Prevent 1.0 - Stop Unauthorized Copy, Delete, Move & Change of Settings
I am sure everyone has faced the situation where either their friends, colleagues, family member of kids renaming, deleting important files or changing settings like wallpaper, screen resolution etc. this is typical with younger sibling.
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17.9.2009 Windows Update automatically changing user settings - again
After Patch Tuesday this week (October 9), some Windows Vista users noticed something strange: Windows Update had changed their Automatic Update settings and rebooted their machines automatically without their consent.
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12.10.2007 Group Policy Settings Reference Windows Vista Beta 2
This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the administrative template files(admx/adml) delivered with Windows Vista Beta 2 (build 5384).
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26.8.2006 Group Policy Settings Reference for Microsoft Windows Vista RC1
This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the administrative template files (admx/adml) delivered with Windows Vista RC1 (build 5600).
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13.9.2006 Microsoft Denies Changing Windows Vista Settings without Users' Consent
Microsoft denied that it is messing around with the settings of the Windows Vista operating systems without the users' consent.
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15.10.2007 Windows Live Safety Settings Unveiled
Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed plans to offer a new service that gives parents more control over the Internet content their children can view without supervision. Called Windows Live Safety Settings, it includes content filtering for the Web, contact list management tools for communication services, and online activity reports.
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15.3.2006 How to Change Windows Vista Boot Screen
Some of you remember how it was possible to change the boot logo screen of Windows 95/98. I'm not sure why anyone would go into the trouble of actually doing it, but it seems that it is possible to do the same for Windows Vista.
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19.11.2007 Change Logon Background in Windows Vista
I caught this via Steve Clayton (who caught it via Jeff Sandquist showing off his home) - Stardock has a really neat application called LogonStudio that allows you to change the background of your logon screen in Windows Vista. I absolutely love the space background.
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2.12.2007 Microsoft agrees to change Vista desktop search
Microsoft agreed Tuesday to make changes to the desktop search feature in Windows Vista in an effort to assuage Google and head off a further antitrust battle with U.S. regulators.
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20.6.2007 Instant Change Vista Product ID with Vista ProductID Changer
In past we have reviewed number of application to recover product key like Product Key Finder, WinGuggle, Windows product Key Finder.
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1.11.2009 Microsoft to change Vista to satisfy Google antitrust complaint?
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) has agreed to modify its new Vista operating system in response to complaints that its desktop search function puts Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG - news) and other potential competitors at a disadvantage, a source familiar with the case told Reuters on Tuesday.
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20.6.2007 Vista: the Gender Challenged OS, After the Longhorn Sex Change
Windows Vista is a Microsoft gender-challenged operating system, after it has survived the Longhorn sex change. Just bear with me, it will all make sense in the end, I promise.
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22.3.2008 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 What would you change in Windows?
If you were hired by Microsoft to make the Windows experience less annoying, what would be on your to-do list?
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30.4.2008 Windows 7 In Box – All Windows 7 Settings at One Place
So you have recently switched from Windows Xp to Windows 7 and finding it difficult to change simple settings like System settings, keyboard & Mouse settings, managing user accounts, starting various Windows tools etc.
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13.11.2009 Can Dell change the Linux market?
After a lot of hemming-and-hawing, Dell has decided to accept the verdict of its IdeaStorm users and sell pre-installed Linux.
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26.2.2007 Exec says new Windows head will change culture
Sinofsky comes to the Windows group, which has not shipped a new product in nearly five years, with a reputation within Microsoft as an effective taskmaster and a track record of on-time new software releases delivered in regular intervals.
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27.3.2006 Change Office 2007 Product Key
When Office 2007 was RTM'ed and downloadable on MSDN I used Office Professional 2007. For my new course, SharePoint BI, which I'm writing at the moment I needed InfoPath as well.
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1.1.2007 Microsoft: We Didn’t Change Automatic Updates
Software giant says users are responsible for the modifications that generated claims of unauthorized patch installs.
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20.10.2007 Microsoft Details IE 8 Security Default Change
The company will enable DEP/NX (Data Execution Prevention/No Execute) by default in IE 8 when running on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
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11.4.2008 XP: Get Updates No Matter What or Change your Product Key
If your windows installation has issues, or for some other unmentionable reason is unable to get updates from the windows server, this is what you need to do.
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27.3.2006 Popular Instant Messenger, Gaim, Forced to Change Name
It was announced, yesterday, that the popular multi-headed instant messaging client, Gaim, has undergone a name change. The new name, Pidgin, comes after years of secret discussions and legal issues with internet giant, AOL.
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8.4.2007 Microsoft plans to issue non-update update for Win 7
Microsoft will spit out dummy updates for Windows 7 beta testers next week that will probe the forthcoming operating system’s updating abilities.
