Microsoft stops winking on MSN 7.0 beta
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Microsoft has delayed beta testing of the next version of MSN Messenger because of a security flaw. Vulnerabilities were discovered in MSN Messenger 7.0, due to be released today, after testers found it had
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Microsoft releases critical Explorer patch VNUNet.com
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Microsoft's consumer security software changes the AU (Automatic Updates) settings in Windows XP and Vista without telling users or getting their approval, a researcher said Thursday -- behavior that may explain recent reports of patches being installed and systems rebooting without permission.When Microsoft responded to new charges of silent changes last week, however, it denied that AU settings were ever altered without user approval, and it didn't mention OneCare as a possible culprit.Scott Dunn, an editor at the "Windows Secrets" newsletter, reported Thursday morning that OneCare silently changes AU settings as it installs. No matter what AU setting the user selected previously, OneCare's installer quietly changes it to the fully automatic option."Some security products have turned on AU in the past," said Dunn, who also tested several other current consumer suites, including Symantec's Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security, McAfee's Internet Security Suite, and Check Point Software's ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite. "But OneCare was the only guilty party."OneCare's willful way with AU may be an explanation for the reports two weeks ago of machines downloading and installing the Oct. 9 set of security fixes even though their owners had explicitly instructed Windows to ignore all downloads or notify them before they were installed.Several days later, after it wrapped up an investigation, Microsoft said AU settings were never changed without user consent, and it blamed absent-minded users for making modifications and then forgetting that they had."I find this surprising and very disturbing," said Dunn. "If they're going to change [AU] settings, they should let you know."Four options, down to one In both Windows XP and Vista, users can select from four options in AU: Download and install all updates automatically; download files but do not install them without user consent; check for but neither download nor install without permission; and disable Automatic Updates entirely.OneCare, sold for $49.95 and offered as a free 90-day trial, sets AU to the first, and all-automatic, setting, said Dunn, on both operating systems. "It does that even if Automatic Updates is completely disabled," he added. If users later uninstall OneCare -- for instance, after a trial has expired -- the software does not return the machine to the earlier settings; they must be reset by the user."Worse, OneCare silently turns on [Windows] services that have been disabled by the user," Dunn said, referring to the two services that some users, frustrated at earlier incidents in which Windows retrieved and installed patches without permission, have manually turned off: Automatic Updates and Background Intelligent Transfer Service. The services can be switched off manually using the Windows services.msc utility. Normally, once disabled, they remain that way until the user manually turns them back on.ComputerWorld confirmed Dunn's account of OneCare's AU changes by installing the security suite on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.At no time during installation, said Dunn, does OneCare tell the user that the software will modify Windows' settings or provide an opt-in dialog. Nor do the various online documents -- including Microsoft's privacy statement and an addendum for OneCare -- that are offered up early during the process contain any information about the changes. "It turns out there's a brief mention of it buried deep in one of the OneCare help files," said Dunn. "But that's not the same as telling users upfront."The help file (select "What does Windows Live Update do to help manage and maintain my computer's software updates?" to view the pertinent section) acknowledges that OneCare makes changes without bothering to ask. "When you first install Windows Live OneCare, setup automatically enlists your computer in Microsoft Update and changes your computer's settings to download and install updates automatically using Automatic Updates," it reads.Who's 'forgetful' now? Although Microsoft was not immediately available for comment this morning, it made it clear last week that reports of unauthorized updates, and even PC reboots, could not be blamed on its software."I want to stress that the Windows Update client does not change AU settings without users' consent," said Nate Clinton, a program manager with the Microsoft Update team in a company blog entry a week ago. He went on to list five possible explanations; all require the user to take action or accept one option from several offered.Earlier, a Microsoft spokeswoman had been more blunt. "It may be more a case of someone clicking to change their AU settings but not realizing/remembering doing so," she said last Tuesday. She also called out OneCare's installation as one such possible moment and claimed that the security suite offered users the option of changing AU settings. It does not."This is just one more example of Microsoft having the attitude that we know better than you do, that you should just stop asking questions and let us do what we want," said Dunn.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate
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A feature dating back to the Internet's HTML 3.0 era is causing problems for Internet Explorer 7, forcing Microsoft to issue an update for Windows Vista just one day after its public launch. Web sites using frames causes IE7's phishing filter to evaluate the page multiple times, leading to high CPU usage.
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Microsoft is once again allowing beta testers to jump the velvet ropes surrounding its MSN search engine. Microsoft's Internet search division has opened up a second preview, offering a glimpse into the sweeping changes changes that have been made since phase one of the test was suspended in August.
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Nudges users with Vista talk, again Microsoft yesterday quietly dished out a beta version of its Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), but also continued to bang the less-than-convincing "Vista is better for you" drum.â¦
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After issuing seven patches as part of its monthly round of updates earlier this week, Microsoft recalled a fix for the Mac version of its Microsoft Office productivity suite. According to a posting on Microsoft's Security Response Center site, the updates were "accidentally published" before full testing was complete.
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Beta application is available as part of the new MSN Toolbar Suite.
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US software company Microsoft has launched a beta version of its MSN Toolbar Suite, with desktop search functionality that can help users find documents, media files or e-mail messages on their PCs.
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(InfoWorld) - There was a little surprise buried inÂ Microsoft's monthly security bulletins Tuesday. It turns out that Microsoft had quietly slipped out one of the February fixes just days before its Jan. 30 Vista launch. The fix was for a bug in Microsoft's Malware Protection Engine, used by products like Windows Defender, OneCare, and Antigen to scan for malware. Microsoft had discovered that the engine could possibly be tricked into running unauthorized code if it scanned a specially crafted PDF file. Nobody has actually launched such an attack, but since these products are always automatically scanning for malware in the background, the vulnerability could have led to some pretty nasty exploits. Still, it's strange that Microsoft waited so long to notify its customers of the patch. It's rare for Microsoft to release one of these out-of-cycle updates, but since it adoptedÂ its monthly patch process back in October 2003, it generally lets people know about them as soon as they're released. Microsoft's Mark Griesi told me that the company decided to send out the malware engine fix as soon as it was ready on January 26 and that this kind of quick fix is standard practice with most security software. But he said there was no particular reason why the company decided to wait until February 13 to tell people about it. Microsoft just hasn't been in the position of having to patch its security software since rolling out the monthly patch process, he added. "It was one of those first-time situations: 'Should we say something now or should we just wait,'" he told me. "This time we decided to wait. We won't do it again." From a PR perspective, it wasn't a bad move. Microsoft has touted Defender as one of the top three Vista security features. It wouldn't have been much fun to be talking about a major security flaw in the product just days before the Vista launch, would it?
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Ieri la divisione MSN di Microsoft ha lanciato una versione beta pubblica del suo nuovo motore di ricerca proprietario destinato a fare concorrenza al gigante Google sul suo mercato preferito. Fino ad ora
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TechWeb - The glitch occurred when Microsoft updated the Windows Desktop Search tool for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP 1+.
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Microsoft has fixed a problem with Windows Mobile Device Center that made it difficult for Windows Mobile devices to sync with Vista.
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Now you see it, now you don't Microsoft has suspended distribution of one of the updates required for Vista service pack one (SP1), after customers complained that their PCs wouldnât boot up properly after KB937287 had been applied.â¦
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Microsoft says it's working to fix a glitch that stopped some customers from taking advantage of offer to get additional licenses for less.
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Microsoft can't dust off its blue ribbons anymore.
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How a simple bug betrays Microsoft's disdain for basic best practice principles