Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Get Windows 7s AutoPlay-AutoRun
Even before the release of Windows 7 Release Candidate Build 7100 Microsoft announced that it would take extreme measures in order to increase end user protection and amputate the AutoPlay/AutoRun feature of the operating system.
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26.8.2009 Windows XP SP3 Brings the Death of SP2 - July 13, 2010
The advent of Windows XP Service Pack 3 has brought with it the proverbial "beginning of the end" for its predecessor, Service Pack 2.
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19.5.2008 Connect Windows 7 with XP SP3 Vista SP2 via Remote Desktop Connection 7.0
Microsoft is gearing up to release a tool that will permit users of Windows Vista and Windows XP computers to connect to Windows 7 machines, and to take advantage of features that only the latest version of the Windows client brings to the table.
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12.9.2009 Download Windows 7 Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and SP2
While Windows 7 technologies are, as a general rule, available exclusively with the latest iteration of the Windows client from Microsoft, there also are exceptions.
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4.11.2009 Windows 7 – 20 Features to Make Users Forget Vista SP1/SP2 and XP SP3
Microsoft is currently moving onward with the development of Windows 7, having passed Milestone 3 with the operating system.
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15.11.2008 Vista SP2 and XP SP3 June 2009 Patches ISO Image Available
This month’s release addresses 31 total vulnerabilities with 15 rated as “1” on our Exploitability Index, meaning there is a high likelihood that reliable exploit code may be developed in the next 30 days,” stated Jerry Bryant, Sr. security program manager lead.
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12.6.2009 Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Patch Security Release ISO Image Available
A DVD5 ISO image file containing all the security bulletins made available on November 10th, 2009 for all supported Windows platforms, is now up for grabs via the Microsoft Download Center.
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13.11.2009 Vista SP1 RC Leaves XP SP2 in the Dust, but What About XP SP3?
Although Microsoft has indicated a strong disapproval of benchmarking tests involving development milestones of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the temptation is simply too big to ignore.
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17.1.2008 Microsoft Makes Its Own Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2, Leaves XP SP3 Out
Ever since the advent of Window Vista, at the end of November 2006 for businesses and in January 2007 for the general public, Microsoft has virtually invited the comparison between the two operating systems.
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8.5.2008 Capture Windows 7 and Vista SP2 Images with ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 Beta
Capturing Windows 7 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 images, but also client assessment, updating and deployment are tasks that can be performed with System Center Configuration Manager 2007.
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15.6.2009 Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 download
Microsoft has released a standalone installer for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 today.
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27.5.2009 Windows 7s draconian DRM?
Once again, we see fanciful claims about ludicrous DRM schemes in the new Windows operating system, but a closer look suggests that Windows isn't to blame after all. Most users, in fact, won't even notice Windows 7's DRM.
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18.2.2009 Windows Vista Doesn't Add DRM To Unprotected Content
Robert McLaw: Of all the FUD that's out there about Vista, the false information about Vista's DRM is the FUD that frustrates me the most.
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28.2.2007 Windows DRM Not Up To Snuff, Claims BitTorrent Founder
"We are using Windows DRM because it is the only solution that has been vetted widely, but we are not happy with how it affects playback," says BitTorrent's Bram Cohen.
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20.3.2007 How much DRM is too much?
Myth: Windows Vista is loaded with new forms of digital rights management (DRM) that will make the Vista experience more frustrating than ever.
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12.10.2006 Zune DRM cracked
A program has surfaced that strips DRM off of tracks purchased from the Zune Marketplace, or traded via Wi-Fi.
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16.7.2007 Microsoft announces investment in DRM for mobiles
Today at CTIA WIRELESS 2006, Microsoft announced it will make significant investments in its digital rights management (DRM) technologies for wireless devices.
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5.4.2006 Bill Gates Takes a Jab at DRM
Microsoft recently held a get together for a small group of high-profile bloggers ahead of the Mix Conference.
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17.12.2006 Xbox DRM Transfer Tool Is Released
If there's one thing Microsoft can do right most of the time is protecting its intellectual property. The software giant has always been at the forefront of creating ways to stop other people from stealing the company's work.
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30.6.2008 DRM is "too complicated" - just rip CDs, says Bill Gates
Even Microsoft founder Bill Gates finds it easier to "just buy a CD and rip it" than grapple with the copyright protection used by online music stores.
