MU Catalog v1 Released - When Can We Expect v2?
On Tuesday, August 14th Microsoft released a download service called the Microsoft Update (MU) Catalog (jump to site). You can read all about it on the official Microsoft Update Team Blog.
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17.8.2007 Here Are the Drivers That Don't Play Well with Vista SP1 RTM
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008. But end users had to exercise their patience another month and a half before they could get their hands on Vista SP1 RTM.
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18.3.2008 Vista x64 to require digital signatures for many drivers
With little fanfare, Microsoft just announced that the xX64 version of Windows Vista will require all kernel-mode code to be digitally signed. This is very different than the current WHQL program, where the user ultimately decides how they want to handle unsigned drivers.
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23.1.2006 NVIDIA Releases WHQL Vista RTM Drivers
On January Nvidia finally released the long-awaited final graphics drivers for Windows Vista.
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8.1.2007 New tool enables loading of unsigned drivers in Vista
A new software tool has been released by Linchpin Labs that allows the loading of unsigned and legacy drivers on Windows XP, 2003, and most importantly Vista.
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31.7.2007 Microsoft releases (crap) LiveCam drivers for Windows Vista
Activewin reported that Microsoft finaly released Vista drivers for their LiveCams. The download site first asks for Language, OS and LiveCam type, then you can download a 117 MBSurprise file!
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25.1.2007 Windows Vista comes with 19,500 drivers on DVD – more on Windows Update
Ever needed to find a driver for a product and wished Windows would either just have the driver in it, or that their Windows Update service could provide it? With Vista, it can – and new features and updates will be forthcoming too. It’s about time!
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20.11.2006 ATI Catalyst 7.9 drivers
ATI/AMD has released a new version of its drivers for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Version 7.9 of the ATI Catalyst drivers bring many bug fixes, speed improvements and new features.
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10.9.2007 Dell releases first set of Windows 7 Drivers
Windows 7 drivers for Dell products are often sought after and finally, there’s an answer.
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22.8.2009 Windows 7 RTM Drivers from Microsoft Hardware Available
Microsoft’s “Better Together” slogan apparently applies not only to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 but also to the latest iteration of the Windows client and the Redmond company’s peripherals.
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30.10.2009 Driver Magic - Automatically updates your computers drivers
Automatically updates your computers drivers quickly and easily.
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4.7.2007 Inside Xbox 360: What's Next?
Now that Microsoft's Xbox 360 has launched in its three biggest markets--the United States, Europe, and Japan--it's time to turn our attention to the second phase of this exciting game console's life.
In the first phase, we saw the massively successful launch of the console along with 18 launch titles and numerous hardware peripherals. And all around the globe, millions of eager Xbox fans queued up outside of retail stores to be the first on the block to obtain one of the most eagerly awaited game machines in video game history. How will Microsoft follow up on this blockbuster debut and keep new and future Xbox 360 users happy throughout 2006?
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12.12.2005 PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360
We dig beyond the hype to see how Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 stacks up against Microsoft's big white box.
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11.6.2006 PS3 and Xbox 360 about the same
MICROSOFT'S Xbox 360 and Sony's soon to be seen PS3 are much of a muchness according to games developer, Denis Dyack.
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1.11.2006 XBox 360 ELITE
Xbox 360 Coming Soon in Black as "Xbox 360 Elite" Today Microsoft announced what has long been rumored, a premium XBOX 360 model with a black case and an HDMI port allowing for 1080p.
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30.3.2007 Try the Xbox 360 Pants!
One of the must-have accessories for all the Xbox 360 fanboys in the world has finally arrived and it is available for only 18 bucks.
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20.5.2008 Has Xbox 360 Already Won the War?
With Microsoft executives becoming ever more eager to tout the company's sales numbers of its Xbox 360 in public, and the dramatic success of games like Gears of War, has Redmond given itself such a head start that it will be near-impossible for Sony to catch up?
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8.12.2006 Crysis coming to 360; 2 other new games too
You’ve all read the heading, so now you have to calm down and read. Crysis has been announced to be coming to the 360 on the 1UP show.
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16.1.2007 Xbox 360 price drop on the way soon?
If a promotion in a printed UK advertising catalogue is anything to go by, the cost of the Xbox 360 Premium console with wireless controller and 20Gb hard drive is set to fall to the cheaper cost of the Xbox 360 Core system, just in time to spoil the launch of the PS3.
