"If you mess with
something long enough, it'll break."
The
Latest Windows XP News!
Get your Windows XP News Fix Here!
*
Home
*
Software Reviews!
* Microsoft
published "Windows XP Ready!
*
Evidence Eliminator5 trial here!
*
Net Detective!
*
Spector Professional Edition!
*
Hard Drive mechanic!
*
WebROCKET!
*
Internet Eraser Pro!
*
Window XP PowerToys:
Microsoft changes tune on Linux: (ZDNet) Microsoft
appears to be changing its tactics in its ongoing spat
with the Linux and open-source world by taking a booth
at this August's LinuxWorld Expo for the first time.
The Windows giant has never ignored the Linux show, often
sending executives along to scope out the terrain and
pitch Microsoft's point of view, but it has never taken
the step of renting a booth. Senior executives, including
chairman Bill Gates have long preferred a more caustic
form of engagement with open source and its underlying
philosophy, calling it a "cancer" and arguing
that "Free Software" goes against everything
that capitalism stands for.
Last week, however, Microsoft finalized its plans for
establishing a small presence in the "Rookery"
area of the conference, which showcases first-time exhibitors.
On display will be Microsoft's embedded offerings, including
Windows CE .Net and Windows XP Embedded; the former is
aimed at handheld devices, and the latter is a modular
form of Windows XP that can be customised for everything
from cash registers to Internet fridges.
"Microsoft will be... discussing many offerings
for the developer community with the goal of educating
developers who may not be familiar with our products,
and engaging in interesting dialogue about Windows Embedded
and its comparisons to Linux offerings," the company
said in a statement provided to journalists.
Microsoft will occupy booth R10, according to LinuxWorld
Expo's Web site. Last August Doug Miller, director of
competitive strategy for Microsoft's Windows division,
attended the show and said that the company has learned
and benefited from the rival operating system.
Linux's success in low-end servers led the company to
revise its server product line, Miller said. And Microsoft
learned that it needs better interactions with the programmers
who use Microsoft products.
Spector
Professional Edition: PC monitoring and recording,
snapshot recording, email recording, chat recording and
keystroke recording with INTELLIGENT & INSTANT Notification
when content you specify is encountered.
Microsoft Unwraps New Initiative, Code Names:
Microsoft Corp. over the past week has quietly unveiled
details about a key new security initiative code-named
Palladium, giving the first glimpse into its plan to deliver
on its promise of "Trustworthy Computing."
Named after a protective statue of the Greek goddess
of wisdom, "Palladium" is being used to describe
a broad-based security system for the Windows operating
system that will involve both hardware and software.
As Microsoft wraps up its antitrust case and settles
into marketing its newest Windows operating system and
seven-month-old Xbox video game console, the cash-rich
software giant is directing attention toward its next
generation of products, including Palladium and others
carrying code-names such as "Longhorn" and,
reportedly, "Freon."
John Manferdelli, product manager for the Palladium business
unit, said in an interview published on Microsoft's Web
site that the new initiative "will give individuals
and groups of users greater data security, personal privacy
and system integrity."
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had outlined a promise
of "Trustworthy Computing" in a widely publicized,
companywide memo in January.
The palladium was famed in ancient Greece for safeguarding
Troy. Legend had it that as long as the statue was kept
safe, the city could not be captured.
Instead of storing sensitive information such as passwords
on software, Palladium will also aim to protect information
at the hardware level -- for example, encrypting keystroke
or video display signals carried over wires.
To achieve this, Manferdelli said that Microsoft is calling
for industrywide collaboration with hardware makers and
is already working closely with chip giants Intel Corp.
and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on the new security architecture.
With a cash war chest of more than $30 billion, the Redmond,
Washington-based company is trying to move beyond software
and into a new realm of services and hardware that will
keep it growing.
NEXT WINDOWS, XBOX IN THE WORKS
Palladium will most likely be an integral part of the
next version of Windows, which is code-named "Longhorn."
In a detailed interview with Fortune Magazine this week,
Gates provides a broad view of what Longhorn will hope
to accomplish once it succeeds the current Windows XP
(once code-named Whistler) operating system sometime after
2005.
Gates explains that Longhorn will be much more intelligent
in that it will recognize users and tasks seamlessly,
and tailor itself to specific situations and needs.
"Why can't I tap into all my stuff at home or at
work from any device that's mine, and have it just be
available because it knows I'm me?" Gates asked in
the Fortune article.
Another pet project mentioned in the article is "Broadbench"
a huge video screen that is supposed to be as big as --
and eventually evolve into -- a desk.
Beyond software and office hardware however, Microsoft
has already laid bare its ambition to penetrate the entertainment
hub of the home, the living room, with its Ultimate TV
digital television recording system and Xbox video game
console.
"Freon" is the code name for a future version
of Xbox that will combine the Xbox machine's gaming abilities
with the ability to record and play back programs on a
hard drive, according a report in the Wall Street Journal
on Monday.
A Microsoft spokeswoman did not confirm the new Xbox
code name or the project, which reportedly takes aim at
Sony Corp lead in digital TV recording with the TiVo system
and its unmatched success with the PlayStation series
of video game machines.
Xbox had the code name "Midway," after the
World War II naval battle in which the United States effectively
ended the threat of a further Japanese invasion in the
Pacific.
While Freon appears to be far off, another code name
that is close to becoming a product is "Mira"
the so-called "smart display" that allows users
to detach flat screen monitors from their personal computers
but still access their PC and the Internet from another
room using a pen and wireless connection.
