Two Unofficial IE Patches Block Attacks
eWeek reports that two well-respected Internet security companies (eEye and Determina) have released unofficial patches to correct the vulnerability being exploited to load spyware, bots and Trojan downloaders on Windows machines.
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29.3.2006 Microsoft is not trying to block access says Kaspersky
Microsoft's new operating system Vista will not make it more difficult for anti-virus systems to work, Russian computer security group and potential IPO candidate Kaspersky Lab said on Friday, contradicting rivals.
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9.10.2006 MySpace to 'block sex offenders'
Social networking website MySpace says it will release tools to identify and ban US sex offenders from its service.
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7.12.2006 Microsoft: ‘Very difficult’ to block IE attack vector
A member of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team says it is “very difficult” to put protections in place to block the protocol handlers attack vector exposed by the recent IE-to-Firefox code execution vulnerability.
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22.7.2007 Anti-Spam Sites Block Microsoft Hosted Exchange Services
Microsoft's Exchange hosted mail services, designed to help businesses combat spam, have themselves been blocked by several anti-spam blacklists around the Web, CRN has learned.
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31.12.2006 Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit - Block Vista SP2 Automatic Upgrades
Microsoft is offering Windows Vista SP1 users the chance to block automatic upgrades to Service Pack 2. In addition to making available Vista SP2 RTM as a standalone download, DVD ISO image, the bits are also released to Windows Update, and subsequently served to Vista SP1 users who have Automatic Updates enabled.
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3.7.2009 Windows Update Blocker Tool Kit - Block Automatic Windows Vista SP2 Update
After availability of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 for public download I am sure many users would have already installed Vista Service Pack 2 to see the performance improvements and its advisable to install Windows Vista sp2 as it has many noticeable changes and also includes all the fixes released after Vista sp1.
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27.5.2009 It's Time to Face the Ugly Truth, SP3 or No SP3, the Clock Is Ticking for Windows XP
As 2008 has kicked in, it's now time to face the ugly truth. The clock is ticking for Windows XP. And while Microsoft may view this as a natural stage in the evolution of a product introduced all the way in 2001, a healthy proportion of end-users and businesses will fail to see eye to eye with the company on this one.
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5.1.2008 The Only Way for Windows XP SP3 Is Down
SP3 will do nothing for XP, but still more than what SP1 will do for Vista - The third and final service pack for Windows XP will do little to nothing for the operating system, but will manage to deliver a superior boost to the platform's momentum in comparison to Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista.
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12.4.2008 Office XP SP3 Info
Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) provides the latest updates to Microsoft Office XP. SP3 contains significant security enhancements, in addition to stability and performance improvements. This service pack applies to any level of Office XP.
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Sneak Preview of XP SP3?
An unofficial preview pack containing what purports to be Windows XP Service Pack 3 has been uploaded to The Hotfix web site. The Hotfix is an independently-run site that specializes in downloads and discussions of Windows patches and bug fixes.
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Microsoft Delays XP SP3
Bink has an interesting article up on his site concerning Windows XP SP3. Microsoft has apparently pushed back the scheduled release date of SP3 to the second half of 2007.
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16.1.2006 Windows XP SP3 Preview No. 5
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11.2.2006 Windows XP SP3 On The Horizon
According to Microsoft press release about Unified Access Control and Network Access Protection, Windows XP service pack 3 (SP3) is in development and will be released later this year.
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24.5.2007 Windows XP SP3 Available for Download!
In two weeks too :) Microsoft confirmed officially that Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be made available for download in the next couple of weeks.
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29.8.2007 Windows XP Closes In on SP3
Microsoft's most successful operating system, ever, has inched closer to Service Pack 3. Release Candidate 1 is now available from MSDN and—so I hear—from TechNet. I can only personally confirm MSDN availability.
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4.12.2007 Deploying Windows XP SP3
With a pre-Release Candidate build of Windows XP Service Pack 3 available for download, the imminence of the final version of the refresh is starting to take contour.
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13.12.2007 Should You Upgrade from Vista to XP SP3?
Windows Vista was released to manufacturing and to businesses in November 2006, and the operating system hit the shelves only at the end of January 2007.
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27.12.2007 Will SP3 Save Windows XP?