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20.2.2007 Xbox 360 Laptop mk2
Behold, the Xbox 360 Laptop mk2! It may look a bit like its first generation sibling, but don't be fooled. This Xbox laptop is a bit thinner, significantly lighter, and has some essential upgrades if you're gonna build one yourself.
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18.4.2007 Xbox 360 Messenger Kit
This year's Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update brought MSN Messenger contact-list integration to Xbox Live, but many of us have been waiting for Microsoft to release the chatpad accessory before making full use of the service.
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23.7.2007 Xbox 360 Survey Reveals
Families are sticking together and searching for better entertainment value this holiday.
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30.11.2008 Xbox 360 suffers ritual sacrifice
A brand new Xbox 360 was ritually sacrificed in front of a large line of Xbox Fanboys waiting to buy the latest machines.
Blokes from smashmyxbox.com queued for 55 hours outside Best Buy to be one of the first to own the new gear.
However, to the horror of the waiting line, once buying the much sort after machine, the pair took out a pair of sledgehammers and pummelled it to death in front of them.
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23.11.2005 Xbox 360 Crashing Like Mad? + Screenshots
From Xbox-Scene.com:
Jsgongwon, one of our forum members, reported that his newly bought Xbox 360 keeps crashing while playing Project Gotham Racing 3 in single player mode.
He's playing with the default settings, and apparently his Xbox crashes even before the end of the first lap. Crashes on Xbox Live and on startup occur too. He included screenshots of the crashed Xbox 360 and a video of the crash.
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23.11.2005 Xbox 360 crash fix found
A gamer fed up with his new Xbox 360 crashing every 20 minutes has fixed the problem by raising the power supply off the ground with some string.
Dan, from Duluth, or 'goldeneyemaster' as he is known, told the game spot forum here that he thinks the main reason that the xBox 360 freezes is because the power supply overheats. The solution is to lift the power supply off the floor and allow the air to circulate better around it.
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26.11.2005 Asia to get Xbox 360 by March, Microsoft says
Microsoft Corp. plans to offer its Xbox 360 game console in Asian markets outside of Japan by early March, despite tight supply in the United States.
The head of Microsoft's Xbox business in Asia, Alan Bowman, said the console would hit the market in Korea on February 24 and Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore on March 2.
Microsoft's second offering in the game console market went on sale in the United States on November 22, and has been sold out at many shops. It went on sale in Europe on December 2 and is scheduled to reach shops in Japan on December 10.
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5.12.2005 Microsoft Sued for Xbox 360 Problems
Microsoft has been sued by a Chicago man who bought the company's new Xbox 360 game console over alleged overheating and lockup issues. The suit, which asks for class-action status, accuses Microsoft of rushing to market a flawed system to ensure it beat competitors Sony and Nintendo to the punch.
According to Reuters, the suit seeks damages and litigation related expenses, as well as a replacement or recall of Xbox 360 consoles
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6.12.2005 Xbox 360 Off to Slow Start in Japan
Microsoft may have to try a little harder in marketing the Xbox 360 to Japanese consumers if initial reports coming out of the country Saturday are correct. According to several press outlets, reaction to the new console from Japanese customers appeared to be somewhat apathetic.
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11.12.2005 Hackers find first Xbox 360 cracks
Only weeks after the introduction of the Xbox 360, hackers appear to have cracked their way into the software that runs the Microsoft game console.
A group called "Team PI Coder" claims to have found a way to extract the source files of Xbox 360 games as they get loaded onto the console.
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18.12.2005 MS posts Xbox 360 update
Microsoft posted its latest Xbox 360 update last night, which makes a handful of tweaks to the console's system software, according to the brief list of fixes posted by Microsoft. The update adds improvements to Xbox Guide and to the Dutch Xbox Live network configuration.
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7.2.2006Something New when Uninstalling Drivers and Devices on Windows Vista
Chris Mu: Today, I'd like to share a background story about a KB article that describe a interesting behavior in Windows Vista that is different with
previous OS. Maybe it is not the most important or highest impacted issue occurs in Windows Vista, but I think it will impact some of you when you are
troubleshooting for your firendes/family... OK, let go through this issue.
This issue is about re-install network adapter in
Windows Vista and the KB article for this issue will be KB945399 and published in a few days. The issue can be reproduced in many computer models and
you will encounter it when you uninstall a network adapter device using Device Manager. Maybe you have to troubleshoot whether the network adapter
driver installed is right to troubleshoot OS network issue. Therefore, after uninstall the adapter, you may try to install another driver for the
device ... Everything works fine in Windows XP/Server 2003 and so on. However, when you try to do same action in Windows Vista, the popular OS
nowadays, you will see soon after the uninstall process completes, PnP detects the network adapter as a new device and automatically installs the
device and drivers. Instead, in Windows XP, only after you click to scan hardware change, the PnP will detect the network adapter and install the
driver.