Mira-based products will debut this fall, alongside the
portable Tablet PC, Microsoft has said.
Microsoft Discloses Security Flaws,
again: Microsoft Corp. disclosed Wednesday that
it has found three security flaws — one critical
— in its popular Internet audio and video software.
The flaws were found in Windows Media Player versions
6.4, 7.1 and in its newest Windows XP operating system.
The most serious flaw can allow an attacker access to
the user's system with the ability to add, change or delete
data and perform other functions.
The company has posted on its Web site a software "patch"
for users to download.
In addition, Microsoft said it has found four security
flaws in its e-commerce Web-site building and management
software. Two flaws were rated as critical.
The vulnerabilities affect Commerce Server 2000 and Commerce
Server 2002, and could allow attackers to run commands
of their choice. Microsoft has also posted a patch for
those programs.
Get
your FREE Satellite TV & Free installation from Dish
Network Click here - GETa DISH.TV- (Dish Management, Inc.)
New Windows lock could be leaky:
(ZDNet) Microsoft's new plan to ensure PC security through
extensive changes to its Windows operating system could
help make private data and media files safer, but first
it has to address privacy concerns, industry watchers
said Monday.
This week, the software giant took the wraps
off a wide-ranging push to strengthen the security of
PCs by adding new features to its Windows operating system
and teaming with hardware makers to create a trusted computing
platform on which the new components can run.
"There are potential privacy issues and potential
privacy benefits," said Alan Davidson, associate
director for the Center for Democracy and Technology,
a tech-policy think tank. But, Davidson said, one thing
is certain: "The way that this is built will have
a tremendous impact on privacy."
Whether the technology, code-named Palladium, becomes
Microsoft's security savior or a privacy headache depends
largely on decisions the company has yet to make. Done
right, the fusion of protected software and hardware could
provide a secure store for a person's private data that
couldn't easily be broken into. Done wrong, the system
could, among other things, empower Hollywood and music
companies to keep track of who is playing their media
files.
The Palladium technology still resides mainly
on the white boards of Microsoft developers and won't
be seen in a product until at least the second half of
2004, said Mario Juarez, group product manager for the
project at the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker.
Download
webROCKET
today and increase your Internet connection speed up to
200%!
High-Speed Internet Demand Growing:
NEW YORK (AP) - The go-go days of the dot-com era may
be gone, but consumers' appetite for high-speed Internet
access and the online activities associated with it is
getting bigger, recent surveys by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project show.
Roughly 24 million Americans, or 21 percent of all Web
users, now have high-speed connections at home, an increase
of more than a quarter since the start of the year, and
quadruple the number of broadband users just two years
ago, according to a Pew survey last month.
"This places broadband adoption rates on par with
the adoption of other popular technologies, such as the
personal computer and the compact disc player, and faster
than color TV and the VCR," Pew researchers said
in reporting their findings.
A separate Pew survey revealed some mildly encouraging
signs for those hoping that broadband will help resuscitate
the industry by driving new data traffic onto all the
dormant fiber-optic cables put into the ground during
the boom.
Nearly six in ten broadband users have generated their
own online content such as a personal Web page, posted
information to a Web site or shared music and other types
of files online, according to a survey of 507 adults with
high-speed service conducted in January and February.
About a quarter of them perform such activities on a typical
day.
Similarly, about 63 percent have downloaded games, video
or pictures at least once, and 50 percent have downloaded
music files, Pew said. About 43 percent have displayed
or developed photos online.
Pew also found that the average Internet user with high-speed
home access does seven online tasks or activities per
day compared with about three a day among dial-up users.
"Broadband users spend more time online, do more
things, and do them more often than dial-up Internet users,"
the Pew report said.
Another key finding, Pew said, was that the extra time
spent online due to broadband comes at the expense of
other activities such as watching television and shopping.
Thirty-seven percent said their Internet use has cut down
on TV time; 31 percent said it has decreased time spent
in stores; and 18 percent said it has reduced their newspaper
reading.
The dominant mode of high-speed access was still through
cable TV modems at 71 percent, followed by DSL telephone
lines at 27 percent, while 2 percent were using satellite
or wireless broadband services.
As might be expected, high-speed connections also appear
to be enabling more work to be done at home, with about
a third of the survey's respondents saying they "telecommute"
at one time or another.
More about
DSL here!
Fed
up with long downloads?? Get high speed DSL for just $1
a day to start! Click for details!
Microsoft Won't Support Sun Product:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Just before closing arguments in its
antitrust case, Microsoft delivered a broadside to one
of its bitter software rivals, declaring Tuesday it will
stop supporting Sun Microsystems' flagship product by
2004.
Microsoft cited Sun's opposition in the
case as the reason for the decision to remove support
for Sun's Java programming language from future versions
of Microsoft's Windows operating system.
"The decision to remove Microsoft's Java implementation
was made because of Sun's strategy of using the legal
system to compete with Microsoft," Microsoft spokesman
Jim Cullinan said in a statement.
Sun had little praise for Microsoft's decision to carry
Java, instead focusing on the 2004 deadline and Microsoft's
decision to use its own incompatible version.
In a statement, Sun called the decision "a move
calculated to coerce consumers and developers who prefer
the Java platform to nonetheless abandon that platform
simply because Microsoft has publicized its intentions
to deny the Java platform's access to Microsoft's monopoly
distribution channels."
