XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Critical Security Patches
The latest Critical security patches for Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 are available from Microsoft.
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13.8.2008 Microsoft Patches Critical Vista SP1 and XP SP3 Vulnerabilities
It's patching time yet again for Microsoft, as the software giant made available no less than eight security bulletins on December 9, 2008, designed to plug vulnerabilities in a range of products including Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3.
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10.12.2008 The Problem with Creative and Windows Vista
Don't get me wrong, they make great hardware, but Creative is not known for their efficiency in writing drivers for their hardware. Their Beta 1 drivers are relatively buggy compared to other Beta 1 drivers on the market for Graphics Cards, Network Cards etc, but with a big enough target market and enough technical staff I see no reason why they can't keep up.
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2.7.2006 Want To Upgrade Vista Without Visiting The Store? No Problem
Microsoft testers are getting an early look at new functionality designed to allow users to upgrade to more powerful and, presumably, more expensive versions of Vista.
Microsoft is testing a new Windows upgrade mechanism, known as Windows Anytime Upgrade. A first iteration of the technology is integrated into the February CTP (Community Technology Preview) releases of Vista that went to testers starting the week of Feb. 20.
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7.3.2006 Do you have problem with concentration?
The Problem with Bundling
On Friday I spoke with two product executives from a major OEM about some forthcoming new PCs and notebooks. During the conversation, I asked about their Windows Media Center strategy. The OEM no longer has one, and Vista integration is the reason.
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10.12.2007 The Problem With Netbooks
The market for netbooks is an artificial construct, a subset of notebooks that isn't a sustainably distinct category.
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5.3.2009 No Critical Patches for Vista SP2
Come June 9, 2009, Microsoft plans to release no less than 10 security bulletins for various supported releases of Internet Explorer, Windows client and server operating systems and the Office System.
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5.6.2009 Microsoft Works on Comcast E-Mail Problem
Microsoft said Friday that some people who use its Hotmail and MSN e-mail services are not receiving e-mail sent from Comcast accounts and other Internet service providers.
Brooke Richardson, a group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online division, said the problem appears to be due to an increase in e-mail volumes, which it is attributed in part to the Sober Internet worm.
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5.12.2005 Microsoft: Bots a Big Problem for Windows
Malicious bots are becoming quite common, with six out of every ten computers scanned by the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool found to be infected, Microsoft said Monday. Altogether, the application has removed malicious bots from about 3.5 million PCs.
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13.6.2006 Windows 7: Problem Steps Recorder overview
Over the next few weeks we will be adding many more focus items on Windows 7 including Touch, Windows 7 networking and media enhancements. Stay tuned for the ultimate Windows 7 focus from Neowin.net. Here is an overview of Problem Steps Recorder.
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11.1.2009 How can Microsoft overcome Vistas lingering image problem?
Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands.
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2.5.2008 Workaround for HTC Hero Sync Problem in Windows 7
HTC latest masterpieces, HTC Hero, packs with the most coveted features in the modern mobile world, including powered by Googles famous Android operating system.
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23.8.2009 Microsoft to Fix Critical Vista Flaw Early
Microsoft confirmed Sunday that it would not wait until April's "Patch Tuesday" to release a fix correcting a critical flaw in Windows Animated Cursor Handling, which affects most supported versions of the company's operating systems. Instead, an update is coming Tuesday.
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3.4.2007 MS preps critical Vista patch for Tuesday
Microsoft plans to issue two security patches next Tuesday, one of which earns the dreaded rating of critical, in this year's first edition of its regular Patch Tuesday update cycle.
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4.1.2008 Vista's Biggest Problem Remains Windows XP, Survey Says
Windows Vista biggest worry shouldn't be rival operating systems from Apple Inc. or Red Hat Inc., but competition from Microsoft's own Windows XP.
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15.11.2007 Vistas big problem: 92 percent of developers ignoring it
And to think Microsoft used to be popular with the developer crowd...
Not anymore. A recent report from Evans Data shows fewer than one in 10 software developers writing applications for Windows Vista this year. Eight percent.
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17.6.2008 Critical Vista, IE 7 patches highlight MS security updates
This months batch of patches from Microsoft includes six bulletins covering at least 15 vulnerabilities, including several critical code execution holes in Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7.
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13.6.2007 Windows 7 RTM Safe from Vista and XP Critical Vulnerabilities
When it launched Windows Vista back in January 2007, Microsoft made sure to emphasize added security as part of the Wow.
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12.8.2009 .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for XP SP3 and Vista SP1
Microsoft has made Service Pack 1 for .NET Framework 3.5 for Windows Server 2008 available for download. Designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is now live on the Microsoft Download Center.