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18.12.2006 Microsoft Confirms Move to DRM-Free Musi
Lost amid the hoopla over last week's EMI announcement regarding their decision to sell digital music without digital rights management (DRM) restrictions was the fact that Apple was only the first digital music reseller to sign on for the new offerings. This week, Microsoft admitted that it, too, would offer music without DRM.
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9.4.2007 DRM-Free Music Plays for Microsoft. Sorry, Apple
Apple CEO Steve Jobs is getting exactly what he asked for nearly a year ago: industry movement away from DRM music. But the DRM freedom he wanted is looking more like DRM freedom from Apple.
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8.1.2008 Silverlight 2, Microsoft's Flash Killer, Gets DRM, Just Like Vista
Microsoft's Flash killer, Silverlight, is on track to get digital rights management just like the company's latest Windows client, Windows Vista. Microsoft has faced a barrage of criticism over the content protection capabilities in Vista, and the subject is bound to yet again come into play with Silverlight 2.
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14.4.2008 Microsoft AntiSpy program will remove Sony's DRM Rootkit
From antimalware blog:
I've been getting a lot of questions in the last week about Microsoft's position on the Sony DRM and rootkit discussions, so I thought I'd share a little info on what we're doing here. We are concerned about any malware and its impact on our customers' machines. Rootkits have a clearly negative impact on not only the security, but also the reliability and performance of their systems.
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14.11.2005 Yahoo Music continues DRM-free download experiment
Yahoo put another music track without DRM (digital rights management) on sale through its Yahoo Music service Tuesday.
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6.12.2006 Microsoft patents watermark technology that may lock down DRM-free music
Microsoft has won a patent for a digital-watermarking technology that could be used to protect the rights of content owners even when digital music is distributed without DRM protection.
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12.9.2007 Notable Changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC and Windows Vista SP2 RC
Microsoft® continuously improves the Windows Vista® and Windows Server® 2008 operating systems by providing ongoing updates while working with software and hardware vendors to help them deliver improved compatibility, reliability, and performance. These updates are provided to customers by Microsoft’s hardware and software partners, as well as directly from Microsoft in the form of regularly distributed updates delivered via Windows Update. Updates to Windows are also delivered directly to some affected customers and preinstalled by PC manufacturers.
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1.3.2009 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 Windows Server 2003 SP2
With an absence of fanfare, but otherwise on schedule, Microsoft opened up its download page for Service Pack 2 of Windows Server 2003, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.
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14.3.2007 Details on Windows Vista SP2 emerge
Microsoft has begun to release some details on the enhancements that they intend to bring with Windows Vista Service Pack 2. As we reported on Neowin last week, Microsoft has released an early beta build of Vista SP2 to testers weighing in at around 290MB.
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26.10.2008MS08-030 Re-released for Windows XP SP2 and SP3
Christopher Budd: I wanted to let folks know that weve just re-released
MS08-030. This is to let you know theres a new version of this
security update available for Windows XP SP2 and SP3 customers and to encourage them to deploy these new updates. There are no new updates for the
other versions of Windows discussed in the bulletin.
After we released
MS08-030 we learned that the security updates for Windows XP SP2 and
SP3 might not have been fully protecting against the issues discussed in that bulletin. As soon as we learned of that possibility, we mobilized our
Software Security Incident Response Process (SSIRP) to
investigate the issue.
Our investigation found that while the other security updates were providing protections for the issues
discussed in the bulletin, the Windows XP SP2 and SP3 updates were not.
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19.06.2008Microsoft releases Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2
Microsoft has released a standalone installer for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 today. The software giant posted some things to know
about the service packs last month, one of the warnings is if "vLite" was used to customize your Windows Vista installation, you may have removed
required system components which prevent Service Pack 2 from installing. Microsoft has a workaround for this issue. Microsoft is expected to post the
bits to Windows Update in the coming weeks but if you are eager to install SP2 today then the download links are listed below. Download: Vista
SP2/Server 2008 SP2 32 bit Download: Vista SP2/Server 2008 SP2 64 bit
Read full story.....
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26.05.2009Firms 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 Candidate 2 via Windows Update
Microsoft yesterday made Service Pack 3 RC2 available to both testers and the general public. They have provided a small script to run on your XP SP2
machine that will allow for SP3 to be available through Windows Update.