Microsoft was found by a federal appeals court to have
used illegal means to stamp out competition. The Justice
Department reached a settlement with Microsoft last year,
but nine states are still seeking stronger antitrust penalties.
Several witnesses appearing in the states' case against
Microsoft, including executives of computer maker Gateway,
accused the software giant of retaliating against companies
that refused Microsoft edicts or helped the government
build its antitrust case.
In an interview, Microsoft General Counsel William Neukom
declined to comment on the Java announcement or allegations
of retaliation.
Current versions of Windows XP do not include Java, though
users can download it if they need to run programs written
in the language. But Microsoft did say it would temporarily
restore support for Java in the upcoming update to Windows
XP, expected this fall.
Cullinan said the company will temporarily support Java
"to minimize any potential disruption among our customers."
The battle over Microsoft's implementation of Java —
promoted for its ability to run programs regardless of
what operating system it is installed on — was a
central part of the federal antitrust case as well as
two civil suits brought by Sun against Microsoft. Microsoft
was criticized for putting its own flavor of Java in Windows
that was incompatible with Sun's version.
A federal court found that Microsoft created programming
tools that fooled Java programmers into thinking they
were writing software that would work on any version of
Java, rather than just Microsoft's version. Microsoft
still disputes that anyone was tricked into writing incompatible
software.
Sun has taken an active role in the antitrust case. It
gave information to lawyers for the nine states suing
the company and Sun executives testified during two months
of penalty hearings.
Microsoft cited terms of a settlement with Sun in its
decision to drop Java.
"The settlement agreement between the companies
prevents Microsoft from making any changes — including
any security fixes — to our Java implementation after
January 1, 2004," Cullinan said. "We will not
put our customers or Windows at risk so you can anticipate
that there will be no Java in Windows from that point
forward."
Lawyers for Microsoft and nine states suing the company
are scheduled to present their closing arguments Wednesday.
Microsoft's announcement Tuesday took the states by surprise,
said California Assistant Attorney General Tom Greene.
"We're certainly surprised at this event on the
eve of the closing arguments in a major antitrust case,"
Greene said. "We'll look forward to hearing more
about this tomorrow."
One of the antitrust penalties proposed by the states
would force Microsoft to carry a Sun-approved version
of Java.
Net
detective - is an amazing new tool that allows you to
"Find out the TRUTH about anyone, trial here!
Wal-Mart Sells
Lindows on Line: Wal-Mart's online store is offering
eight different Microtel PCs with LindowsOS included.
The computers sell for $300. to $600. USD and will ship
in about seven days.
Wal-Mart's OS-less PCs, that's a dramatic
move away from the standard Windows-based home computer.
Now the retailer is advertising systems with the LindowsOS
distribution pre-installed, no longer just moving away
from Windows, but now directly competing with it.
"These computers do not ship with Microsoft
Windows. They ship with an exciting new UNIX based Operating
System (OS) named Lindows. This exciting new OS delivers
the stability of UNIX with the ease of Windows and the
ability to run most Microsoft programs. These computer
systems are a perfect low cost alternative to computers
preloaded with Microsoft Windows."
To say that Lindows runs most Microsoft programs is a
bit of a stretch. Wal-Mart says the PCs come with "mail,
word processor, web browser, address book, calculator,
cd player, MP3 player, Microsoft PowerPoint viewer, Word
viewer, and Excel viewer," and buyers get to select
three "free" Click-N-Run applications from the
Lindows.com warehouse.
Drive
Mechanic is the ONLY
PC crash recovery program designed so anyone can get their
PC back up and running in minutes. Click
here
Microsoft Finds
Dormant Virus in Korean Software: Microsoft Corp.
said on Friday it had unwittingly released a Korean-language
version of its development software for online services
that was infected with the notorious Nimda virus.
The virus contained in the version of Microsoft's Visual
Studio .NET is not expected to cause any damage since
it remains essentially dormant in a part of the program
that is in no danger of being activated, the company said.
A patch is available, as are clean replacement copies
of the software, which is used by developers to write
Web services programs, said Christopher Flores, lead product
manager for Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET.
The virus was discovered by a Microsoft employee in May,
contained in a compressed, unused file, Flores said.
The file came from a company that helped develop the
Korean language version of the product, which has been
on the market less than 90 days, he said.
"We've taken a serious look at our product-building
processes across the board," Flores said. "Unfortunately,
we placed a little bit too much trust in this vendor and
... did not examine the contents of the file."
"The number of copies out there is still relatively
small compared to the United States," said David
Lazar, Visual Studio .NET group product manager.
The news comes six months after Microsoft announced a
drive to make security a top priority for all its products.
Earlier this week the Redmond, Washington-based company
warned customers of a handful of new security flaws in
its software, including several that were critical. So
far this year, Microsoft has issued 30 security bulletins
about vulnerabilities affecting its software.
Flores said the Nimda virus incident was a "fringe
case" involving a situation that was not likely to
result in any harm.
"We do take trustworthy computing very seriously,"
he said. "Building software is an extraordinarily
complex process. Our processes are tighter now."
Internet
Eraser
protects your privacy by
removing your Internet records from your computer. Windows
won't let you eliminate the records yourself. CLICK
HERE TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Ruling lets Iowans seek Microsoft
refunds: (The Des Moines Register) Thousands of
Windows 98 users in Iowa could get $40 refunds from Microsoft
Corp. after the Iowa Supreme Court reinstated a lawsuit
Wednesday that alleges price fixing.
Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin, who represented Iowa
consumers in the lawsuit, said the 5-2 opinion was the
first antitrust ruling in any state that favored "indirect
purchasers," in this case, consumers who bought the
Windows 98 operating system or bought computers with Windows
98 installed.
"What's most important here is that consumers have
a direct remedy against violators of Iowa's antitrust
law, when in most states they do not," Conlin said.
"In capitalism, everybody has to follow the rules,
and one of the rules is that you don't fix prices and
you don't create a monopoly."
A Polk County trial court had thrown out the lawsuit.
The Supreme Court's ruling orders a Polk County judge
to review consumers' argument that Microsoft's practices
violated the Iowa Competition Law. They contend they were
harmed and entitled to refunds or credits Conlin estimated
to be $40 apiece. She said tens of thousands of consumers
might be eligible.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler at the company's headquarters
in Redmond, Wash., said the Iowa court's ruling was a
departure from recent rulings in other states, including
New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
"We feel that consumers were not injured at all,"
Desler said. "Consumers have clearly benefited from
Microsoft's efforts to improve our products."
Bob Brammer, spokesman for the Iowa attorney general's
office, said the ruling was a "momentous decision
that helps consumers."
He said the price-fixing lawsuit was separate from a
lawsuit that Iowa and several other states are pursuing
against the company. The price-fixing lawsuit was brought
by Joe Comes, who owns a vending company in Des Moines,
and other computer consumers in Polk County.
The consumers say Microsoft unlawfully and willfully
maintained a monopoly that artificially drove up the price
of Windows 98. The company violated the state's 1976 Competition
Law, the plaintiffs allege. That law says monopolies are
illegal because they exclude competition and fix prices.
Microsoft responded that the Iowa lawsuit went against
federal law, which says only "direct purchasers,"
such as computer makers who buy Windows 98 from Microsoft,
can recover damages for antitrust violations.
Fed
up with long downloads?? Get high speed DSL for just $1
a day to start! Click for details!
Microsoft Discloses
Software Flaw: Microsoft Corp. acknowledged a
serious flaw Wednesday in its Internet server software
that could allow sophisticated hackers to seize control
of Web sites, steal information and use vulnerable computers
to attack others online.
The software, which runs about one-third of the world's
Web sites, is used by millions of businesses and organizations
but less commonly by home users. Microsoft made available
a free patch for customers using versions of its Internet
Information Server software with its Windows NT or Windows
2000 operating systems.
The server software included within Microsoft's newer
Windows XP operating system was not affected by the security
flaw.
In a separate warning Wednesday, Microsoft said customers
of its Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating
systems were vulnerable to an unrelated problem affecting
Microsoft's technology to connect to the Internet over
phone lines. Hackers trying to attack these computers
must already have permission to use them, limiting the
risks.
A researcher with eEye Digital Security Inc., Riley Hassell,
found the Web server flaw in mid-April during testing
of eEye's own hacker-defense software, but the discovery
was kept closely guarded under an agreement with Microsoft
until Wednesday.
Microsoft described the risk to Web servers as "moderate."
The company and other top experts, including U.S. officials
at the National Security Agency, have for months recommended
turning off the vulnerable feature unless customers need
it.
However, it was impossible to know how many customers
followed that advice and shut off the feature, which is
turned on automatically the first time the software is
installed.
One consolation for Microsoft's customers was that the
software flaw wasn't easy to exploit by most hackers.
"It does take a more sophisticated level of skill,"
said David Gardner, a security program manager at Microsoft.
The latest vulnerability affects a function in the server
software that allows Web administrators to change passwords
for an Internet site. Despite the anticipated difficulty
for hackers, the flaw was considered unusually threatening
because it is closely related to a similar Internet server
glitch disclosed by Microsoft on April 10.
Experts believe hackers already have been distributing
customized attack tools to exploit the April 10 flaw,
and they fear these underground tools could be updated
readily to attack computers susceptible to the latest
glitch.
A little-known Chinese hacking group has been distributing
such tools on a Web site for weeks, although these are
limited to attacking computers running Chinese-language
versions of Microsoft's server software. Others claim
to have developed more reliable attack tools using the
April 10 glitch.
The FBI had warned that the previous, similar flaw was
"a signficant threat due to the magnitude and type
of potential victim systems."
Marc Maiffret, the self-described "chief hacking
officer" for eEye, said malicious hackers will devise
automated tools to scan the Internet and attack vulnerable
computers rather than targeting machines individually.
The same technique was used to spread the damaging "Code
Red" and "Nimda" across the Internet last
year, which infected nearly 1 million servers.
"It could readily be exploited with a worm,"
Maiffret said. "It's kind of a scary thing."
Net
detective - is an amazing new tool that allows you to
"Find out the TRUTH about anyone, free trial here!
Microsoft Defends
.NET Passport: Microsoft insisted Tuesday that
its .NET Passport service complied with European data
protection laws, rejecting charges that it is "surreptitiously"
collecting and passing on personal information about users.
At a news conference, the U.S. software
giant's corporate privacy officer, Richard Purcell, compared
the user authentication system to a doorman who checks
IDs but has nothing further to do with what happens once
a person enters a site.
"These practices do indeed meet criteria" laid
down under strict EU data protection laws, he said.
EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said last month that concerns
about the free service — which can store online passwords
and credit card numbers for e-mail, games and e-commerce
— had been passed on to national data protection
authorities, who are responsible for enforcing EU privacy
rules.
