The Art of Blocking and Dodging Vista SP1
In the context of Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista RTM was easy to ignore throughout, but with the introduction of Service Pack 1, the equation of the latest Windows client has evolved.
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20.4.2008 Australia to test blocking all P2P and Bit Torrent traffic
Australia has been known to have high levels of censorship. It should come as no surprise to those in the land down under that the government is planning to filter P2P and Bit Torrent traffic in live pilot tests.
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23.12.2008 Microsoft Takes Heat for Office 2003 SP3 File Format Blocking
CorelDraw .CDR files are one of the formats that have been blocked. 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
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4.1.2008 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 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 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 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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6.7.2008 You Don't Want This Windows Update
Today, I got an e-mail warning of a new Windows virus and where to get the update to protect against it. Oh, those wicked phishers.
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19.2.2009 You Don't Want This Windows Update
Today, I got an e-mail warning of a new Windows virus and where to get the update to protect against it. Oh, those wicked phishers.
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21.2.2009 Update for Windows (KB913538)
Install this update to prevent Windows Management Instrumentation enumerations from being canceled before the client computer can finish using the enumerations. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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22.2.2006 Windows update without Microsoft Genuine 2
Not only will it keep you up to date with the latest updates from Microsoft, it will also keep software and drivers from other vendors updated. However, that functionality is currently missing.
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Update for Windows XP (KB900485)
Install this update to resolve an issue in which you receive a ?stop 0x7e in aec.sys? error message on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The error may occur during startup, or after the system has started. AEC.SYS is the acoustic echo canceling driver. After you install this update, you may have to restart your computer.
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9.1.2006 Security Update for Windows Vista
A remote code execution security issue has been identified in the Graphics Rendering Engine that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system and gain control over it.
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16.1.2006 Windows Defender Beta 2 Update
Microsoft released a new Windows Defender 2, yesterday. Used to check for spyware mainly, Windows Defender is the succesor of Windows Antispyware.
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13.4.2006 Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Gets an Update
Today, users running Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta were greeted with an update entitled "Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta 1 Update 1" via Windows Update.
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22.6.2007 Confirmation of stealth Windows Update
I can now confirm that the stealth Windows Update that I blogged about yesterday actually exists - because I’ve detected its presence on a machine at the PC Doc HQ.
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14.9.2007 XP SP3: Now on Windows Update
A week after deciding not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download site as planned, Microsoft has begun pushing the collection of updates and fixes through those channels again.
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6.5.2008 Upgrade Coming to Windows Update
Come August 2009 Microsoft will release an upgrade to its update infrastructure. The Redmond company pointed out that both the Windows Update and Microsoft Update services would be impacted by the refresh.
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13.7.2009 Windows update without Microsoft Genuine test
Two weeks ago, I posted simple javascripts to circumvent the dreaded Windows Genuine Advantage system for the sake of my and others clicky-finger. It was this day, or maybe a few days later, that Microsoft's PR looneys acknoledged the fact it can be worked around and will be patching up the holes in the "next version".
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Update for Windows XP (KB904412) - English
Install this update to address several possible issues associated with connecting a Serial Bus Protocol 2 (SBP-2) device, such as an IEEE 1394 device, to a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB904714)
Install this update to enable client computers to use the Windows Indexing Service when searching for a network-shared file on a Windows Server 2003-based computer.
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Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB907565)
Install this update to address an issue in which storing files with Extended Attributes (EA) on volumes enabled for Single Instance Storage (SIS) may result in the Extended Attributes being lost as duplicates files are found and moved into the SIS common store. This update addresses this issue and will not move duplicate files with Extended Attributes into the SIS common store. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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5.12.2005 Microsoft Update Windows Vista Homepage
After a brief demo at the on-going CES conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft have launched a re-vamped version of the website for Windows Vista.
The slick new look makes a break from the often bland Microsoft product pages, and moves towards the Glass theme expected in Vista.
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5.1.2006 Windows Gets Largest Security Update in Over a Year
12. That's the number of updates to be released with the June security patches. Of the twelve, nine are specific to the Windows operating system itself and one of those is listed as "critical" designating it as a severe security concern. Two are related to the Microsoft Office productivity suite and one is for Microsoft Exchange e-mail server.
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13.6.2006 Update for Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2
Install this update to address an issue where Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) does not consume intermediate session data.
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23.7.2006 Windows Vista RC1 Availability Update
Microsoft employee Nick White has posted some information on the Windows Vista team blog regarding the availability of RC1.
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11.8.2006 Update for Windows Vista Beta 2 (KB922917)
An issue has been identified that may cause you to lose access to protected media music, videos, and recorded TV after upgrading to Windows Vista RC1.
