virtual Server plans, announcing it will shift its next update of the software from a maintenance release to a paid upgrade.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker, which had earlier announced plans to issue a service pack for Virtual Server 2005, said it will instead release a product in the fourth quarter of this year known as Virtual Server 2005 R2. Microsoft said the new version, already in beta testing, will offer improvements to performance and availability.
"There are a number of new features in the product we're introducing that make this much more full featured and robust...than a service pack," Microsoft group program manager Mark Kieffer said in a presentation at the Intel Developer Forum.(
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Pathping is a TCP/IP based utility (command-line tool) that provides useful information about network latency and network loss at intermediate hops between a source address and a destination address. It does this by sending echo requests via ICMP and analyzing the results. ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. ICMP is an extension to the Internet Protocol (IP - part of the TCP/IP protocol suite) defined by RFC 792. ICMP supports packets containing error, control and informational messages.
Pathping will send multiple echo request messages to each router between what you are attempting to ping – the source address. If your destination is across a WAN link then it’s certain that you will be using some form of router, most likely two, which would mean that you could test pathping across a two hop network – two router hops.(
continue at source)
The MSN Messenger team have just released version 7.5 of the client to the masses.
Among the new features are Dymanic Backgrounds and Voice Clips. Dynamic Backgrounds fill your MSN Messenger conversations and subtly animate during the conversation. Voice Clips allow you to send short audio clips (15 secs max) to your friends on MSN Messenger.
New audio improvements mean talking over MSN Messenger is far improved from recent versions.
You can also do the following:
Start a conversation with a contact: msnim:chat?contact=@hotmail.com
Add a contact to your contact list: msnim:add?contact=@hotmail.com
Send an invitation to start a voice conversation: msnim:voice?contact=@hotmail.com
Send an invitation to start a video conversation: msnim:video?contact=@hotmail.com
Download MSN Messenger 7.5
Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, introduced a tool that automatically displays Web content such as news and weather on users' computer screens, posing a threat to products from Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc.
The Google product, a vertical sidebar that pops up without first launching a Web browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, also can search for files and launch programs, Nikhil Bhatla, a Google product manager, said in an interview.
Google's tool, contained in an update of the Mountain View, California-based company's software that searches computer files, resembles features offered by Apple Computer Inc. and Yahoo. The tool poses a challenge to Microsoft, which plans to build new search features into the next version of the Windows operating system.(
continue at source)
Steven Bink reports that the Beta of VMWare Workstation 5.5. which just started will be able to open third-party VM's including Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server. Any changes made to the VM though are saved in VMWare format.
VMWare Workstation 5.5. will also include:
- The ability to concert third party formats
- Support for 64-bit host and guest OS
- Support for 2-way virtual SMP (experimental)
(
continue at source)
Microsoft plans to bolster the Software Assurance component of its volume licensing program next month with several additional benefits covering deployment services, enhanced support, training and exclusive software, according to a source familiar with Microsoft's plans.
Microsoft will officially unveil the new Software Assurance benefits during a series of Web conferences starting at midnight on Sept. 15.
According to the source, who asked not to be identified, specific additions to Software Assurance will include:
- Desktop Deployment Planning Services
- Enhanced support
- Virtual PC Express for SA
- Extended training
- Windows Vista Enterprise Edition
(
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Whether you are a security officer, network administrator, manager, or executive, you are not only aware, but typically concerned about the damage that a typical end user can cause on the network. It has been proven over and over again that most attacks come from within the bounds of the firewall performed by employees. This is why the Principle of Least Privilege is so important. If typical end users can be limited with their abilities, then their scope of damage can be limited and hopefully halted.
The Principle of Least Privilege is not a new concept, but the push to implement it on production networks has never been so important. This article will go over some of the most common configurations that you can make to implement these principles and reduce the possibility of an attack from a typical end user.(
continue at source)
VMware announced this week it will price its products per CPU and not per core, assuring users that they will not be penalized for moving to emerging multi-core processors.
The move follows Microsoft which had announced it would only charge per CPU, also known as “per socket,” last fall. Intel said earlier this week that it expects that more than 85 percent of its server CPU shipments by the end of 2006 will be multi-core chips.