The review became public after a Dutch member of the
European Parliament, Erik Meijer, accused Microsoft of
collecting "a vast quantity of personal information"
from Passport users and "surreptitiously" passing
it on to "unknown parties ... without their noticing
it."
EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein responded
by saying he was looking into the concerns "as a
matter of priority."
Purcell, who was meeting with Bolkestein Tuesday while
in Europe this week, said a "dialogue" was underway
with European regulators.
"We are clearing up misconceptions and clarifying"
how Passport works, he said.
No formal investigation has been initiated by any of
the 15 European Union ( news - web sites) member states,
nor by the EU's head office in Brussels, said a senior
Microsoft attorney, Peter Fleisher.
EU privacy rules, in force since 1995, govern what kind
of personal information companies can gather on their
customers and how it will be used.
Purcell declined to comment on the separate, EU antitrust
investigation into Microsoft's product line, focusing
primarily on Microsoft's Windows program.
The EU said last August that it believed Microsoft was
abusing its dominant position in desktop software to horn
in on the market for servers, which link personal computers
in networks.
Download
WebROCKET
today and increase your Internet connection speed up to
200%!
Security Flaw Found
in Explorer': - A security flaw in Microsoft's Internet
Explorer browser could allow a hacker to take control
of a remote computer if its user clicks a link to an outdated
Internet protocol, a computer security firm says.
Oy Online Solutions Ltd. of Finland said
it notified Microsoft Corp. of the security hole on May
20 but the software giant has yet to produce a software
patch to fix the problem, the Toronto Star reported Tuesday.
A Microsoft spokesman who refused to be identified said
Tuesday that the company is "moving forward on the
investigation with all due speed" and will take the
action that best serves its customers.
The problem concerns Gopher, an Internet protocol that
predates the World Wide Web with pages like Web pages
except that they are unable to store audio and video content.
Although Gopher is considered an outdated format for
Internet content, it is still supported by Internet Explorer
and most other browsers.
According to Oy Online, a hacker could take over a user's
computer simply by having the user click on a link to
a "hostile Gopher site." That one click would
install and run any program the hacker chose on the victim's
computer, and the victim might never know.
"The program could, for example, delete information
from the computer or collect information and send it out
from the computer," Oy Online said in a release.
"(It) could also install a so-called backdoor (program)
that would enable the hostile attacker to access the computer
later."
All versions of Internet Explorer are believed to be
vulnerable, the Star reported. - Refusing to confirm the
security flaw, the Microsoft spokesman said the company
"feel(s) strongly that speculating on the issue while
the investigation is in progress would be irresponsible
and counterproductive to our goal of protecting our customers'
information."
And the spokesman added, "Responsible security researchers
work with the vendor of a suspected vulnerability issue
to ensure that countermeasures are developed before the
issue is made public and customers are needlessly put
at risk."
After being embarrassed on an almost regular basis by
security flaws in its products — including a debilitating
problem found in its latest Windows XP operating system
just days after its release — Microsoft began a companywide
training program on security issues earlier this year.
In January, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates instructed
employees to make software security a top priority.
MemMonster - Boost
Your PC's Performance, without installing a single piece
of expensive hardware. MemMonster is the fastest memory
manager which enables your computer to work more efficiently.
Click here!
Windows 2000 SP3 Nears,
Adds Antitrust Tweaks: Microsoft on 5/28/02 issued
the Windows 2000 SP3 Release Candidate, marked build 3.140.
The update files in at 17MB for the Professional and 30MB
Server versions of the operating system.
This is the third service pack for Windows 2000 that
Microsoft began beta testing last year, and it was going
to be a maintenance release with no new features. But,
SP3 has quite a significant update, also adding support
for Automatic Updates and a new configuration pane that
will comply with Microsoft's antitrust settlement with
the Department of Justice and nine states.
The new Configure Programs feature appears as part of
Add/Remove Programs accessible in the Control Panel. Now
users have the option to override the Microsoft defaults
and select a new custom Web browser, e-mail client, media
player, instant messenger, and Java virtual machine. There
is also an option to hide the integrated Windows components
"Internet Explorer" or "Windows Media Player."
This feature will be included in Windows XP Service Pack
1, set to enter beta testing soon with the final release
expected this summer.
Windows 2000 SP3 - can now automatically check for updates
from the Internet, the Automatic Updates panel allow users
to schedule updates for certain times of the day. This
is an good addition for network administrators.
Credentialed beta testers can log into BetaPlace,
that's Redmond's centralized test site, and download the
SP3.
Net
detective - is an amazing new tool that allows you to
"Find out the TRUTH about anyone, free trial here!
Microsoft Changes Software Options:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Microsoft Corp. is disclosing how
it will let users of its latest Windows software effectively
replace its own e-mail, Web browser and instant-messaging
tools with rival programs. The action was required by Microsoft's
landmark antitrust settlement with the government.
Microsoft demonstrated a new feature this
week that its engineers will include within Windows XP
to allow users to trick their computers into behaving
as if some of Microsoft's own software tools had been
removed from Windows.
Microsoft, which also disclosed that sales of Windows
XP have exceeded 32 million copies, said it will offer
the change, probably in August, in a 40-megabyte "service
pack" update. Customers can download the update from
Microsoft's Web site or order it for shipping costs expected
to run less than $10.
The government demanded the redesign, aimed at helping
rival software companies compete against Microsoft more
fairly, as a cornerstone of its agreement to end the historic
antitrust case against the software maker. Nine state
attorneys general are pursuing additional penalties against
Microsoft.
