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 Do you understand MS EULA?
Get a hotfix - without having to call MS..
In this new age of the internet... You now can obtain a hotfix without having to interact with a single soul ( no phone calls etc.. ) Easy and convenient.
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26.7.2007 Better living without MS Office
Ten years ago to this very week, Apple called a truce in its market share war with Microsoft. After all, the Mac then had a 5 percent market share or so and the company and its OS plans were in disarray.
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11.8.2007 Who uses MS Live Search?
". . . it’s mostly people that are searching for files on their own hard drive who accidentally click the ’search the net’ button."
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3.4.2008 MS Geneva Beta 2
At over half a year since the introduction of the first Beta for Microsoft's open platform for claims-based user access, the Redmond company has produced the next development milestone. Microsoft Code Name "Geneva" Beta 2 is now available for download.
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12.5.2009 MS: Windows More Reliable Than Linux
Microsoft made a statement on Thursday that is sure to rile its detractors: the Windows Server operating system is being chosen in greater numbers by corporations over UNIX and Linux for its reliability.
To support the claim, Microsoft said companies such as Altera, Rayovac, and CompUSA cited that fact in their decisions to choose the Windows platform.
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24.3.2006 MS beta's Screenshots colection
Now are available Screenshots of: Windows Vista Build 5308, Windows Vista Build 5342, Windows Vista Build 5365, Windows Vista Build 5381, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007 !!!
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15.5.2006 Demystifying the MS Stance on BitTorrents
What’s the deal with the BitTorrent sites springing up to mirror the Beta 2 release of Windows Vista? As you’re probably aware from reading this blog, we ran into some issues delivering the download of Windows Vista Beta 2 to everyone who wanted to test out the release.
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3.7.2006 MS investigates Word zero-day
Microsoft has issued a Security Advisory that warns of exploits for a previously unknown (zero day) hole in various versions of Microsoft Word.
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6.12.2006 MS KILL BILL AIO
Are you tired of dealing with the antics of Bill Gates and company from the small
town of Redmond? Are you willing to do something about it?
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15.2.2007 MS: Using Vista Loophole Is Cheating
Microsoft is denying a recent report that suggests it deliberately included a technical loophole in Windows Vista that lets users install the OS without paying for the full priced version.
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7.4.2008 MS: Video on Messenger launched
Microsoft Corp has launched a new online service in 20 countries which will allow users to watch video clips at the same time as a network of friends and chat via Windows Live Messenger.
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12.5.2008 MS: New Windows Vista Wallpapers
New Windows Vista wallpapers are available for download from Microsoft. The fresh Vistas are not a repeat of the excellent collection that shipped included by default in the RTM version of the latest Windows client, nor are they additional Extras for the Windows Vista Ultimate SKU.
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19.6.2008 Judge Criticizes MS Settlement Progress
At a court hearing to discuss Microsoft's progress in meeting the sanctions imposed in a 2002 antitrust settlement, a U.S. District Judge reprimanded the company over its recent music software flap. Microsoft was also scolded for not moving fast enough in opening its Windows internals to third parties.
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Gates: MS 'Must Act' on Web Services
Microsoft is not about to take the Web 2.0 revolution sitting down, says Bill Gates. In an internal e-mail sent out October 30 and obtained by BetaNews on Wednesday, Gates writes that Microsoft must change to take advantage of the evolution of computing from a software-based to a Web-based model.
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MS Warns of Exploit for Windows Flaw
Microsoft on Tuesday acknowledged the existence of exploit code that could crash vulnerable Windows computers through a flaw in image file handling. The company had provided a patch for the problem as part of its November Patch Tuesday security update.
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30.11.2005 Ecma Approves MS Office Committee
International technology standards organization Ecma International voted Thursday to approve the creation of a technical committee to begin looking into standardization of Microsoft Office's Open XML document format. The effort has been backed by Apple, Intel and Toshiba.
The vote to create the committee would have been unanimous, however OpenDocument supporter IBM voted against the proposal while HP abstained. Critics outside of Ecma questioned the organization's move to standardize what they consider to be a proprietary format.
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11.12.2005 MS: Want Windows Live Messenger? Pay.