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16.8.2006 Windows Vista Validation Update (KB929391)
Microsoft have just posted a Windows Vista Genuine Validation Update to Windows Update.
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16.12.2006 The Windows Update Stealth Affair Explained
It was widely reported last week that Microsoft had automatically updated systems that had Automatic Updates set to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them".
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20.9.2007 Microsoft: Update on Windows 7 UAC issues
Before getting into the actual news, lets take a while to understand the current Windows 7 UAC dilemma
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5.2.2009WL Msgr YouTube.com blocking: "Oops, all better now"
In the past few days a number of reports came in that Windows Live Messenger
was blocking the ability to send
legitimate urls through Messenger, including most noticeably
www.youtube.com. While there was some
sinister speculation as to the nature of this blocking, the
Inside Windows Live Messenger blog reports that the problem was caused by a third party partner who handles the blocking of
malicious sites.
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12.05.2008Study: BitTorrent blocking common on Comcast, Cox, StarHub
Blocking of BitTorrent traffic is widespread among some ISPs in the US and Singapore, but not in Canada or any other country on the globe, says a new
study released this week from German researchers...
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16.05.2008Live Messenger URL Blocking: Problem now resolved
As some of you might have faced problem with Windows Live Messenger blocking some of the URLs, now the problem has been fixed and this is what
Messenger Team had to say :
"Greetings Messenger fans –
As some of you noticed, we had a problem from Friday night to
Saturday morning where our Messenger service was incorrectly blocking some legitimate IP addresses. We sincerely apologize for any difficulties this
caused our users. And we want to thank those of you that reported this problem to us so that we could quickly fix it. Because of your help, the
incorrect block was only in place for a few hours.
As you can imagine, we are very serious about our efforts to block virus, malware and
other harmful URLs from being passed on to our users. And we're continually working to improve this process so that we can keep our users safe
without having a negative impact on your Messenger service.
Read full story.....
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12.05.2008Outcry over BitTorrent blocking stretches to Canada
Canadians are joining Americans in their outcry over ISPs allegedly blocking BitTorrent and other P2P applications. Now, two Canadian groups have now
asked the privacy commissioner to investigate the activities of Bell Canada...
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14.05.2008IE8: Ad blocking with the InPrivate Filter
With my most recent piece, I've been hearing that much of what is holding people back from using IE8 is the lack of an Ad blocking feature.
Perhaps not widely known, but IE8 actually contains a great Ad blocking feature built-in, it's called "InPrivate Filtering". The InPrivate
Filter (enabled by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F) is intended to block content that may potentially share your information; thankfully advertisements are one
such example of said content. It should be noted that the InPrivate Filter is 'smart' in the sense that it can and will (if enabled)
automatically detect content which appears with a high frequency on websites that you visit.
Read full story.....
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03.04.2009Comcast says not blocking Internet downloads
Comcast Corp said on Monday that file transfers on peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent may be delayed by bandwidth management technology, but it
denied blocking access to any applications or content. As the second-largest high-speed Internet provider in the United States with 11 million
customers, any move by Comcast to favor or block certain types of content moving over its network would be extremely controversial as it would be seen
as flouting net neutrality.
Read
full story.....
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23.10.2007FCC likely to punish Comcast for blocking P2P file sharing traffic
Reports surfaced over the weekend that the majority of FCC commissioners had voted in favor of punishing Comcast for blocking subscribers from
engaging in certain activities -- namely, peer-to-peer file sharing...
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28.07.2008Upcoming Update to Windows Update
Michelle Haven: I'd like to let you know that, beginning at the end of this month and continuing over the next few months, well be rolling out an
infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client). I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some background on the update and discuss
the value these updates bring to you.
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03.07.2008Bill to investigate video content-blocking passes Senate
The FCC will start to investigate video content-blocking technologies, if a bill just passed by the US Senate clears the House, including not only the
V-Chip but other technologies that don't work hand-in-hand with ratings systems...
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04.10.2008Why 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.....
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20.03.2008Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit
A blocking tool is available for organizations that would like to temporarily prevent installation of Service Pack updates through Windows Update.
This tool can be used with:
- Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (valid through March, 2008)
- Windows XP Service Pack
3 (valid for 12 months following general availability)
- Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (valid for 12 months following general
availability)
This toolkit contains three components. All of them function primarily to set or clear a specific registry key that is
used to detect and block download of Service Packs from Windows Update. You only need to use the component which best serves your organizations
computer management infrastructure.