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11.8.2008 Making 64-bit Vista SP1 Say It's Vista SP1
Making a 64-bit copy of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 confirm that it is actually Vista SP1 might require a minimum amount of effort on behalf of the end user, such as right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties, but things are a tad different when an application is programmed to identify the operating system versions or the service pack releases.
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25.8.2008 New Non-Critical Windows Updates are Available
KB904942 - Install this update to resolve HTTP authentication issues in Windows-based systems that do not appear until Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 is installed.
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1.3.2006 Critical Office update on the way
Microsoft plans to release a "critical" security update for Office next week, one of three bulletins it will distribute as part of its monthly patch cycle.
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11.9.2006 Critical IE Graphics Flaw Resurfaces
Plus: More Office holes, and a major Adobe problem that affects all browsers.
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22.2.2007 Microsoft to release four critical patches
Microsoft announced plans Thursday to issue four "critical" security bulletins next week that address vulnerabilities in its Windows Mail, Internet Explorer and Windows XP.
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8.6.2007 Windows 7 Beta Critical to Compatibility
In another example of the fact that Windows 7 will be everything that Windows Vista was not, Microsoft indicated a strong commitment to ensure a high level of compatibility for the next iteration of the Windows client from the get go.
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30.5.2008 32-bit Vista SP1 = 1GB 64-bit Vista SP1 = 1.5GB
If you think that Windows Vista was a fast operating system, then just wait for the first service pack. According to data released by Microsoft, Vista SP1 with weigh in at a maximum of 1.5 GB.
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30.8.2007 Hackers publish code for critical IE bug
Security experts are warning Internet users to be careful where they click, thanks to a nasty unpatched bug in the way Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser handles the JavaScript computer language. The bug is of particular concern because security researchers in the U.K. have now published "proof of concept" code showing how hackers could exploit the problem and possibly take over a Windows system.
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22.11.2005 Experts Warn of Critical Word Vulnerability
Security experts are warning of a critical vulnerability affecting users of Microsoft Word XP and Word 2003.
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22.5.2006 No fix for 'critical' hole in Windows 98, ME
Microsoft will not fix a serious flaw in Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition because a patch could break other applications.
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11.6.2006Why you can't have Vista SP1 yet: Microsoft fixing driver problem
Despite being released to manufacturing last week, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is not being made available to all customers because Microsoft is
trying to resolve an issue in which hardware devices may stop functioning after SP1 is installed...
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12.02.2008Endless reboots force suspension of Vista SP1 updates
The reason it's called "beta testing" is to anticipate and isolate problems. But a big problem reported by some -- not all -- Vista SP1
testers is causing Microsoft to take a step back...
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20.02.2008Vista SP1 will fix critical ReadyBoost performance bug
A day prior to
Mary Jo
Foley's report on the
mid-July release date for the
beta of Vista SP1, a Microsoft
employee
silently
outlined a critical flaw
in Windows Vistas ReadyBoost
feature and mentioned SP1
would include the fix - a rare
occasion under the new
Sinofsky administration.
Robert Hensing, a security
engineer at Microsoft,
wrote on
his blog about a
performance flaw in ReadyBoost
which severely hindered the
responsiveness after resuming
from standby (S3) or hibernate
(S4) due to an architectural
bug. The problem causes
irregular and unnecessary
hard-disk thrashing after
resume which can take up to 8
minutes to settle down -
ironically the outcome is the
exact opposite of ReadyBoosts
purpose to increase
responsiveness by caching. The
cause is a simple yet stupid
oversight in the design of
ReadyBoosts security system
which encrypts all cache-data
with an AES-128 encryption
key, a great idea badly
implemented.
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09.07.2007Why 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 -
20.03.2008More on the Vista Service Pack 1 drivers roadblock
Long Zheng: It appears the roadblock preventing
Windows Vista Service Pack
1 from being made publically available when it was released to manufacturing two days ago is a deja vu of the same but less severe problem that
also happened in 2004 with Windows XP Service Pack 2.
The problem
then affected a very particular ATI graphics driver and Dell Bluetooth driver which resulted in loss functionality after installing XP SP2.
The problem today affects an identifiable set of drivers which too results in loss functionality after installing Vista SP1. Both of
which will require driver updates prior to the service pack install.
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06.02.2008No update from Microsoft on Vista SP1, Media Center problems
Following reports of installation problems by some users attempting to deploy the final version of Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft is
still not saying much.
Microsoft officials are not discussing publicly how many users are affected by the
“endless reboot loop” problem that users are reporting
on Microsoft’s TechNet Forums. Microsoft officials also are not saying when or if they will issue new fixes that alleviate the problems.