The only thing hotter than the Xbox 360 this holiday season may be invites to join the Windows Live Messenger beta test. Thankfully, Microsoft has a recommendation for those who can't wait for access to the latest bits: pay for an invitation on eBay.
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22.12.2005 MS Opens Live Messenger Beta to More
Microsoft began sending out additional invitations for its Windows Live Messenger client on Thursday, BetaNews has learned. The company had previously closed the test to a few thousand users, who have received only a limited number of additional invites over the past several weeks for friends and family.
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6.1.2006 MS Source Code Seller Gets Two Years
A Connecticut man convicted of selling stolen portions of Microsoft's source code for its Windows operating system was sentenced to two years in prison by a federal Judge on Friday. William Genovese Jr., 29, pleaded guilty in August to the crime after being charged in February 2004.
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28.1.2006 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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7.2.2006 More on ad based MS Works online
Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it may offer a free, advertising-supported version of its basic word processing and spreadsheet software, in an apparent bid to fend off a nascent challenge from Google Inc. in the business software market.
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22.9.2006Expiration 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.....
neowin.net -
30.01.2009Windows XP SP3 Release Clarification
There are some news
sites that have just picked up
yesterday's news about
Windows XP SP3 being released
in 2007 according to an MS
Press Release. However, to
http://winbeta.org/comments.ph
p?shownews=7453&catid=1>remind
everyone, Microsoft directly
commented on the issue
yesterday stating the press
release was inaccurate thanks
to Mary Jo Foley contacting MS
for further
clarification:
“I just received
additional information from
the product manager
responsible for SP3. While
we’re still not talking
specifics, he did point to the
following link as an accurate
timeline for our preliminary
plans for SP3:
http://www.microsoft.com/
windows/lifecycle/servicepacks
.mspx. Again, these are just
preliminary and we will share
more at a later date. Please
do reference this link for
current timing and disregard
the release from InterOp,
which is inaccurate.”
Therefore, Windows XP
SP3 is still set for the first
half of 2008 and not later
this year.
winbeta.org - 25.05.2007
Windows XP SP3 RC1 Public Download Available
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new
functionalities, which do not significantly change customers experience with the operating system.
File Size: 336,070 KB
See here for more info.
winbeta.org - 12.12.2007
Despite 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...
betanews.com - 26.03.2008
Microsoft 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.
neowin.net - 04.01.2008
Windows XP SP3 Specifics Revealed
If you have recently found yourself yelling “Down with Vista! Where’s my XP SP3?”, you’ll be happy to know Microsoft
hasn’t forgotten users of its currently most popular OS. Over the last few weeks, the software giant has provided XP downgrades for unhappy
Vista customers, announced that Windows XP sales would be extended to June 30, 2008, released a new build of Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows XP that
doesnt require product activation, and released a Service Pack 3 beta to a select group of testers. Vista may be the next big thing, but the gap
between the two operating systems has created more problems than Microsoft would have hoped for. Thankfully, the company has decided against pushing
Vista at all costs and (hold your breath MS haters) is listening to its customers.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 10.10.2007
Microsoft 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.....
neowin.net - 27.01.2009
Office 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.
winbeta.org - 08.01.2008
Windows 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...
betanews.com - 20.11.2007
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Final (Direct MS Download)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new
functionalities, which do not significantly change customers experience with the operating system.
winbeta.org - 29.04.2008
New 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...
betanews.com - 10.10.2007
XP 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.
winbeta.org - 24.10.2007
Microsoft 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.
jcxp.net - 10.07.2008
Apple'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...
betanews.com - 16.11.2007
BitTorrent 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...
betanews.com - 17.04.2008
Windows 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.
winbeta.org - 08.10.2008
Is 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.....
neowin.net - 26.03.2008
Don'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!!!"
neowin.net - 05.05.2008
Verizon 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...
betanews.com - 19.08.2008
Windows SharePoint Services 2003 Post SP3 Hotfix Package Released
Joe Rodgers: Details are in KB941412, but it's got a couple notable updates, one specifically for a New Zealand DST
change. You'll have to contact MS to get the download or use our new hotfix request system linked in the KB.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941412
winbeta.org - 01.02.2008