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07.12.2007Microsoft planning updated UI for Windows Update
Beginning next month Microsoft will start an upgrade to the Windows Update and Microsoft Update services. Microsoft plans to start the
infrastructure update in late August, claiming "it will take a couple of months to complete the rollout." The update is required to "maintain and
improve service quality, reliability, and operations." The update will simply improve the user interface for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
computers running Windows Update, adding a more visible and detailed description of updates as well as improvements in how users are notified about
service packs. If you currently apply your updates automatically then this update will not modify the look and feel of Automatic Updates.
Read full story.....
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17.07.2009Microsoft IM Blocking YouTube Links
A number of readers are sending word that the blogosphere and Twittersphere are alight with reports of Microsoft's new
block on
messages containing YouTube URLs. Both MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger reportedly implement the block. One blogger
sniffed the network to discover that such messages
receive a NAK from Microsoft's servers. Microsoft has been
blocking messages by keyword, as an anti-phishing
measure, for some time, but *.youtube.com would not seem to provoke much worry about phishing.
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10.05.2008An 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.....
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05.07.2008Microsoft to push IE8 as an automatic update
Microsoft has announced it plans to offer IE8 via Windows Update. In a move that will likely anger rivals such as Apple and Google, Microsoft will be
pushing Internet Explorer 8 via Windows Update. Google raised concerns back in 2006 when IE7 was originally released via Windows Update. Apple
received negative press last year when it tried to push Safari to iTunes users. Many users never had Safari installed but it was listed under
Apple's software update program for install. The IE8 update will be released as the highest priority update for each operating system. For
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, it will be listed as Important.
Read full story.....
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07.01.2009Windows Live Passport blocking Gmail addresses
It has come to our attention via
Mauricio that Microsofts Windows Live
Passport service is currently blocking new sign ups from any @gmail.com email addresses. The error message any user receives is "reserved
domain" when attempting to sign up to the passport service using an @gmail.com address.
Microsoft has been made aware of the issue and
is working to resolve this. In the mean time using @googlemail.com will workaround this problem.
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12.11.2007Fixed Windows 2000 Update
Released
Microsoft issued an update to
its final Update Rollup for
Windows 2000 on Tuesday,
correcting issues with the
initial release. While there
seems to be yet more glitches
still not fixed, the company
says those will be addressed
in individual patches...
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15.09.2005Microsoft Offers Manual Fix to 'Stealth' Windows Update Bug
It turned out to be an insignificant problem after all, rather than something on the order of a rootkit: the discovery that Microsoft's Windows
Update feature updates itself even when users turn off "automatic updates" - a fact that Microsoft had actually documented quite well, but
which few had apparently read. But now, a claim that the self-updating update subsequently unregistered Microsoft's Windows Update drivers in
XP-based systems forced its own drivers to become unregistered...
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28.09.2007No Vista SP1 bits for users until mid-March
Mary Jo Foley: Customers who’ve been waiting for Microsoft to release
the final Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits are going to have to wait another month or two to actually get their hands on them at least through legal
channels.
In a posting to the Windows Vista team blog, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management Mike Nash explained
how and when users can get
the Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits. Microsoft released
Vista SP1 and Windows Server
2008 to manufacturing on February 4.
According to Nash, the schedule looks like this:
Mid-March:
Microsoft releases SP1 to Windows Update in five languages (English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese) and to the download center on
microsoft.com. “If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers we know to be problematic, then Windows Update will not
offer SP1,” Nash explained. “Since we know that some customers may want to update to SP1 anyhow, the download center will allow anyone who
wants to install SP1 to do so.”
Mid-April: Microsoft begins delivering Vista SP1 via Automatic Update. “That said,
any system that Windows Update determines has a driver known to not update successfully will not get SP1 automatically,” Nash explained.
“As updates for these drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update, which will unblock these systems from
getting Service Pack 1.” (And remember, there is a Vista SP blocking tool available for users who don’t want SP1 to install
automatically.)
April: SP1 will RTM for the remaining languages.
PC makers are getting the Vista SP1 bits
this week and will be able to start preloading Vista SP1 on new systems once they’ve sufficiently tested it. That could be weeks to a month,
based on previous track records.
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04.02.2008Microsoft pushes Windows Updates tomorrow
Just two weeks after the previously released set of updates. Tomorrow, on January 27, 2009, Microsoft will be pushing a couple of updates and patches
for Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP and Windows Vista. The patches include an update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. The
Service Pack 1 for the .NET Framework 3.5 is a cumulative update for previous versions of the .NET Framework, including 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5. The .NET
Framework 3.5 Family Update provides important compatibility updates in applications. The Family Update has been marked as High Priority, and an
update will also be available for the Family Update Language Pack.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
27.01.2009