Additionally, VMware clarified its plans for supporting multi-core processors in its products. VMware GSX Server 3.2, which shipped last month, provides support for dual-core systems. Versions of VMware’s Workstation and ACE products released earlier this year came with support for dual-core processors.
VMware says that the next releases of its data center products, ESX Server and VirtualCenter, will complete the delivery of support for dual-core systems across the company’s server product line.
Microsoft plans to release a Community Technology Preview of Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 on Friday.
CTPs are replacing beta releases for many Microsoft products. They've been used especially heavily in the SQL Server 2005 pre-release testing process.
In addition to security and stability fixes, changes in Exchange Server 2003 SP2 will include new functionality for e-mail mobility, spam protection and mailboxes.(
continue at source)
On the WinSuperSite of Paul Thurrot you can find an updated article containing the road to Windows Vista 2005:
The feature set for Windows Vista has been in flux for some time. Here's why: Back in 2003, the plans for Windows Vista were quite ambitious, but when the core Windows team attempted to finally componentized Vista, then based on the XP SP2 code base, they found the task to be impossible and had to start over from scratch. That work commenced in mid-2004 and was finished near the end of 2004. By that time, Windows Vista was veering wildly off course, and Microsoft worked to reign in the project and delay any technologies that were too far-reaching.
By early 2005, the goal for Windows Vista was simple: Microsoft had a very limited set of technologies that would absolutely make it into the product and a very broad list of technologies that could possibly make it, depending on how development of those individual technologies proceeded. For Beta 1, finally released in July 2005, we're only seeing the core, fundamental pieces of Windows Vista. In future releases, we'll see more end user functionality. But you might also think of this functionality as being part of that broad list of possible features. Much of it is still in flux.
Anyway. Here we are in August 2005, a month before PDC 2005. Microsoft has a lot of marketing baloney out there about "clarity" and "confidence." That's cute, but what we really want to know is: What features will be included in Windows Vista? Here's what we know. (
continue at source)
Microsoft has invited a small group of people to test a new MSN Toolbar feature that lets you manage, search and access your Internet Explorer favorites, even when you are away from your PC! This new feature takes navigating the web to the next level.
The Roaming Favorites Add-In to the MSN Toolbar lets you create a centrally stored list of your favorite websites. You can synchronize the Internet Explorer favorites from your primary PC or simply drag and drop URLs into the Roaming Favorites navigation pane.
Roaming Favorites can be accessed from any MSN Toolbar enabled PC. For privacy, a user will need to sign in with a Passport ID.
As you may know there are several types of CD's which you can use when installing MS Windows. Depending on the type of CD you need to have a different kind of installation key or you need to activate your product after installation. In this article i'll try to demistify the different type's.
Microsoft Windows can be obtained through five channels. Currently the following channels exist:
- Retail
- Evalution
- Volume Licensing
- OEM
- Checked Build
You can use several methods to determine the channel that your software was obtained through. In this way you know in what kind of license key to use.
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Today Sysinternals release version 9.21 of their major tool Process Explorer. Most important new feature is support for Windows Vista.
What's new in Version 9.2:
- CPU history shown in tray icon
- CPU history columm
- I/O delta column
- Process security editing
- Reports loaded 32-bit DLL on Windows 64-bit
- Support for Windows Vista
What's new in Version 9.1:
- x64 and x86 executables are in a single binary
- x64 kernel and user-mode stack support
- New Verified Company column shows image signer information
- Strings tab in process properties dialog has in-memory image scan option
- Highlighting for images that are packed (have compressed or encrypted code, which is common in malware)
- Window menu on process context menu allows for minmizing, maximizing, and restoring windows
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Microsoft on Monday announced the second early release of its new design tool known by the code name Acrylic.
Acrylic, a professional illustration, painting and graphic-design product, is targeted at de-signers working in print, Web, video, and interactive media. Up until now, Microsoft Corp. has not fielded a product in this space, which is dominated by Adobe Systems Inc. Acrylic is based on the Creature House Expression product that Microsoft acquired in 2003, when Microsoft bought the developer of Expression, a Hong Kong-based company, Creature House Ltd.