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21.01.2008Why installing Vista SP1 might fail via Windows Update
When you try to install Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update you can get error: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is not available for installation from
Windows Update and is not offered by Automatic Updates.
To help ensure a positive update experience, Windows Update will temporarily not
offer Windows Vista SP1 to systems that have the following device drivers. In some cases, these device drivers are problematic on Windows Vista-based
computers when you update to Windows Vista SP1. By installing updated device drivers, you will resolve the issue and enable Windows Update to offer
Windows Vista SP1.
Click read more to view a list of drivers that don't work well with Vista SP1:
Read full story.....
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20.03.2008Driver Signing changes between Windows XP and Vista...
Chris Taylor: In XP the driver rankings were determined in the following way as discussed in the "Windows Vista Resource Kit":
-
In-box drivers are given first preference.
- Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) signed drivers next.
- Unsigned drivers are
given lowest preference.
In Vista this algorithm was extended to include eight levels of digital signing:
- Microsoft
signed WHQL Certified Drivers.
- Microsoft signed in-box drivers (NT Build Lab Certified).
- Microsoft signed Windows Sustained
Engineering Certified drivers.
- Drivers that have been signed using Authenticode (Enterprise CA).
- Drivers that have been signed
using Authenticode (Class 3 CA Certified).
- Drivers that have been signed using Authenticode (MAKECERT.EXE Certified).
-
Microsoft signed WHQL Certified drivers for a down level Windows Operating system.
- Unsigned Drivers.
This behavior is
illustrated in setupapi.dev.log when determining which driver to install for a device.
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13.03.2008Windows 7 Beta 1 has problems with XP Display Drivers (XDDM)
I've been enjoying Windows 7 so much over the past week, that I've been evangelizing it to all of my friends. One friend with a Dell Inspiron
710m decided to take the plunge. Windows 7 installation went well, but we can't find any compatible display drivers for the Intel 855gm graphics
card. The graphics card in question doesn't support Windows Vista or Window 7's new WDDM driver model, but Windows Vista shipped with XDDM
drivers for this card out of the box. I feel that Windows 7 should have all of the same in-box drivers as Vista, and it's a bummer that this one
is not included.
Read
full story.....
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12.01.2009AMD's First Catalyst Drivers for Vista Will Support HD DVD, Blu-ray
Today, one day ahead of
Microsoft's consumer edition
Windows Vista rollout, the
first ATI Catalyst drivers for
Vista are being released.
They're officially numbered
7.1 (version 8.31 for XP is
already in the field). But for
the first time, they're being
released by AMD, and this
afternoon, AMD is accepting a
great deal of the credit...
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30.01.2007Microsoft Partners: We Want Vista SP1 Now
Many partners in the Microsoft galaxy are none too pleased about Redmond's decision earlier this week to withhold downloads of Vista service pack 1
until mid-March. But after a firestorm of online protest from disaffected partners, it appears that Microsoft may consider revising its decision.
During beta testing, Microsoft says it discovered device driver glitches in systems with Vista SP1 installed,
which reportedly have to do with audio
drivers, graphics drivers, and network drivers being disabled after installing Vista SP1. Although the issues can be fixed by uninstalling and
reinstalling the drivers -- a relatively simple task for most IT professionals -- Microsoft
decided
not to release Vista SP1 while it spends the next six weeks ironing out the problems in conjunction with its hardware partners.
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07.02.2008Microsoft comes clean on Vista SP1 driver and vLite issues
As you may have been aware having certain drivers installed on Vista will prevent SP1 from installing. Microsoft had not exactly been forthcoming on
which drivers but has now made the list available to the public.
The company listed the affected drivers in a
support article. It consists of mostly audio and display drivers but there are
warnings for fingerprint readers as well.
Additionally, users are warned against using vLite to strip features out of a Vista
installation and install using it. Microsoft says that could also prevent the installation of Vista SP1. The previous support article lists
possible causes and solutions.
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19.03.2008NVIDIA Drivers Crash Vista
Were you one of the many early Vista adopters who experienced crashing? Well don't go out and point your finger at Microsoft just yet. A recent study
has shown that nearly 30% of Vista crashes(28.8% to be exact) in 2007 were due to NVIDIA drivers. That is an estimated 479,326 systems crashed due to
the drivers.