Lawyers for the Justice Department (news - web sites)
and the nine states that also agreed to the settlement
expect to review Microsoft's plans in the next few weeks.
Microsoft does not plan to demonstrate its changes for
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who will decide
later this year whether to approve the settlement.
The government did not force Microsoft to make similar
changes to earlier versions of Windows; the update will
work on both home and professional editions of Windows
XP.
Microsoft also will use the Windows update to crack down
on software pirates: It identified a stolen unlocking
combination widely distributed on the Internet to install
Windows XP illegally.
In an unusually aggressive move, Microsoft designed its
update not to load on these illegal copies and will block
these users from downloading future repairing patches
from its Web site. Microsoft refused to estimate how many
users might be affected except to say it identified a
sizable number of illegal copies of Windows XP that would
account for millions in lost sales.
Microsoft's anti-piracy decision is not unprecedented
and comes amid renewed debate in Washington about the
adequacy of technology to protect copyrights. Microsoft
previously used another software update to sabotage its
Office business software electronically on computers it
believed were running illegal copies.
The other changes to Windows initially could benefit
leading technology companies, including AOL Time Warner
Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and Apple Computer Inc., which
offer rival Web browsers and software for sending e-mails
or instant messages and listening to digital music. It
also could provide new revenue sources for hard-hit computer
makers in a dour economy by encouraging software rivals
to pay to distribute their own tools over Microsoft's
wares.
"These guys are going to pay OEMs (computer makers)
to put it on there, and OEMs are going to take money or
whatever it takes," Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan
said.
Consumers will be able to hide Microsoft's own Windows
programs using a new utility called "Set Program
Access and Defaults." Users can choose whether to
continue using Microsoft's Web browser or other programs
for e-mail, music and video or instant-messages, plus
Microsoft's support for the Java programming technology.
One option, marked "non-Microsoft," blocks
Windows from using any of these programs from Microsoft;
consumers can select any rival Web browser already installed,
for example, such as those offered by America Online,
the former Netscape Communications Corp. or the fledgling
Opera Software ASA of Norway.
In a demonstration of its redesign for The Associated
Press, Microsoft deleted all its Internet Explorer icons
from one of the company's laptop computers, which preventing
the Web browser from starting, then restored the icons
later.
Microsoft acknowledged that some Web sites using its
ActiveX technology for animations and other functions
won't work if customers block its Internet Explorer browsing
software, because rival browsers won't load these pages.
But the company said it expects few such glitches even
for consumers who choose to disable all its programs.
Drive
Mechanic is the ONLY
PC crash recovery program designed so anyone can get their
PC back up and running in minutes. Click
here
Report: Hole found
in Excel XP: A security hole in Microsoft's Excel
XP spreadsheet application could allow hackers to take
over a user's PC by using specially formed XML stylesheets.
According to security expert Georgi Guninski,
the problem occurs when a user opens an Excel spreadsheet
file and chooses to view it with an XML stylesheet. If
the stylesheet contains specially formed code, said Guninski
in a security note on his Web site, the PC will try to
run that code.
"As script kiddies know, this may lead to taking
full control over a user's computer," said Guninski.
"Excel does not give any warning to the user--just
asks whether to use the style sheet or not." However,
Guninski added, by default Excel does not display spreadsheet
files with the stylesheet.
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a system for defining
specialized markup languages that are used to transmit
formatted data.
On his site, Guninski has posted a sample piece of code
that would fool Excel XP into thinking it contains a link
to a stylesheet but which in fact runs a command that
lists directory contents on the user's PC.
To be safe, said Guninski, users should not use XML stylesheets.
Guninski said that Microsoft was notified of the flaw
on 23 May. Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
The flaw is the latest in a slew of security alerts to
hit Microsoft products. Last week the company warned Windows
NT and 2000 users of a new flaw in its debugger tools
that could give attackers complete control of a system
once they've gained basic access to that system.
Hard
Drive Mechanic is the
ONLY PC crash recovery program designed so anyone can
get their PC back up and running in minutes. Click
here
Windows XP Patch
to Comply with Anti-Trust Deal: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)
- The first product changes dictated by a proposed anti-trust
settlement with Microsoft Corp. will appear next week
in a software patch for Windows XP the company said on
Friday.
Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice agreed
to a settlement in October designed to address complaints
that the software giant was using its market dominance
to bully computer manufacturers and others to favor its
products.
The settlement, which is being challenged as inadequate
by nine states, would give computer makers more flexibility
to feature rival software on their machines.
The settlement is not binding until signed by the judge,
although Microsoft agreed to comply with certain conditions
before then, Jim Cullinan, lead product manager, told
Reuters.
The Windows XP Service Pack 1 will be released to more
than 10,000 beta testers by the end of May and then made
available to the public around the end of August, he said.
The software allows computer manufacturers and users
a variety of options in making default settings for certain
popular programs including Web browser, e-mail, instant
messenger and media player for audio and video.
MORE USER OPTIONS - A new button on the Windows start
menu, titled "set program access and defaults,"
allows users to choose between four default options: computer
manufacturer choice; Microsoft only software; non-Microsoft
software; and customized settings, which is the default
choice.
Users can choose to set defaults to one program but also
display alternative programs, or they can hide other programs
so that the icons are not on the desktop or in other areas,
eliminating easy access to the programs.
Previously, computer makers could set defaults to programs
other than Microsoft's but could not hide Microsoft programs,
except for the browser, like they can now.
