[microsoft] Forum Topics

An independent test of [URL="www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx"]Windows Defender[/URL] against third party vendors has demonstrated holes in [URL="www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx"]Microsoft Vista’s[/URL] spyware protection. Calls of Swiss Cheese could be heard coming from the direction of Spyware Doctor vendor [URL="http://www.pctools.com"]PC Tools[/URL] which commissioned Australian concern [URL="http://www.testlab.com.au"]Enex Testlab [/URL]to evaluate how Windows Defender compared to its own …

In something of an embarrassing development for Microsoft, four anti-virus products for Vista have failed to reach the required standard to achieve [URL="http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/index"]VB100[/URL] certification by the highly respected independent industry body, [URL="http://www.virusbtn.com/index"]Virus Bulletin[/URL]. In something of an even more embarrassing development, Microsoft’s own anti-virus flagship product, [URL="http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm"]Live OneCare[/URL], was amongst …

File under ‘well it would say that’ you might think, but nevertheless the fact remains that Apple has issued a [URL="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305042"]statement[/URL] on its support website warning iTunes users not to upgrade to Vista. This due to a number of known compatibility issues with iTunes 7.0.2 and earlier versions, although you …

Microsoft Vista has, in the few days that it has been on general release, managed to avoid the embarrassment of anyone poking major holes in its security from the perspective of protection of consumer PC integrity at least. However, everything is not so sweet when it comes to those media …

[URL="http://www.comscore.com"]comScore Networks[/URL] has today revealed which Web properties were the most popular, ranked by way of total unique visitors over the age of 15 and across the month, during December 2006. According to the comScore analysis, Internet usage increased 10 percent between December 2005 and 2006, with the search and …

OK - I know this subject has been beated to death: Microsoft's Vista, which has been years in the making. Well, they've has finally released it, so now we all get to see how well it sells. My thoughts on it? I'll try to say some stuff which I haven't …

According to a [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/news/102716/malware-more-compatible-with-vista-than-antimalware-products.html"]news story[/URL] at IT Pro, malware writers are doing a better job of making their code Vista compatible than the developers of the security software meant to protect users of the soon to be released operating system. Rene Millman reports that Tim Eades, a senior vice-president at …

Microsoft's now planning to make [URL="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196902603"]Windows Vista and Office[/URL] downloadable via their website - a good choice, likely spurred on by the vast number of other software distributable via the internet. It's a good idea, but I think that it's quite probably piracy will become even worse if it's distributed …

The big moment is set. Microsoft has announced the release date of Vista to consumers, which happens to be January 30. So now, all Microsoft has to do is convince users that XP is dead and that Vista is the "new" OS now. Is Vista next-gen? I would say definitely …

The [URL="http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_s_t_select.cfm"]UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee[/URL] are currently [URL="http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_s_t_select/internet.cfm"]investigating [/URL]personal Internet security, something that would normally be a dull as dishwater parade of civil servants and former civil servants now consulting for private sector business giving boring ‘evidence’ to a committee of half asleep geriatrics. But something …

According to [URL="http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/"]Engadget[/URL], the second version of the Xbox 360, code-named "Zephyr" has had a photo leaked from a Xbox insider. It looks quite interesting; the only picture provided was a backside of the console. It's still white, but has some extra ports on the back. It seems like Microsoft …

Endless beta testing does still not guarantee a bug-free program, as Microsoft found out a few weeks ago. Recently, a major flaw was discovered by a Russian programmer, in Windows Vista that was released to businesses earlier this month. This particular flaw allows a user with standard user system priviliges …

A browser with vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution and cross-site scripting attacks. An urgent automatic update to patch eight such vulnerabilities, five of which are rated as critical and the complete set as ‘highly critical’ by security exploits tracker Secunia. And even then missing a password management …

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7 has a special bar that turns green when visiting "safe" sites, which it determines if it recieves a special strict security certificate from Microsoft. But, small business owners and corporations are worried that users will leave their sites feeling unsafe, as they are not eligable …

It's here! No, not winter, the 2006 Certification Magazine results are in. Last year I wrote a [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry461.html"]similar article[/URL] regarding these results, and the top spots were all 'System Administration' certifications. This year it is quite a bit different, the sought after CCIE has actually fallen from the top 5, …