Microsoft crashes came in second place with 17.9%. While NVIDIA's competitor; ATI, came in fourth in the single
digits with only 9.3%. This is really going go pressure Intel because they have to support the incompatible chipsets. Hopefully in the near future we
can see some improvement on the drivers compatibility.
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29.03.2008Microsoft Update Catalog Beta now includes WSUS 3.0 releases
The new beta MU
Catalog provides access to all
content in the Microsoft
Update service, and also
includes integration with WSUS
3.0. This will enable you to
import drivers, generally
distributed hotfix releases
(like 927891), and other
content into WSUS from the MU
Beta Catalog. Keep in mind the
Catalog is beta, but give it a
whirl on a test server. If
you are looking to download
WSUS 3.0, give the MU Catalog
Beta a try…
-
http://test.catalog.
update.microsoft.com/v7/site/S
copedView.aspx?updateid=e05bf1
ad-259e-4433-aeca-cdbcd067dd73
(x64)
-http://test.catalog.
update.microsoft.com/v7/site/S
copedView.aspx?updateid=402d9e
03-f6b2-4cac-9e21-57e3f17ca264
(x86)
Note… you can
also go to the Catalog and
search for “WSUS”.
winbeta.org - 23.05.2007
Windows Vista comes with 19,500 drivers on DVD
...and more on Windows Update.
Oh thats why its more than
2 Gig - Ed
Ever
needed to find a driver for a
product and wished Windows
would either just have the
driver in it, or that their
Windows Update service could
provide it? With Vista, it can
- and new features and updates
will be forthcoming too. It's
about time! At the Windows
Vista Team Blog, Jim Allchin,
the Chief of Microsoft's
Vista development effort and
long-time Microsoft employee,
soon to retire after having
completed Vista at last, has
advised readers that Windows
Vista has more drivers
built-in at launch than any
previous version Windows.
While computer users
will always want to see if the
manufacturer has newer,
specific drivers that eke out
the best performance from
peripherals and hardware
add-ons, having as many
drivers native in Windows as
possible, and thousands of
additional new drivers
available on Windows Update
just has to be a good thing to
make life easier for computer
users long used to having
driver issues with XP and
earlier Windows versions.
Allchin tells us that
since Vista went RTM, an
addition 11,700 drivers are
now ready and waiting for you
if you add a new peripheral to
your computer, although you
should naturally always try
loading the drivers that came
with your new hardware from CD
first.
neowin.net - 20.11.2006
AMD releases Catalyst 7.5 graphics drivers
A new set of Catalyst 7.5
drivers is now available for
users of AMD's ATI Radeon
graphics cards. The drivers
are available for The drivers
are available for Windows Vista
x86, Windows Vista
x64, Windows XP, and Windows XP Pro x64.
According to AMD, these
drivers significantly improve
OpenGL performance in Windows
Vista:
OpenGL
performance in Windows Vista
improves on the Radeon X1950
XTX at high resolutions
(1920x1200 or greater) with
anti-aliasing and anisotropic
filtering enabled. Doom 3 and
Quake 4 improves as much as
13-18% .and Prey improves at
least 15.6%. The Radeon X1950
Pro and Radeon X1650 XT also
see improvements in Doom 3 and
Quake 4 up to 14.1% at higher
resolutions with anti-aliasing
and anisotropic filtering
enabled.
The
Catalyst 7.5 release also
brings DirectX 10 support to
users of Radeon HD 2900 XT
graphics cards (in either
single-GPU or CrossFire
configurations) running
Windows Vista x86...
winbeta.org - 01.06.2007
Microsoft claims a consumer 'shift' to 64-bit Vista, but where are the drivers?
A big "shift" is now on to 64-bit Windows Vista PCs, even among consumers, according to Microsoft product manager Chris Flores. But he
acknowledges that, even now, few if any 64-drivers are available for some categories of consumer products, including DVD/RW devices...
betanews.com - 31.07.2008
Nvidia launches Ion netbook chips, new notebook drivers
Beyond rolling out a new graphics chipset for netbooks this week, Nvidia launched the beta edition of updated drivers for Windows XP and Vista
notebook PCs outfitted with its graphics processors...
betanews.com - 19.12.2008
An explanation of Windows Update automatic updating
The Microsoft Update team has posted a statement addressing the current community
discussion on Windows Update's self-updating behavior. The upshot is that a longstanding procedure in Windows Update requires it to self-update
before it is able to recognize that new updates are available (note: WU does not conduct a self-update event each and every time it checks for
updates). This self-updating is done regardless of whether the user has enabled automatic checking, download and/or installation of updates. It does
so in an effort to avoid WU misleading the user to think s/he is up-to-date simply because s/he was not receiving notification that updates are
available. Put another way, WU cannot alert the user that there are security updates available if it is not in the necessary updated state that will
allow it to recognize those updates (see "chicken and egg"
dilemma).