Microsoft allowed computer makers to hide access to Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browser after an appeals court in June
agreed with a lower court that Microsoft had illegally
maintained its monopoly in personal computer operating
systems.
MICROSOFT TO SHARE PROTOCOLS - In the coming months,
Microsoft plans to share code with competitors that will
enable them to write programs that interact with XP in
the same way Microsoft programs do, Cullinan said.
Microsoft will release application programming interfaces,
code that reveals how a software program talks to the
operating system, he said. The company also will license
protocols used in communications between desktop Windows
PCs and servers, he added.
The company did not decide to release the service pack
because of the settlement, but rather because Windows
NT code, formerly used in products aimed at the corporate
market, is now in XP and being used by consumers, Cullinan
said.
Service packs are meant to fix critical compatibility,
reliability and security issues in a product until an
updated version of it can be released.
"We've never issued a service pack for a general
consumer" product, he said.
ANTI-TRUST, SECURITY TRAINING - The service pack will
reflect specialized employee training in anti-trust law
as well as in secure product design and development, Cullinan
said. The company announced a push earlier this year to
make security a priority in all its products.
"You will see some fixes based on that work,"
he said, of the security training. "It's one step.
There's still a long way to go."
The service pack will roll up about a dozen or so critical
security problems that have already been patched in XP
and accompanying programs like Windows Messenger instant
messaging (news - web sites), he said.
The software also changes the Passport settings so that
they don't pop up soliciting registration until a user
accesses a service that requires Passport, such as Hotmail,
Microsoft Network or Windows Messenger.
Passport allows users to enter their personal information
once and have it accessible by multiple Web sites and
services, rather than the user having to enter that data
for each new service they sign up for.
The settlement was reached after the appeals court decision
ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly but rejected a proposal
to split the company in two.
California, Massachusetts and seven other states are
pressing for more severe sanctions against Microsoft,
such as forcing the company to sell a cheaper, stripped-down
version of Windows and giving rivals easy access to detailed
Windows code.
About 32 million copies of Windows XP have been sold
since its release in October, according to Cullinan.
WebPosition
Gold free trial here: a suite of tools aimed at lifting
your Web site into a Top-10 ranking in the major search
engines!
Microsoft threatened an audit for the 24 largest school
districts in the Northwest. Now it appears they may
be backing down, according to Steve Duin, the Oregonian
columnist. Not only that, he writes that Portland Public
Schools is opening 16 Linux computer labs across the districts,
at half the cost of a Microsoft-equipped lab. More
here!
Download webROCKET
today and increase your Internet connection speed up to
200%!
Microsoft dealt
another blow on Lindows: Microsoft's claim to the
word "Windows" suffered another blow this week
when a federal judge again questioned the company's assertion
that the term is not generic.
The judge also repeated his denial of Microsoft's
request to shut down the Lindows.com
site and block its owner from advertising its product.
Lindows, started by Michael Robertson, the founder and
former CEO of MP3.com, aims to offer an alternative to
Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system by selling
a new program, LindowsOS, which would allow Windows programs
to run on the Linux operating system. A legal battle has
been ongoing in federal court in Seattle since December,
when Microsoft sued the start-up to prevent use of the
Lindows name, claiming it violated Microsoft's trademarks.
In a preliminary ruling in March, U.S. District Judge
John Coughenour questioned whether the word "Windows"
is entitled to trademark protection. He also denied the
software giant's request to shutter Lindows' site.
Microsoft, fiercely protective of its Windows franchise,
appealed the ruling, asking the judge to reconsider.
Coughenour on Tuesday reiterated his previous decision
in a seven-page ruling, saying competitors and dictionary
definitions demonstrated that the "consuming public
used the terms 'windows,' 'window' and 'windowing' to
indicate a general type of user interface." He said
the term was generic in the same way that the words "light"
in "light beer" and "matchbox" in
"matchbox toys" are.
Coughenour also cited Microsoft's own use of the word
"windowing" in its documentation as proof that
the term is generic.
"Through its own use of the evidence, Microsoft
essentially admits that these terms refer to the genus
of computer software products that have windowing capability,"
he wrote.
The ruling is a setback for Microsoft's attempts to claim
the Windows name as its own, and it could open the door
for other companies to use the term in their products.
Fed
up with long downloads?? Get high speed DSL for just $1
a day to start! Click for details!
Hard
Drive Mechanic is the
ONLY PC crash recovery program designed so anyone can
get their PC back up and running in minutes. Click
here
Evidence
Eliminator v5.057 ~ This program offers complete protection,
eliminating tracks you accumulate online. Speed-Up...
your PC and Internet Browser, reclaim lost Hard Disk space
- All in one click of your mouse! - WebTechGeek members
automatic members discount - If you order NOW! Click here!
- for Windows 95/98/NT4/2000/XP.
Microsoft Helps
Protect Your PC: Microsoft unveils a free tool that
searches for security flaws in Windows-2000/XP based computers.
In an effort to beef up the security of its software,
Microsoft made available a free tool designed to search
out security vulnerabilities hiding in Windows-based computers.
It's called the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer,
the tool is intended to provide users with an easy way
to check their systems for common problems that arise
when computers are configured incorrectly or when users
fail to install suggested security patches, Microsoft
says.
After scanning a system with the tool, users receive
a security report card that lists all the holes and vulnerabilities
found during the scan. The MBSA does not actually download
and install fixes but provides instructions how to do
so.