The build, now at v3311, cannot be installed over previous SP3
betas. 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.
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20.02.2008Microsoft delays Windows Vista SP2 by a month
Tech ARP reports that Windows Vista SP2 might be delayed until March. Microsoft will deliver a Release Candidate of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 in
March and not in February. Also, Microsoft will send the service pack build to OEM and retailers only in the second quarter of 2009 and not in April.
Below are the scheduled dates as predicted by TechARP: Image Courtesy: Tech ARP The time delay between RTM and Public Versions release is hard to
predict as there was a delay of 2 weeks between Windows XP SP3's RTM and Public Versions and 6 weeks delay in case of Windows Vista SP1.
Read full story.....
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22.01.2009Despite 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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26.03.2008XP SP3: TechNet and MSDN subscribers to get beta in two weeks
Microsoft provided an update on the timing for Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 on August 29.
Company officials said on Wednesday
that the Windows team plans to deliver a near-public beta of XP SP3 (its going to all TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers) by
mid-September.
The final version of XP SP3 is slated to hit some time in the first half of calendar 2008, officials said. (Thats
the same date the Softies have been promising officially for a while now. Microsoft wont be any more specific on XP SP3 timing.)
Company officials did not release a feature set for XP SP3 on August 29. The only new piece of information available was the public-beta due
date.
Microsoft made available to a set of private testers a preview of XP SP3 earlier in August. I saw an alleged fix list at
that time: It consisted of nearly 1,000 items.
The last time Microsoft provided a cumulative update to Windows XP was in 2004,
when it released XP SP2.
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29.08.2007Updated Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images Available
VPC Hard Disk Image for testing websites with different IE versions on Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista.
This
download page contains four separate VPC images, depending on what you want to test.
- IE6-XPSP3_VPC.exe contains a Windows
XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file
- IE7-XPSP2_VPC.exe contains a Windows XP SP2 with IE7 VHD file
- IE8B2-XPSP3_VPC.exe
contains a Windows XP SP3 with IE8 Beta 2 VHD file
- IE7-VIS1.exe+IE7-VIS2.rar+IE7-VIS3.rar contain a Vista Image with IE7 VHD
file.
Note: For The Vista image, you will need all three files, downloaded and in the same directory, then simply run
IE7-VIS1.exe.
This VPC image will expire in January, 2009.
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29.08.2008What Windows platforms will Windows Installer 4.5 ship in?
Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions was:
Question:
What Windows platforms will Windows Installer ship in?
Answer:
Windows Installer 4.5 will initially ship as a
Windows redistributable component via download center. At RTM, redistributable packages will support installing to Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows
Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Windows Vista RTM and SP1, and Windows Server 2008. These redistributable packages will support the three CPU architectures
Windows to which these platforms ship: x86, x64, and ia64. These choices for platform support are consistent with the
Windows Service Pack road map...
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01.09.2007Microsoft patched critical Windows bug in XP SP3 early
The appearance and disappearance of a Windows XP installation snafu indicates that Microsoft patched a critical vulnerability in XP's
still-unfinished Service Pack 3 (SP3) weeks before it fixed any other version of Windows. The glitch, which sent some PCs into an endless round of
reboots, was strangely similar to one faced by Vista users in February. Attackers have already tried to exploit that bug, which was patched last
Tuesday -- as it turned out, two weeks after the newest build of Windows XP SP3 was released with the flaw fixed.
According to reports from
multiple users on a Microsoft support newsgroup, PCs began rebooting immediately after they had been updated to SP3. "I have just updated my pc from
xp sp2 to sp3," said a user identified as "yaojinglin" in a message to a SP3 support forum last Thursday. "The installation was successful, but
when I reboot my pc after the installation finished, my pc started to reboot again and again."
On the XP SP3 support threads, a Microsoft
representative named Shashank Bansal stepped into the rebooting discussion, which was beginning to seem as endless as the rebooting itself. Bansal
asked for more information, then offered an explanation: "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops
installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
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15.04.2008Windows XP SP3 now available via Windows Update
Windows XP SP3 is finally here for those that use Windows
Update, and
here is a direct link to the stand-alone version of SP3 for x86 XP systems (32 bit). Thanks
Bink! I can't confirm if the 64bit version of SP3
is available from today, can anyone confirm?