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20.2.2009 Set and Change Windows 7 Registered Owner & Organization with SetOwner
It may happen that you have bought second hand laptop or computer with preinstalled Windows operating system and you are looking for the way to change ownership information.
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20.11.2009 The Man Who Would Change Microsoft: Ray Ozzie's Vision for Connected Software
Ray Ozzie has a long and storied history of technological innovation, with accomplishments that include creating Lotus Notes and founding Groove Networks.
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14.4.2007 Windows Update versus Ubuntu Update
A few months ago, Steve Ballmer publicly noted that Windows Vista was “a work in progress.” That inspired a predictable outpouring of Vista-bashing.
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15.7.2008 PC login Now - How To Change a Windows XP Limited User Account Into a Computer Administrator
One of the place that I work at has a few hundreds of computers and it is shared by students.
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12.7.2008 Change and Speed Up the Read and Write Speed for DVD Writers - MediaCodeSpeedEdit
Before continue reading today’s article, I’d like to warn you that this is for advanced users and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you CAN damage your DVD drive and will void your warranty.
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8.8.2008 Do not update cracked Vista
Some our members report in
our forum that they have problems after updatimg cracked or patched Vista.
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30.1.2007 An Update For Windows Update
An infrastructure update has been planned for Windows Update client. The gradual roll-out of this update will begin in late July.
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6.7.2008Automatic Update Not Making Unauthorized Change
Microsoft has responded to recent web posts claiming that last weekÂ’s automatic update actually changed peoples update settings on their computer.
The company is still looking into the issue, if you experienced weirdness after updating last week, hit the link above and report it.
We have been hearing some questions recently regarding TuesdayÂ’s update release changing automatic updating settings. We have received some
logs from customers, and have so far been able to determine that their AU settings were not changed by any changes to the AU client itself and also
not changed by any updates installed by AU.
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15.10.2007Microsoft responds to mysterious Automatic Updates issue
A quick note regarding automatic update settings getting changed...
We have been hearing some questions recently regarding
Tuesdays update release changing automatic updating settings. We have received some logs from customers, and have so far been able to determine that
their AU settings were not changed by any changes to the AU client itself and also not changed by any updates installed by AU.
We
are still looking into this to see if another application is making this change during setup with user consent, or if this issue is related to
something else. We are continuing the investigation, and as I have more information I will update this post.
If you are running
into this issue, your help would be greatly appreciated. You can contact
support, and they can walk you through the steps necessary to provide logs and other useful data.
Nate
Clinton
Program Manger
Microsoft Update
winbeta.org -
13.10.2007Windows Live OneCare changes Automatic Updates
Amid reports that Windows Live OneCare changes settings in Windows Update to allow for automatic installation of important updates, the official word
from Microsoft is that this is by design. When first installing OneCare, the setup informs the user that proceeding will change computer settings to
automatically download and install important updates from Microsoft Update. Settings for recommended and optional updates are not changed. Even during
Tune-up, OneCare checks, and then prompts the user if there are missing software updates or if Automatic Updates settings have been changed.
“ OneCare is built for people who dont want to worry about protecting and maintaining their PC. This behavior is by design and is not unique
to the latest version of OneCare. It helps ensure that your computer continues to receive important updates as soon as possible after they are
released. We are evaluating user feedback and will be revisiting how we communicate the installation details of Windows Live OneCare as we are
continually working to improve that experience. In addition, OneCare was built with privacy in mind, and Microsoft takes that very seriously –
every new feature or setting change is reviewed and approved by Microsoft’s privacy experts .”
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26.10.2007Hacking Firefox: The secrets of about:config
Ever since its debut, Firefox
has garnered a reputation for
being an enormously
customizable program, both
through its add-on
architecture and its internal
settings. In fact, many of
Firefox's settings aren't
exposed through the Tools >
Options menu; the only way to
change them is to edit them
manually. In this article,
we'll explore some of the
most useful Firefox settings
that you can change on your
own, and that aren't normally
available through the
program's graphical
interface.
The
closest analogy to how Firefox
manages its internal settings
is the Windows Registry. Each
setting, or preference, is
given a name and stored as a
string (text), integer
(number) or Boolean
(true/false) value. However,
Firefox doesn't keep its
settings in the registry, but
in a file called prefs.js. You
can edit prefs.js directly,
but it's often easier to
change the settings through
the browser window.
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29.05.2007Why 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.....
neowin.net -
20.03.2008An Update For Windows Update
An infrastructure update has been planned for Windows Update client. The gradual roll-out of this update will begin in late July. This update will
occur automatically to any system configured to either receive updates “automatically” or “notify” customers that new updates
are available for download.