"Acrylic relates to Windows Vista, and it is a technology for the creation of rich applications and user interfaces," said Forest Key, group product manager for the technology. Acrylic also relates to the Windows Presentation Foundation, formerly code-named Avalon, and "gives developers capabilities to build compelling applications. There is a need for tools to target XAML [Microsoft's Extensible Application Markup Language] for presentation of compelling applications. Acrylic is a design tool to target XAML." (
continue at source)
An MSN executive is defending Microsoft's rebranding of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) into "Web feeds" after a flurry of Microsoft bloggers accused the software giant of trying to recast the Web-site syndication technology in its own image.
In a recent post on his Web log "
Torres Talking," Mike Torres, MSN Spaces lead program manager, made a clear distinction between the branding of the RSS technology and the underlying technology itself. He also said that Microsoft is adding its own functionality to RSS in the version the company is implementing in Internet Explorer 7.
Coming from Jon Galloway's weblog: "
IE has a secret standalone mode which lets you run multiple versions side by side"
It's pretty simple:
- Download the IE7 Beta 1 Install from MSDN
- Open the install file with WinRAR (yep, it's an EXE, but it's a self extracting EXE) and extract them to a folder.
- Look in the folder you extracted to for the file SHLWAPI.DLL. Delete this file.
- Create a new text file in the folder, then rename it to IEXPLORE.exe.local.
That's it. The .local file in the folder tells the IExplore.exe instance to run in local mode, which means it won't mess with your IE6 settings, registry, etc. It sounds complicated, but it takes less than 10 minutes and it goes just great with your Friday morning coffee.
Incidentally, there are archives of old IE versions converted to standalone mode over at
browsers.evolt.org and at
skyzyx.com.
Windows Vista inherent supports the new Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 hardware chip set.
By using a constant through time kernel memory to PC processor two-way association, certain OS functions cannot be performed (decoded) in case this relation breaks. Establishing this relation early enough during OS boot, certain parts of the OS itself will not be exposable for debugging and can thus be used for defining a safe medium for distributing copy-protected material, as that of the forthcoming holywood high-definition DVD distributions.
It seems that Bill Gates dreams for making windows the premium platform for entertainment playback, despite some recent EC setbacks, is now closest to fulfillment than ever.
AMD says it will release later this month SimNow, a free AMD64 simulator that will let developers work with the company’s next-generation processor technologies, including AMD’s virtualization technology, codenamed “Pacifica,” today.
SimNow emulates single- and dual-core AMD Athlon64 and AMD Opteron systems. It will enable developers to write software in advance of new processors shipping.
With SimNow's release, AMD executives are trying to set the conditions to have a rich commercial and embedded software ecosystem in place when the future versions of the AMD technologies ship.
Software maker VMware announced this week it is working with a wide range of other technology companies to establish “open” virtualization standards based on its products and technologies.
VMware, of Palo Alto, Calif., said its first move is contributing some of its own virtualization technology to the effort. That includes providing its partners royalty-free access to source code and interfaces for the company’s ESX Server product under a new program called VMware Community Source.
The idea is to let VMware’s partners influence the future of ESX Server through a collaborative development model and shared governance process, the company said. Partners will be able to make changes to the code and contribute shared code back to the program.
There's plenty of hype about the new SQL Server 2005. Here's a list what's important about the pending release, and what you can plan on using SQL Server for in the near future.
The fanfare from the US TechEd 2005 this past June was vintage Microsoft: lots of happy noise about miraculous products with tongue-in-cheek delivery dates, as many of us suppressed a yawn. But let's give credit where it's due; we've waited a long time for a new SQL Server, and the features Microsoft is delivering with its upgraded database technology are what we've asked for and then some. Here's a rundown on the features we'll find most useful. (
more)
At this week's LinuxWorld conference, Microsoft officials are planning to play up the Windows-Unix interoperability and cross-platform application-portability strategies that will be enabled Microsoft's pending Windows Server 2003 R2 operating system release.
Bill Hilf, the head of Microsoft's Linux lab, is planning to talk up during his LinuxWorld session on Wednesday the elements of Microsoft's Services for Unix subsystem that the company is integrating into R2.
"I can confirm that the next-generation of several components of Services for Unix are being integrated into Windows Server 2003 R2. The Network File System (NFS) client, NFS Server, User/Name Mapping, Telnet Server & Client, Password Sync and NIS Server components of Services for Unix are all present in the Windows Server 2003 R2 builds," said Hilf, in response to one of the
Slashdot questioners. (
continue at source)
Everytime Microsoft releases a new version of its operating system, someone points out that it will involve the wholesale scrapping of existing hardware.