MBSA is available online. The tool, which is 2.5MB in
size, can be downloaded from Microsoft's
developer Web site. It can be installed on Windows
2000 desktop and server operating systems as well as the
Home and Professional editions of Windows
XP, Microsoft says. Users must also have version 5.1
or higher of Internet Explorer.
Microsoft MBSA can also be used to scan for security
holes in the following software: Windows NT 4.0, Windows
2000, Windows XP, Internet Information Server 4.0 and
5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, Internet Explorer 5.01 and
later, and Office 2000 and XP.
Hard
Drive Mechanic free trial!
Bug Hunter Finds Flaws in Office
XP: (AP) Holes in Outlook XP and Excel could allow attackers
to take over a system, security researcher warns.
Two new security flaws in Microsoft's Office
XP productivity suite could be combined to allow attackers
to take over a system, according to independent security
researcher Georgi Guninski. Guninski sent an advisory
about the issues to security e-mail lists and posted it
on his Web site Monday.
The first vulnerability, which affects
Outlook XP, would allow an attacker to embed "active"
content in an e-mail, he wrote. Active content contains
both an object and a script. The content embedded in the
e-mail would then execute when the e-mail is forwarded
or replied to, wrote Guninski, who has uncovered a number
of vulnerabilities in Microsoft products in the past.
The vulnerability could force a user to visit a Web page
designated by the attacker, Guninski wrote.
Outlook Users Warned to Look Out:
Tthe most critical problem is that Outlook will automatically
download potentially dangerous files sent in certain HTML
e-mail messages. The warning applied to e-mails with IFRAME
HTML tags embedded in the message. If a user reads such
an e-mail, Outlook will begin downloading executable files
from a Web specified in the message.
"Outlook will put up a dialog box asking a user
if they want to open the file, save it, or cancel the
download," Smith writes. "There is no security
warning that the executable file might be dangerous. Unfortunately,
the default action of the dialog is 'Open'." Smith
recommends that IFRAME tags be used only in conjunction.
Hidden Code:
Another HTML-related flaw allows JavaScript code to run
in e-mails even though scripting is turned off in the
default settings of Outlook. A malicious hacker could
bury the JavaScript code in a seemingly harmless link,
causing hidden dangerous code to execute when the user
clicks on a link, he says.
"In Outlook, URLs are limited to about 2,000 characters
which is probably enough space to contain a simple worm
which could exploit one of the know Internet Explorer
security holes," Smith writes.
In addition, Smith claims that cookies can be set and
read in HTML e-mails despite Outlook's default settings
to turn cookies off.
The second security hole, which affects the spreadsheet
component of Office XP, can be used in conjunction with
the first vulnerability to place executable files in a
user's start-up directory, which could lead to a takeover
of the target machine, he wrote.
Guninski, who lives in Bulgaria, included sample code
in his advisory to demonstrate how to exploit both vulnerabilities.
Guninski wrote that he notified Microsoft of the bugs
on March 17, but that the company did not produce a patch
in two weeks, triggering his advisory. In the past, Microsoft
has criticized Guninski for releasing his vulnerability
data too quickly, calling his actions "irresponsible."
Workarounds for the vulnerability include disabling all
"active" content in Internet Explorer (which
is used by parts of Outlook) and fully deleting the spreadsheet
component of Office XP.
Microsoft Responds
In a statement e-mailed, Microsoft said it is investigating
the matter, but also acknowledged the accuracy of the
first vulnerability.
As a workaround for that flaw, Microsoft recommends disabling
HTML e-mail and not selecting Microsoft Word as the e-mail
editor.
As for the second vulnerability, Microsoft said it does
not yet have a workaround, but notes that "even in
the worst case it could only be used to create files--not
to execute them or take any other action on the user's
computer."
Hard
Drive Mechanic free trial!
Microsoft Program Tracks
User Habits: (AP) WASHINGTON - Microsoft's new version
of its popular Media Player software creates a list of
the digital songs and movies each computer user has played
— a potential treasure-trove for marketing companies,
lawyers, even snooping spouses.
The company is notifying customers about the tactic
after inquiries from The Associated Press. Microsoft says
it has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player,
which comes free with the Windows XP operating system.
The company said last month it had sold more than 17 million
copies of Windows XP.
"If you're watching DVDs you don't want your wife
to know about, you might not want to give her your password,"
said David Caulton, Microsoft's lead program manager for
Windows Media.
Downloading CD information such as the disc name and
track list, is a common practice used by almost every
computer CD player. But downloading DVD information is
new, and has the potential to be sensitive especially
in the case of racy or violent movies.
Microsoft's original privacy statement informed customers
that they were downloading the information about CDs but
never stated that the information was being stored in
a log file on each computer.
The new statement makes clear that information is being
downloaded for both DVDs and CDs, but does not explain
how users can eliminate or get into the log file.
"It definitely could have been clearer and more
specific about DVDs," Caulton said.
Clearing the list of songs and movie titles would cripple
Media Player. Stopping the program from collecting any
more information would mean changing the software's settings,
but that would disable Internet broadcasts.
As part of downloading the information about songs and
movies from the Web site, the program also transmits an
identifier number unique to each user on the computer.
That creates the possibility that user habits could be
tracked and sold.
Privacy experts said they feared the log file could be
used by investigators, divorce lawyers, snooping family
members, marketing companies or others interested in learning
about a person's entertainment habits.
WebPosition
Gold free trial here!
Download webROCKET
today and increase your Internet connection speed up to
200%!