For enterprise customers who use Windows Server Update Services or Systems Management Server, all updating,
including the WU client, is controlled by the network administrators, who have authority over the download and install experience. Windows Vista
customers who select “never check for updates” in their WU settings will not receive this update until they manually install updates from
Windows Update.
In this particular update, there will not make any changes to the way WU looks or feels, instead the following have been
improved:
- The length of time it takes Windows Update to scan for updates
- The speed in which signature updates will be delivered
Detailed information on this is posted on the
Microsoft Update blog.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
05.07.2008Windows Search 4.0 to Become Available on Windows Update
Since Windows Search 4.0 (WS4.0) was
released to the web on
June 3rd, we've seen a good number of downloads, and a number of positive responses from customers who started using it. Users are telling us
that they're seeing better performance and reliability of search after WS4.0 is installed. As a result, we feel it's time to make WS4.0
available to the broader audience.
In late July WS4.0 will become available for installation off Windows Update. Customers
using Windows XP will see WS4.0 available as an Optional update, meaning they can manually install it from update.microsoft.com. Windows Vista customers will see the update as a
recommended update. Depending on the Windows Update settings on your Windows Vista SP1 client, WS4.0 may be installed automatically, updating
the search capability in Windows Vista SP1.
winbeta.org - 22.07.2008
Microsoft: We didn't change Automatic Updates
Microsoft Corp. today denied that its software had arbitrarily changed Windows Vista's update settings, and instead said users were responsible for
the modifications that generated claims of unauthorized patch installs.
Reacting to reports that first surfaced last Friday, a
program manager for Windows Update said today that an investigation had turned up no evidence the Oct. 9 security fixes had switched settings in
Vista's Automatic Updates.
"From the customer logs that we received, we found that none of the updates released as part of the
October security release have made any changes to users' AU settings," said Nate Clinton in a post to a company
blog. "In fact, in the logs we reviewed, AU in all cases was set to 'install updates automatically' prior to the October security release."
winbeta.org - 19.10.2007
Microsoft Tightens IE 7's
Security
Browser's default security
settings will change to match
common home, business setups...
pcworld.com - 12.12.2005
Group Policy Settings Reference Windows Server 2008
This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the Administrative template files (.admx/.adml) delivered
with Windows Server 2008. The policy settings included in this spreadsheet cover Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
Professional, and Windows 2000. You can configure these policy settings when you edit Group Policy objects (GPOs).
In addition,
this spreadsheet includes the following categories of security policy settings:
- Account Policies (Password Policy, Account
Lockout Policy, and Kerberos Policy)
- Local Policies (Audit Policy, User Rights Assignment, and Security Options)
- Event Log
- Restricted Groups
- System Services
- Registry
- File System policy settings.
Note: This
does not include security settings that exist outside of the Security Settings extension (scecli.dll), such as Wireless Network extension, Public Key
Policies, or Software Restriction Policies.
winbeta.org - 06.02.2008
Creating, Saving, Sharing Themes in Windows 7
Steven Sinofsky: With Windows 7 we picked a group of settings that we believe represent the most satisfying settings to broadly personalize, and would
also provide the most robust platform that maintains application compatibility, and made those easy to change. In addition we wanted to make it easy
to package up those settings so you could save and share them. We think of this as the start of bringing robust personalization (and customization)
to a broader set of customers. Katie Frigon, a program manager on the core user experience team, authored this post.
winbeta.org - 03.06.2009
Office 2003 Service Pack 3 imminent?
Microsoft just published a
download for Office 2003
Service Pack 3 Administrative
Templates (ADM). I guess this
means Office 2003 SP3 is
around the corner.
The download includes
updated Group Policy
Administrative Template files,
OPA files, and an updated
Microsoft Excel workbook that
lists the Administrative
Template policy settings and
OPA settings.
This
download includes the
following updates:-
Policy settings that provide
the ability to block file
format settings to prevent
users from opening or saving
specific file types and file
formats in Microsoft Office
Excel 2003, Microsoft Office
PowerPoint 2003, and Microsoft
Office Word 2003.
-
An updated Excel 2003 workbook
(Office 2003 Group
Policies.xls) that describes
policy settings listed in the
various Administrative
Template and OPA files. It
supports changes to the Office
2003 SP3 policy settings.
Note: This update
replaces the previously
available Office 2003 Service
Pack 2 Administrative Template
(ADM), OPAs, and Explain Text
Update download.
winbeta.org - 25.07.2007
Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2 via Windows Update (Public Availability Program)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 is available to the public. Specific registry settings will allow you to be offered SP3 via Windows
Update.
Download the script and run it on a machine currently running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The script sets a registry key
on your system. The registry key is required for Windows Update to recognize your machine as a valid target for Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2.