Going through the specs of Vista it looks like you will not only probably need a new PC, but it will be time to splash out on a new monitor too.
According to a US tech consultant Stephen Speicher, Vista will make protected digital content all fuzzy unless it is viewed on high bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) compatible monitor.
He said that the number of people whose display is equipped with HDCP are so rare that it would take a special distributed screen saver to find them.
With Vista, the new client version of Windows due next year, Microsoft is addressing what's become a sad truth for most people: PCs run more slowly over time.
Vista will automatically de-fragment hard disks, make better use of memory to more quickly load programs, and include a new performance control panel that will identify performance bottlenecks, according to the company.
The goal is to keep PCs running like new long after they're purchased. "Certainly a year after a user gets a Vista system, if they do the sort of standard things we encourage users to do (install Windows updates, etc.), it should run the same as when they initially got it, said Gabriel Aul, a group program manager in Microsoft's Windows division.(
continue at source)
Microsoft has confirmed that just a handful of people will get to look at the beta version of Longhorn Server, despite the public release of a beta for its next-generation client-side operating system, Windows Vista.
The first beta for the server version of Longhorn - expected to be named Windows Server 2007 - is not available for public download and is now rolling out to a group of 5,000 testers, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
Among those to get the first glimpse of the next iteration of Windows server software are hardware manufacturers, ISVs (independent software vendors), OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), system builders and developers.
The beta, which includes core foundation and application programming interfaces for the server components, will enable Microsoft to gather feedback, the company said.
There is no date scheduled for when a beta will be made available to the general public, Microsoft's spokeswoman said.(
continue at source)
Bug fixes and security will be Microsoft's main priority for IE 7, while adding support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Microsoft's development team leader Chris Wilson says that their plan is to create "a platform that fully complies with the appropriate Web standards, in particular CSS 2." However, it appears that support for other web standards is currently on hold so they can focus on fixing the critical issues within the browser.
Currently IE 7 beta 1 is out in a limited-release version not available to the general public. A beta 2 version release is planned for later this year, which is expected to be generally available.
Microsoft is set to release six patches on Tuesday for its Windows operating system.
The company said in a security bulletin that at least one of the patches is rated 'critical', and that users will have to restart their systems after applying the patches.
Microsoft also warned that it plans to release one high priority update for Windows that is not security related.
This month's 'Patch Tuesday' also coincides with the release of an updated version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool. (
continue at source)
Microsoft Corp. has yet to finalize the minimum requirements for a PC to run its forthcoming operating system. But numerous PC industry watchers predict a dichotomy for the OS, which is due in late 2006.
Although it will be able to run on all but the most ancient machines, the OS will favor newer and relatively powerful machines when it comes to showing its true colors, analysts say.
Based on details provided by the software maker—a Microsoft representative this week suggested PC buyers who want to gain the full Windows Vista user interface experience pick up a PC with a discrete graphics card that supports its DirectX 9 graphics specification—analysts say that not all of today's hardware has the graphics chops necessary to display Windows Vista's most visually compelling feature, its new Aero Glass 3D user interface.(
continue at source)
Microsoft is planning to reissue the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Update rollup that it first launched in late June.
While the company did not specify a reason for the planned reissue, a number of Windows 2000 users who have installed the download have been complained of a variety of problems, ranging from incompatibility with third-party security applications, to network-printing issues.
Windows 2000 is still the operating system of choice for a number of businesses, especially those in the small and midsize business (SMB) space, according to industry watchers. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 2000 client and server on June 30.(
continue at source)
Last week's widely reported "Windows Vista virus" was not, in fact, a virus that targets Windows Vista at all, but was instead a virus that targets the Microsoft Scripting Host (MSH; codenamed Monad), an object-oriented, .NET-based command line environment. And while MSH may be installable in Windows Vista Beta 1, the environment does not come with Beta 1 and will not appear in future betas or the final release, Microsoft says. Furthermore, the new Windows Vista security subsystem isn't even enabled in Beta 1.