The problem seems to affect both users who are using the SP1 Release Candidate (RC) 1 Refresh 2 bits (that came out in late
January), as well as those using the SP1`bits marked as “RTM” (that went live in early February).
Vista SP1 RC 1 Refresh 2 and the RTM build of Vista SP1 are the same, even though their build
numbers are different, Microsoft officials have admitted.
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19.02.2008Photos: Installing Vista SP1 beta
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Earlier today I downloaded the standalone installer for Windows Vista SP1 build 6001.16659 and installed it on a few systems
to see what it was like -- and I thought you might like to take a look at it.
Don't expect huge UI changes after installing SP1
-- the changes are small and subtle. In fact, if you're not familiar with Windows Vista, you might miss the SP1 changes. I've put together an image
gallery showing some of the most significant changes.
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28.09.2007Improved startup repair tool, media throttling among Vista SP1 changes
To reassure customers that it really has been addressing consumers' concerns about Vista, Microsoft has made its change log to Windows Vista SP1
publicly available early...
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11.12.2007Automated System Recovery (ASR) in Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1
Automated System Recovery or ASR as it is more commonly known is the Windows API set to capture the configuration of disks and volumes on a system and
restore them in bare metal recovery scenarios. During such recoveries, backup applications (requesters) invoke ASR to restore the disks and volumes
prior to putting back the operating system, applications and data.
For the purpose of bare metal recovery scenarios, the disks
and volumes in a system can be divided into two broad categories critical and non-critical. Critical volumes are those containing system state or
operating system components and include the boot and system volumes. A volume containing the Active Directory database on a domain controller is also
an example of a critical volume. Critical disks as youve likely guessed are those that contain critical volumes.
Once the
operating system and data have been put back, requesters may perform more recovery operations after the system is booted into the restored operating
system.
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12.02.2008Changes to UAC in Vista SP1: Much less than meets the eye
A video is making the rounds showing how Vista SP1 has significantly improved Vista's immensely annoying User Account Control (UAC). But there
appears to be less to the improvement than meets the eye --- hardly any changes were made to UAC in SP1, and it remains a very big Vista annoyance.
Microsoft blogger Michael Kleef
has
made a video that he says illustrates how much better UAC is under SP1 than before SP1. It very nicely shows that when you create a new folder in
Program Files, you only need to go through one UAC prompt under Vista SP1, rather than four previously.
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17.05.2008Windows Vista SP1 Application Non-Compatibility List
Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista is an important update for Windows Vista. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) contains many security, reliability, and
feature updates for Windows Vista. A program may experience a loss of functionality after you install Windows Vista SP1. However, most programs will
continue to work as expected after you install Windows Vista SP1.
This article lists programs that have been reported to
experience a loss of functionality when they are installed on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer.
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19.02.2008XP SP2 vs. Vista RTM vs. Vista SP1: Gaming benchmark
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Here are the benchmark results that many of you have been waiting for - a look at how well ten popular games work on XP SP2,
Vista RTM and Vista SP1.
Its been nearly a year since I took a look at the state of gaming under the Vista OS. The last time I
compared XP SP2 to Vista, I was disappointed with Microsofts new OS as a gaming platform because I could get far more bang for my bucks out of XP than
I could out of the new OS. Partly I put this down to immature drivers, but on the whole I was convinced that at the core of the problem was Vista.
So, is Vista worth bothering with as a gaming platform?
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28.02.2008Language Packs and Windows Vista SP1
Nick White: We have some information we'd like to share in regards to Windows Vista SP1 and folks running Language Packs. Some of you may have
noticed that after installing Windows Vista SP1 on Windows Vista Ultimate - the Language Packs fail to appear on Windows Update (
KB947875).
We will be releasing Windows Vista SP1 in two
"waves". The first wave will only provide Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista Ultimate PCs running the following 5 Languages: English, French,
German, Japanese and Spanish. The second wave will follow shortly after - supporting all 36 languages.
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04.03.2008Vista SP1 to be just 45MB over Windows Update?
Mary Jo Foley got a chance to
see a note sent to certain
testers of Vista SP1 earlier
this month and quite a few
interesting factoids have
turned up in it:
Q: How big is SP1?
A: Windows Vista
SP1 is approximately 45 MB
when delivered over Windows
Update and is designed to not
significantly change the UI or
regress application
compatibility.
Q: What are some examples
of support for emerging
technologies and
standards?