Will the third and final service pack for Windows XP manage to breath new life into the operating system? Will users and original equipment manufacturers be able to apply enough pressure on Microsoft to keep Windows XP alive?
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15.1.2008 Is Windows XP SP3 just around the corner?
Clues that Microsoft is ready to announce the final version of Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 are starting to mount.
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20.2.2008 The First XP SP3 Security Vulnerability
The third and final service pack for Windows XP is not even out, and Microsoft is already hammering away at it plugging security soles.
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14.4.2008 The First Update for XP SP3 RTM
Although it was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, the third and last service pack for Windows XP has yet to make it to end users. Despite this, Microsoft has already made available the first update tailored on XP SP3.
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22.4.2008 XP SP3: Now on Windows Update
A week after deciding not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download site as planned, Microsoft has begun pushing the collection of updates and fixes through those channels again.
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6.5.2008 It All Comes Down to Going Either for XP SP3 or for Vista SP1
Starting with May 6, 2008, the question is no longer about Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2, but rather about Vista SP1 or XP SP3.
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9.5.2008 Minimizing XP SP3 woes
I’m getting sporadic reports of Windows XP users having problems installing XP SP3 on some systems.
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9.5.2008 No Future for Windows XP SP3?
Make no mistake about it, June 30, 2008 is the beginning of the end for Windows XP, even with Service Pack 3 available for two months now, since May 6.
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13.6.2008 Windows XP SP3 – And So It Ends
It's the end of an era for Microsoft. Not the end of Windows XP, but the end of the XP era.
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21.6.2008 Vista SP1 or XP SP3?
Windows users are at a juncture in terms of operating system choices at this point in time, caught between Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7.
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24.6.2008 Windows XP SP3 - No Future
With Windows XP but four days away from the June 30 end-of-sales date, various scenarios are depicting the operating system as already dead.
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26.6.2008 Windows XP SP3 confirmed by Microsoft
Microsoft has revealed plans to release a third service pack for its Windows XP operating system.
"There will be a Service Pack 3 for Windows XP," Bernard Ourghanlian, technical and security director at Microsoft France, confirmed, revealing that Microsoft's OS is set for another major update.
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Expiration dates for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 blocks announced
If you're an IT professional and currently using Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker, the software giant recently announced that the current
blocks for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 are going to expire in a few months. The Service Pack Blocker Tool only temporarily prevents Windows from the
installation of a Service Pack via Windows Update, and the block is only effective for one year after the Service pack is released to the market via
Windows Update. Effective April 28th, 2009, Windows Vista SP1 will no longer be blocked by the tool and will be delivered via Windows Update. The
same goes for Windows XP SP3, but the block will be lifted on May 19th, 2009.
Read full story.....
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30.01.2009Despite rumors, Windows XP SP3 still not quite ready
With Windows Vista Service Pack 1 out the door, Microsoft was largely expected to release Windows XP SP3 last week or this week. It didn't, instead
making public a refresh build of SP3 Release Candidate 2...
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26.03.2008Microsoft Takes Heat for Office 2003 SP3 File Format Block
Microsoft is facing criticism from a competitor and some customers for its decision to block some older file formats with Office 2003 Service Pack 3,
which it released last September. The only non-Microsoft file format that was blocked by Service Pack 3 was CorelDraw .CDR files.
"CorelDraw users can rest assured that they can still use the CorelDraw Graphics Suite normally on a system where Microsoft Office 2003 Service
Pack 3 has been installed," Gerard Metrallier, Corel's director of graphics product management, said in a statement released Jan. 3. "This
update from Microsoft does not impact CorelDraw at all or the capability of opening .CDR files from within CorelDraw or from Windows Explorer," he
said. The service pack also blocks some of Microsoft's own file formats, according to a Knowledge Base article the company released that covers
the issue.
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04.01.2008Microsoft continues to warn of IE8 lock-in for XP SP3 users
Last year when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Jane Maliouta announced that consumers using Windows XP SP3 would be locked-in with the
IE8 if they had installed the IE8 beta prior to upgrading to SP3. Microsoft again yesterday issued that same warning to it's consumers. If you are
still one of the millions of users on Windows XP with SP3 installed, Microsoft has provided crucial steps to follow if you're ready to upgrade to
IE8 RC1. You can obtain IE8 RC1 from the links on this page. To see if you're one of the people who will have IE8 locked in, follow these steps.