However, we do recognize that we should have been clearer in our explanation of this process earlier in the game; the
MU team's blog post is an effort to rectify that oversight.
In short, this is a poorly understood process, so I invite you to
take a look at the details in the MU blog post to learn more.
Questions on this behavior are best addressed directly to the team
via the MU blog.
winbeta.org - 14.09.2007
Windows Vista SP1 Prerequisite KB937287 Update
Microsoft Update Team: Back in February, we posted about the release of a couple of prerequisites for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. While several million customers
installed the updates successfully, you may have read that a few customers experienced an endless reboot cycle while installing one of the
prerequisites: KB937287, the Servicing Stack Update (SSU), which contains the
Service Pack 1 installation program.
winbeta.org - 07.04.2008
Vista SP1 Doesn't Work with Popular Chipset
If you're using (or supporting) a PC with Intel's 945G Express chipset and are using the onboard video, you're included in the list of "a small
number of device drivers" that are incompatible with Vista SP1 at this time.
The 945G Express chipset includes Intel's GMA 950 graphics
core, which also won't work with Vista SP1 if those drivers are used.
EDIT: Our intrepid forum readers quickly pointed out that the most
recent version of the video driver resolves the compatibility issue. As usual, make sure you've updated your drivers before doing the upgrade.
jcxp.net - 13.04.2008
Is 64-bit Vista ready for take off?
For many moons, I've been raising the issue of how people get to 64-bit Windows 7, which is a big compatibility shift from 32-bit Windows XP. The
obvious answer is via Vista, but is that 32-bit Vista and/or 64-bit Vista? The price includes both, so it's up to you.
Initially, Vista
was a bit short of drivers, or else had some bad drivers. That made 32-bit Vista the obvious choice for most people, because 64-bit drivers were even
rarer. The same thing applied to software compatibility, only more so, because while it does run 32-bit programs, 64-bit Vista is much less forgiving
about rubbish programming.
Now it looks as though the dramatic improvements in Vista drivers etc could be feeding through into the 64-bit
version (possibly with a bit of help from the Windows Server market, which is now almost all 64-bit). Anyway, according to Chris Flores on the Vista team's
blog.
neowin.net - 04.08.2008
Catalyst 7.9 Drivers Available
AMD/ATi has posted brand new Catalyst 7.9 drivers for all of you Radeon
owners. Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit and Windows XP versions are available now. Linux drivers are ścoming soon.ť Grab them if you need
them.
winbeta.org - 11.09.2007
Vista Supports Hybrid Storage Drives, Microsoft Says
Microsoft rebuts talk at DiskCon that current Vista drivers must be improved for hybrid drives to work better.
Microsoft on Sept.
21 denied claims by hard drive industry executives and analysts that the world's largest software company isn't providing optimized drivers for the
new hybrid drives about to come into the market.
"Microsoft certainly does provide drivers for hybrid hard drives in Vista,"
Matt Ayers, program manager in the Windows Client Performance group for Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., told eWEEK.
winbeta.org - 22.09.2007
New tool enables loading of unsigned drivers in Vista
A new software tool has been
released by Linchpin
Labs that allows the
loading of unsigned and legacy
drivers on Windows XP, 2003,
and most importantly Vista.
One of the system
management and control methods
that Microsoft implemented
with Windows Vista is
requiring system drivers to be
digitally signed before they
will load properly within the
system. If a user or
administrator wishes to load
an unsigned or legacy driver,
they will either need to
reboot into a limited
functionality mode or just do
without the functions that the
driver would have provided.
As others have
pointed out, this step will do
nothing to prevent malware
authors from being able to
load their drivers into the
system. Either they will
exploit the lax jurisdiction
and corporate oversight of
various countries to establish
a corporate shell and gain
legitimate digitally signed
driver certification, or they
will just exploit weaknesses
in already-signed drivers.
winbeta.org - 30.07.2007