Microsoft has [URL="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C12%5C04%5Cstory_4-12-2006_pg6_1"]finally launched the long-awaited Windows Vista[/URL]. Will it sell well? It's already pretty obvious that Windows Vista will have a hard time competing against Microsoft's previous operating system, Windows XP. Many businesses are happy with it, and see no reason to switch. Still others are just now switching …

[URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL] announced that [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/"]Vista[/URL], Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007 are now all available to 'Business' users. While most websites were speculating that this wouldn't be released to anyone (except OEM Manufactures) until January. To most it would appear that Microsoft is trying to get a head start on sales …

All 3 major game consoles have been released -- Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's Playstation 3. Out of all of these, the [URL="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=technology&storyID=nN29388999&from=business"]PlayStation 3 appears to be losing[/URL]. Why? The previous generation console, the PS2, dominated consoles created by Microsoft and Nintendo. The answer lies in the companies …

Microsoft just released their iPod killer -- except that it isn't killing the iPod. Although it looks promising, it has had a number of [URL="http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/"]negative Zune reviews[/URL]. It may seem like the Zune is a total flop, after all, "it's from MS". But no, I don't think that is the …

As some of you may know, I am a Contributing Editor with [URL="http://www.pcpro.co.uk"]PC Pro Magazine[/URL] in the UK, which is why I am able to reveal that according to figures ‘obtained’ by the publication Microsoft Office 2007 will officially be a rip-off. If you are buying in the UK that …

On Thursday I went to Oxfordshire for a training day on the much anticipated Windows Vista. Firstly the appearance of Windows Vista has many improvements and enhancements over XP, with the outstanding graphics and of course Windows Aero, you've found what Microsoft like to call `the Vista experience`. The sku's: …

[URL="http://www.kaspersky.com/"]Kaspersky Lab[/URL] has released its latest Malware Evolution [URL="http://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204791907"]report[/URL], covering the period between June and September 2006 and, as usual, it makes for interesting reading. Alexander Gostev, Senior Virus Analyst, Kaspersky Lab comments that the first six months of 2006 was “notable for the complexity of the technologies which antivirus …

Webmasters are becoming increasingly aware of the power of the sitemap as an SEO tool, enabling search spiders to crawl more pages in less time with the end result of getting more or your links indexed faster. Because sitemaps require only those pages that have changes to be visited, valuable …

If you think of a virus as being something that replicates itself, spreading from computer to computer, until seemingly everyone has it installed, then maybe you could classify Google’s [URL="http://www gmail.com"]Gmail[/URL] service as being one. If you happened to be using Microsoft [URL="http://www.windowsonecare.com"]Windows Live OneCare[/URL] security over the weekend then …

According to a report posted at [URL="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061112-8204.html"]Ars Technica[/URL] Vista has been cracked. [URL="http://www.pegasus3d.com/wordpress/"]Jeremy Reimer[/URL] reports that Torrents are now being circulated of the cracked version, known as Vista BillGates. Microsoft is keeping remarkably quiet on the subject, and my emails requesting official comment have gone unanswered. Perhaps because the pirated …

For those who may not have heard, former network leader Novell (who owns SuSE Linux) made a deal with Microsoft exchanging some intellectual property rights. Those in the business-end of IT know that Microsoft is busy applying for thousands of patents concerning Intellectual Property -- have a look at Network …

It is the sort of no-brainer question that ordinarily you wouldn’t waste any time on: does a Windows OS need additional antivirus protection to be considered a safe platform? Obviously, the answer is yes, unless you are the Co-President, Platform and Services Division of Microsoft Corp, it would appear. Jim …

It’s that time of the year again, and the Microsoft Tech.Ed Developers Conference 2006 Europe has hit the beautiful city of Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia in Spain. Hot off the press news for today is the keynote speech by Eric Rudder, senior vice president of technical strategy with Microsoft. …

Oh well, that’s one less thing I can moan about when it comes to Microsoft Vista. The Seattle giant has had a change of heart, it would seem, when it comes to licensing terms for the new Windows Operating System. Previously, the Windows Vista retail license included the incredibly restrictive, …

Microsoft has issued an [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927709.mspx"]advisory [/URL]warning about a Visual Studio 2005 vulnerability in the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control, part of WmiScriptUtils.dll which could allow remote arbitrary code execution. The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control will circumvent the ActiveX security model, because it is marked as being ‘safe for scripting’ …