Is your computer running Windows XP SP3?
Read full story.....
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27.01.2009Office 2003 SP3: Are new formats more secure?
Blocking old file formats in the Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (SP3) release was meant to bolster security for Microsoft customers, but whether the new
formats are any more secure than older ones is debatable.
Few within IT feel compelled to side with Microsoft when debates over
file formats, backward compatibility and security emerge, yet the Redmond software giant's decision to block a swathe of old formats such as pre-97
PowerPoint, Excel, Word and Corel Draw formats has been met with sympathy from analysts.
Microsoft said it was attempting to
address security concerns by blocking the older file formats. "By default, these file types are blocked because the parsing code that Office 2003
uses to open and save the file types is less secure. Therefore, opening and saving these file types may pose a risk to you," it said in its advisory.
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08.01.2008Windows XP SP3 moves closer to completion
Beta testers have received access to a release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3, but general consumers still have a long wait until they'll see
SP3 available for download...
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20.11.2007New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista?
The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the
security model. Now it seems many of those changes are also coming to XP in SP3...
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10.10.2007XP SP3 RC Preview Clarification
I just noticed a post at
Bink.nu where Steven mentions that the XP SP3 RC Preview is now available on Connect. Just to clarify, Microsoft have not
released any new build of XP SP3 to the general Windows Beta Program. While there is the possibility that he may be talking about a different private
beta program on Connect, the main Windows Beta Program on Connect which houses the Vista SP1/Server 2008/XP SP3 betas was last updated with the XP SP3
Beta (Build 3205) in early October.
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24.10.2007Microsoft to push XP SP3 via AutoUpdate July 10
Microsoft is going to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via its Automatic Update (AU) service on Thursday July 10, company officials confirmed
this week.
The client team has been vague about when it planned to push the latest version of XP to users. "Early summer" and
"sometime soon"were favorite comebacks when officials were asked for an AU timeframe for SP3.
Customers who have automatic updates
turned on but who don’t want XP SP3 to be downloaded to user desktops this week — for whatever reasons — need to deploy the Microsoft Service Pack
blocker toolkit to delay pushed-delivery of SP3.
While Microsoft will begin pushing SP3 tomorrow, not all users will receive it
immediatly, as the company will be staggering the rollout.
Microsoft has postponed and temporarily halted the distribution of SP3 a
couple of times this year because of compatibility and performance problems.
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10.07.2008Apple's block-all firewall not as advertised
The Cupertino company has admitted that a setting in its firewall application in Mac OS X Leopard to "block all incoming connections" isn't
exactly true...
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16.11.2007BitTorrent site sues for IFPI compensation over block
The Pirate Bay has asked a Dutch court to order music industry group IFPI for monetary compensation for a block placed on it by ISP Tele2...
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17.04.2008Windows XP SP3 available for Windows Embedded for Point of Service and WinFLP
This download is a Service Pack 3 (SP3) update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP).
This SP3 update includes all previously released Windows XP security updates, hotfixes, and select out-of-band releases that are applicable to systems
running the WEPOS and WinFLP operating systems.
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08.10.2008Is Microsoft Playing Games With XP SP3?
Call it a Hamlet moment for the PC industry, filled with political intrigue and machinations worthy of the great Shakespeare play: to wait for XP SP3
or move to Vista now that Microsoft has released Vista SP1? Or in other words: "To XP, or not to XP?" That is the question.
It's a
question that is burning up the blogosphere with some speculating that Microsoft has delayed XP SP3, a long awaited release that could boost the
performance of XP, to get more users to adopt Vista, a potential cash cow for Microsoft and PC makers given the operating system's robust hardware
refresh requirements.
With many in the blogosphere speculating that Microsoft could release the final version of XP SP3 this week,
Microsoft late Tuesday snuffed out all hope that users would see the service pack, originally slated for release in 2006, any time soon.
Read full story.....
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26.03.2008Don't slipstream XP SP3 on Windows Vista!