Thus, there's no Windows Vista virus. Sorry, conspiracy fans.(
continue at source)
On the WHDC website Microsoft provides a powerpoint presentation which gives an overview of the plans Microsoft has to make the next windows OS's aware of the fact that they run on a Virtual Machine. In fact the Win32 and kernal API will be able to tell if they are running on a Virtual Machine.
A couple of the features which will be available are: 32-bit and 64-bit guests, x64-only hosts, Guest multiprocessing, Virtualized devices, WMI management and control API, Save & restore, CPU and I/O resource controls, Tuning for NUMA, Dynamic resource addition & removal and Live migration
Making use of a so called 'Hypervisor' windows will support the
Intel 'vanderpool' and the
AMD 'pacifica' virtualization technologies.
Download the Windows Virtualization Architecture Presentation
The Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) is designed to help Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), system builders, and corporate IT professionals deploy Windows onto new hardware. The WAIK is a new set of deployment tools supporting the latest release of Windows. This guide describes the current methods, tools, and requirements for deploying Windows.
Download the WAIK User's Guide for Windows Code-named 'Longhorn'
MSN Filter is your one-stop shop for the inside scoop on what's happening across the Web, according to the people who know the most ... YOU! Whether it's music, sports, TV, style or technology, our team of bloggers will filter the best stories, photographs, links and other interesting tidbits that you've sent in, as well as items that they've dug up.
This is an opportunity to share your insider knowledge with the Filter community and take a chunk out of your 15 minutes of Internet fame.
Goto the MSN Filter preview website
SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder
Download the Synctoy v1 Beta for Windows XP
Paul Thurrot just posted a Internet Explorer 7 preview on his WinSuperSite:
There are there are a lot of questions about IE 7, mostly because Gates' initial comments were so vague, and Microsoft representatives have been unusually tight-lipped about IE 7's feature-set, preferring to divulge details over a long period of time. That's where I step in. Here's what we know about IE 7 right now:(
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After months of clamming up about its plans for Internet Explorer 7.0, Microsoft has opened the floodgates. The latest information the Redmondians are sharing? Microsoft's plans for CSS support (as of the forthcoming IE 7.0 Beta 2). For the most part, Web developers seem pleasantly surprised about the extent to which Microsoft is planning to back CSS. But there are still a few sticking points, including the company's acknowledgement that IE 7.0 won't pass the Web Standards Project's Acid2 browser test.
In addition to the initial beta test of the next version of Windows Server, Microsoft has also released a test version of a stripped-down Windows Server that removes the graphical user interface and uses far less resources than the full version of the server software.
The new version, using the unwieldy moniker Microsoft Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" Server Core (which still, for now, retains the Longhorn code name that was removed from the renamed next-generation operating system Windows Vista last week), runs from a command prompt and aims to let server administrators concentrate on a few specific server management tasks, cutting the time and management requirements for those functions. Longhorn Server Core allows management of some of the most common server configurations -- specifically, DHCP servers, file servers, DNS servers and Active Directory, according to the user instructions for the package. (
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The long-awaited release of Microsoft's first beta of Windows Vista is offering users a look at powerful controls and eye-catching new features, but it's a view with a shifting landscape.
Microsoft Corp. officials have been quick to caution that the code and the feature set of the Vista beta, given to some 20,000 technical testers last week, are far from final. Some features may yet be dropped or will be delivered after the product is shipped. Many of Vista's consumer-related features either are not included or are not fully functional in this version, company officials said.
As the operating system moves toward an anticipated release late next year, Microsoft officials are making it clear that they are sticking to their policy that security trumps application compatibility.
"Customers have told us that security comes first, and we are committed to that," said Greg Sullivan, a lead Windows product manager, in Redmond, Wash.(
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Big changes are in the pipeline for the MSN suite of properties according to presentations made Thursday by Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of MSN and Blake Irving, vice president of the MSN Communications Services. Some of the changes include enhancements to the company's search product, as well as new social networking and e-mail products.
Microsoft's suite of communications products has seen dramatic growth in the past four years. Hotmail has grown from 100 million users in 2001 to over 205 million in 2005. Likewise, MSN Messenger grew from 50 million to 175 million over the same period.
MSN's Spaces Web log, or blog, offering has grown to 50 million users in just six months, and has become the Web's largest blogging site. Mehdi claims that 10 percent of today's global RSS traffic is due to MSN Spaces.(
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