Here is an interesting
article regarding SP3 performance, ignoring the fact that Vista SP1 is still faster than XP SP2/SP3 users will enjoy a performance boost
over SP2. When will people learn that Vista ain't all bad!
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.
This white
paper summarizes what is new in Windows XP SP3.
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29.04.2008Windows Vista SP2 RC to be released to public next week
Last week we had a rumor that Windows Vista SP2 RC was released to select testers. It turns out that it might be just a notification from Microsoft a
week ahead that RC is done and available for testing or it might have been a near final RC made available for testing to select testers. Microsoft
has announced today that the RC of SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers to test prior to final
release. Microsoft will make SP2 RC available to the general public via TechNet during next week. As expected the final version of SP2 will be made
available in the 2nd quarter of 2009.
Read full story.....
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26.02.2009Daylight Saving Time Update Available For XP SP2 & SP3
Looks like we've got our first XP SP3 update although this was expected as Microsoft had
previously announced that the DST update would not be included with
SP3.
Installing this update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2007 and
2008 due to revised Daylight Saving Time laws in many countries. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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22.04.2008Microsoft: Vista SP2, Windows Server SP2 betas Thursday
Not one half-hour after Microsoft responded to BetaNews' inquiry, the company reversed its position, effectively announcing that the first public
betas of Vista SP2 not in February, but next Thursday...
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03.12.2008Microsoft readying RC of Vista SP2 for February 2009
Citing a source at Microsoft, Techarp has revealed that Microsoft is targeting a release candidate (RC) version of Windows Vista SP2 for February
2009. Microsoft sent invites to testers in mid October asking them to take part in the SP2 beta. Build 16489 was released to special group of testers
in late October but Microsoft has been quiet since then. TechArp also believes the RTM of Vista SP2 will be in April 2009. Microsoft is readying SP2
so there are additional incentives for customers to upgrade to Window Vista now, instead of waiting for Windows 7.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
24.11.2008Wanted: New information on XP SP3
If Microsoft officials don't
want you to know about Vista
Service Pack (SP) 1, you can
be darn well sure they really
don't want to talk about
Windows XP Service Pack (SP)
3. But customers definitely
want to discuss it.
XP users who still
aren’t crazy about the
idea of moving to Vista are
quite interested in the status
of the long-promised update to
Windows XP. (Microsoft
released the most recent XP
update, XP SP2, way back in
the summer of 2004.) I get
queries from readers weekly
about when XP SP3 will hit and
what it will likely include.
There was a flap
earlier this year regarding
Microsoft
possibly changing the due date
for XP SP3. Microsoft
officials have been saying for
the past few months that the
company would not provide the
final XP SP3 until some time
in the first half of 2008. In
late May, however, there was
a
mention in a Microsoft press
release that XP SP3 would ship
"some time later this
year." Microsoft's
official response was that the
2007 date was a typo. (Yeah,
tha
t "typo" defense again.)
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19.07.2007Windows 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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20.11.2007Windows XP SP3 Delayed until 2008
Thanks leebobs for
posting
this
in Back Page News, our member
submitted news from around the
IT sector happenings. Back in
January 2006 Microsoft
announced that the next
Windows XP Service Pack (SP3)
would be launched in 2H 2007,
Some three years after the RTM
of Service Pack 2...
Neowin broke the news:
here
after member MchWalte
saw it posted on
Bink.nu.
Well the
Windows
Service Pack Road Map was
quietly updated on 17 October
2006... The major changes:
SP3 for Windows
XP is currently planned for 1H
2008 . This date is
preliminary.
Windows
Server 2003 SP2 has also been
delayed from 2H 2006 to Q1
2007
Thats
right, The next major update
for Windows XP (If there is
one at all) is scheduled to be
in the first half of 2008...
Nearly 4 years after SP2!
neowin.net -
19.10.2006Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC released
Last week the Windows Team Blog announced that the availability of SP2 RC for Vista would be available soon. Today they have posted that the download
is now live and you can find the information needed here. If you have a beta install of SP2 loaded on your computer it must be uninstalled before
attempting to load the RC. It should also be mentioned that this, while close, is not a final product and a few hiccups may occur along the way. You
can download the RC directly from the Customer Preview Program or use the Windows Update Experience Kit to obtain the RC for your personal computer.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
05.03.2009Microsoft 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