A:
With SP1, Windows Vista can
boot via EFI (Extensible
Firmware Interface) on an x64
machine. SP1 supports ExFAT, a
new file format that will be
used in flash memory storage
and consumer devices Support
for SD Advanced DMA Support to
improve transfer performance
and decrease CPU utilization
is part of SP1
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30.07.2007The Vista SP1 saga: the best ad for Mac and Linux yet?
Alex Zaharov-Reutt: First, it was a 5 year delay for Vista minus plenty of features, drivers and software compatibility. A year later, Vista SP1
launches, but few can get it yet. Then two SP1 pre-updates launch, only to have many reports of endless rebooting. What more can Microsoft do to
convince people to try a Mac or Linux?
I wouldnt exactly call the delay of Vista SP1 a comedic situation, but the whole thing
seems to have gone from comedic to shambolic in less than three weeks since the February 4 announcement that Vista SP1 had gone to RTM.
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21.02.2008Vista SP1 x86 appears on Torrent Sites
In the last few days, certain Neowin forum members have reported that an image of Vista SP1 x86 Final has leaked to torrent sites. This file is
supposedly a slipstreamed image of the final Service Pack 1 for Vista x86. It is allegedly available in various languages, including English. Since
many believe that this is indeed the download that Microsoft will provide in the upcoming weeks, I would like to emphasize that this is not the case.
This release is not official, nor is it genuine. I repeat: Vista SP1 has not gone final.
Neowin members are reporting that the file in
question may be SP1 Refresh 2 slipstreamed or simply a malware-filled release. I would like to remind our members not to post links to any Vista SP1
build, unless it comes directly from Microsoft’s servers.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
28.01.2008Vista file copying showdown: RTM vs SP1
Long Zheng: Copying files is the Achilles heel of Windows Vista, calculating time remaining the blue screen of death equivalent. If anyone tells
you Windows Vista isnt slow at copying files, then they obviously havent downloaded any DVDrips and tried to move it onto another computer. It was
anticipated Windows Vista Service Pack 1 would fix this problem amongst other things.
As announced this week, the first beta
build of SP1 (6001.16659) has been released on Microsoft Connect. The initial reaction from most tester has been largely positive noting improvements
in file operations such as moving, copying and deleting files. However I havent seen anyone post any benchmarks or evidence to prove it is indeed
faster.
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28.09.2007Gartner report: Don't wait for SP1 to deploy Vista
Enterprises planning to deploy Windows Vista should not wait for Microsoft to release Vista's first service pack (SP1), due in early 2008, before
doing so, according to a Gartner analysis.
In the
analysis, titled Vista SP1 Is
Important, but Less So Than SPs of the Past, Gartner research vice president Michael A. Silver noted that "Windows client service packs are
important, but not as important as they used to be. Integrate Windows Vista SP1 if possible, but don't delay plans waiting for it."
Many organizations often wait until Microsoft releases the first service pack on its client operating system "before they test and plan
deployment, he explained. But Microsoft "has become adept at deploying updates through services like Windows Update, Microsoft Update and Automatic
Update, so SPs are now less important than they once were."
Another factor in play here: "Many organizations have highly
complex PC environments and would not be ready to deploy Vista before
, so SPI will not be in the critical path form them,"
Silver wrote...
winbeta.org - 07.09.2007
Microsoft: Vista SP1 will break these programs
Microsoft has published a list of programs that will not work or that will
suffer from reduced functionality after the installation of Vista Service Pack 1.
The list of programs consists mostly of security
applications, such as Trend Micro Internet Security 2008. However, programs such as The New York Times Reader application also feature on the list.
Users are advised to install updates from the application vendor to fix the problem.
"Windows Vista Service Pack 1 contains many
security, reliability, and feature updates for Windows Vista," the company said. "A program may experience a loss of functionality after you install
Windows Vista SP1. However, most programs will continue to work as expected after you install Windows Vista SP1."
neowin.net - 22.02.2008
Microsoft acknowledges Vista SP1 Refresh 2 = RTM
Which build of Vista SP1 became the release to manufacturing (RTM) edition? This was definitely a topic of high speculation in the last few weeks,
even before SP1 hit the RTM milestone. Many were adamant that SP1 RTM was, or would be, different from the final release candidate, while those on the
other side grasped at straws to prove their suspicions. The Microsoft Watcher, also known as Mary Jo Foley, has finally received confirmation from
Microsoft that the Vista SP1 RTM build (6001-18000) is none other than Vista SP1 RC Refresh 2. The latest official statement from the software giant
is:
"RC Refresh 2 code is the same as RTM. In final stages of a product Microsoft likes to get as much validation as possible before
releasing. The release candidate ended up being a high enough quality to be approved to release to manufacturing."
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 08.02.2008