This just in from Bink, seems he had a pretty interesting weekend attempting to Slipstream XP SP3.
"So I build a new Windows XP ISO with
SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK). When I want to install it on a clean machine, I
noticed that setup prompts for a product key and it does not allow me to continue, which should be a new feature in XP sp3. OK so I fill in the VLK
but it does not accept it, I try another one from a customer of mine, does not work either. Angry
I found out that the problem is when you
do the XP Sp3 slipstream process on a WIndows Vista machine, the API gives a different response and screws up the PID process. This is a bug and
Microsoft knew about this in December, still the bug remained and made it all the way to RTM, nice work Microsoft.
So XP SP slipstream only
on XP or 2003 machines!!!"
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05.05.2008Verizon users can now block numbers, track down children
Whether for screening out irate ex-spouses or persistent telemarketers, a new feature announced by Verizon Wireless today enables customers to block
communications with specific phone numbers...
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19.08.2008Firms need to plan for XP Service Pack 3
Organisations that expect to be running Windows XP in mid-2010 should plan to test and deploy XP SP3, Gartner has advised.
Microsoft is planning to release Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) and Windows XP SP3 will be available in the first half of 2008.
According to Gartner, deploying Windows XP SP3 should be significantly easier than testing and deploying SP2, which many users considered a major
change of the operating system.
Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner, said, "We will probably see a mixture of Vista and
XP SP3 deployments in 2008. Jump believed some businesses would deploy Vista and some could stick with XP, in which case, they would be looking at
installing the SP3 service pack.
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01.12.2007Windows XP SP3 release just around the bend?
Though we expected, or rather hoped; for Windows XP SP3 late last month it seems that it may arrive before May. According to an "internal schedule"
obtained over at Engadget, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while everyone
else won't notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For those who are too busy to download it and
install it, they might have to wait until June 10th when it hits the Automatic updates.
For those who don't know; Windows XP SP3
(Service Pack 3) will be the third and last major update for Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The company released a nearly final beta build
of SP3 called Release Candidate 2 Refresh last month to the public. The latest beta version added support for the HD Audio high-definition audio
format and fixes for some issues with the Windows Update service. Microsoft to date has said only that it expects to roll out a final version of
Windows XP SP3 in the first half of 2008.
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16.04.2008XP SP3 Build 5503 Clarification
As some of you may have noticed, there was some confusion/concern regarding the validity of the unusual Build 5503 of XP SP3 that made the news a few
days ago. Fortunately, Mary Jo Foley
received the following update from
Microsoft last night:
The XP SP3 5503 build was a minor interim build released to address one specific issue for a subset of private
beta testers. This build was not intended for public release and anyone who has that build and is not part of the private beta is working with bits
that Microsoft cant verify the integrity¦. The final version of XP SP3 is still on target to be released the first half of calendar year
2008.
Also worth noting is that the build contains an EULA for "Pre-Release" software so it most definitely will not be the final
SP3 build.
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19.03.2008Study: IE8's SmartScreen leads in malware protection
A recently released NSS Labs study, claims that Internet Explorer 8 greatly outperforms competing browsers in terms of protecting users against web
based malware. According to the study based upon a sample of 492 URLs, not only is IE8's SmartScreen Filter achieving a leading position against
the rest of the popular browsers, but also, it also outperforms them in terms of the average time it takes to block known and already tested malicious
sites. Here's how the study ranks the browsers:Microsoft Internet Explorer v8 (RC1) achieved 69% block rate Mozilla Firefox v3.07 achieved just
over 30% block rate Apple Safari v3 achieved 24% block rate Google Chrome 1.0.154 achieved 16% block rate Opera 9.64 achieved 5% block rate
Read full story.....
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26.03.2009Microsoft: XP SP3 RTM date a typo
WB: One more small note: the
XP SP3
Overview that Microsoft posted yesterday is also not for the final version as can be seen on the second page of the doc: "This is a preliminary
document and may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release of the software described herein."
Mary Jo
Foley: Some sharp-eyed folks over at Neowin.net noticed Microsoft had posted to its Support Live Cycle Web site
a release-to-manufacuturing date of March 31, 2008, for Windows XP
Service Pack (SP) 3.
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03.04.2008