Versions of Windows XP Service Pack 3 prior to Release Candidate 2 should be removed before attempting to use the registry key.
Windows Update will not offer Release Candidate 2 to machines with previous versions of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta.
It is
recommended that you apply the resulting update package to an activated, genuine copy of Windows XP, in a test environment. As with any pre-release
software, it is also recommended that you back up files and settings on your machine before applying this update package.
winbeta.org - 20.02.2008
Controlling Group Policy Security Settings Refresh and Application
There is no question that Group Policy inside Active Directory is the most efficient and logical way to configure and maintain security for all of
your domain controllers, servers, and desktops. The question becomes how to maintain and control the application of the security settings, as well as
the refresh of settings that you make in a Group Policy object (GPO)? There are many ways to control how security settings are refreshed and
controlled, some of which are already occurring on your network now and can be tweaked if you want to go down that path. This article will go into the
different methods that are available for controlling how security settings refresh and apply from Group Policy.
winbeta.org - 06.08.2008
Vista Desktop Search Annoyance
I thought people might find this fix interesting because it annoyed the hell out of me when I first started using Vista. In the XP days, I was a huge
Windows Desktop Search (WDS) fan, and like many WDS fans Vista search wasn't that exciting because of new features but rather, it gave visibility to
mainstream windows users that desktop search would change the way they computer.
When I used WDS I typically indexed my whole
C: and I carried that practice over to Vista's indexing service. That's when I started having issues. I wanted to to search all my content on
the machine, but when I would search for any files in the Start Menu, I would never get any results returned on a search unless they were
applications. For example, if I was to search for an excel file, it would not return in the Start Menu even though it was located in "Documents" --
it was very frustrating.
As it turns outs, the quick fix was to change the start menu settings so that the search bar is set to
"search entire index" instead of the default "search this user's files." The problem arises due to the user changing the "indexed locations"
to include all of the "C:" when the Start Menu is set to "search this user's files." This is a known bug and will be fixed in Vista SP1.
winbeta.org - 05.09.2007
Microsoft: Another Vista Reliability & Performance Update
Vista’s performance is one of those topics that won’t be exhausted until Windows Seven hits RTM. It all comes down to trade-offs. Ever
since the features of Vista were finalized, Microsoft tried to tip the scale the other way by focusing on performance, with the obvious limitation of
not disabling any services. Updates regarding performance and stability are numerous, but most have not hit Windows Update as they are not quite ready
(preview releases). The Windows Serviceability Team wants feedback on one such update, available for download at the Microsoft Download Center, before
its expected release on Windows Update in January.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 13.12.2007
Compatibility, Reliability, and Stability of Vista Update
About 2 months ago Microsoft released a couple of hotfixes that improved the stability and reliability of Windows Vista, these were not made available
on Automatic Updates. That aside, Microsoft has released an update to the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista fix that
further improves the reliability of your system.
The original fix improved annoyances such as file copy calculation & speed from within
windows to other (local or network) drives.
This update improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista. This
update includes the following improvements ->
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 24.10.2007
Vista Fix Packs Now on Windows Update
Following their public availability on Microsoft's Download Center, two hotfix packs for Windows Vista that improve performance and reliability are
now available as optional downloads via Windows Update. They will not, however, be delivered automatically to Vista users...
betanews.com - 29.08.2007
YouTube goes widescreen
YouTube rolled out an exciting change to all of its users today, by expanding the width of their videos to widescreen (16:9), from the previous
standard format (4:3), making the player 960 pixels wide. A post, in the YouTube Blog, confirmed that all previous 4:3 aspect ratio videos will all
still be watchable, and play just fine. This highly anticipated update to go widescreen comes as a surprise to many, as some dislike the change to the
player going widescreen, where most think the change was needed to the aging player. This update could be the start of more changes to come, after
YouTube announced it will be selling keyword searches to users and businesses.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 25.11.2008
Disappearance Of Vista Language Packs
On Friday 24 August, an internal process change inadvertently caused the current versions of the Windows Vista language packs offered as Ultimate
Extras to be withdrawn earlier than normal in preparation for release of new updates to these language packs. This situation has since been resolved
and the language packs are once more available to Windows Vista Ultimate customers via Windows Update. The content of the language packs themselves
has not been changed.
Finer points:
▪ Validation of these language packs is handled in the
same manner as security updates.
▪ If they are accessed directly from Microsoft.com Download Center, then validation is required to
download.
▪ If they are accessed via the Windows Update control panel, then validation is required before updates will appear.
▪ If Automatic Update (AU) is enabled in Windows Update, then all of these updates will install automatically. There is no validation on AU.
jcxp.net - 30.08.2007
