Before Updating, Wash Your Windows
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(CBS/AP) Though Microsoft Corp.&#39;s new security update package is all about protecting systems from worms, viruses and spyware, it can&#39;t do much about what&#39;s already on computers - and that could pose a problem.
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And recapture some valuable screen real estate and a portion of your sanity. defaults write com.apple.Dock no-glass -boolean YESkillall Dock Screen shot. Thanks to Mark Johnson for the tip.
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A patch to prepare for first service pack went to users of editions that didn't need the update.
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update In order to get the next update of its Windows operating system out the door, Microsoft will delay some of the key improvements that had been planned.
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Windows users are being urged to download the latest batch of security updates from Microsoft.
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If you haven't updated your Windows computer in more than one year, you could be subjected to a barrage of unwanted adware.
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If you want the &#39;security enhancements&#39; of Windows XP SP2 but you&#39;re running an earlier version of Windows, then you&#39;re going to have to upgrade, Microsoft has been confirming to the public prints this week.
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peeon writes &quot;Right before Christmas, four new Windows NT/2k/XP vulnerabilities were posted to the Bugtraq list. This story discusses two of the vulnerabilities in the LoadImage function (buffer overflow) and
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(HealthDay News) - If you're pregnant and need to clean your home, here are suggestions to help keep mom and baby safe, courtesy of the American Pregnancy Association:   Make sure the area you are cleaning is well-ventilated. If possible, open the windows or turn on a fan. Protect your skin from chemicals by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, as well as gloves. Always check the label, to be sure there is no warning against use of the product by pregnant women. Never mix two cleaning products together. Mixing chemicals can cause toxic fumes. ...
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Workshop Windows virus cleanup primer
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Blog: The most serious involves poisoned PDF files. The update also includes patches for Bind, Fetchmail, and GNU Screen.
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(InfoWorld) - The contentious stealth update that Microsoft delivered to customers this summer blocks 80 patches and fixes from installing after Windows XP is restored using its "repair" feature, researchers said Thursday. Scott Dunn, who first reported the problem in a story posted Thursday morning to the "Windows Secrets" newsletter, said that users who reinstall Windows XP with the repair option cannot retrieve the full set of updates from Windows Update (WU). The problem, he said, has been traced to the so-called "stealth update" to WU which Microsoft has acknowledged sending to users beginning in July. Two weeks ago,Â Dunn broke the story of the background updates,Â which were sent to most non-corporate Windows XP and Vista users. The updates were delivered and installed without prior notification, even when the PC's owner had told the operating system not to download or install updates without notification and permission. The revelation launched a firestorm of protest from users, which in turnÂ prompted Microsoft to defend the practiceÂ as well as say it would think about ways to clarify its update policies. "Two weeks ago we said that the silent update was harmless," said Dunn Thursday. "But now we're saying it is a problem." That problem affects any user who restores Windows XP using the setup CD's "repair" option, sometimes also called an "in-place reinstallation" because it reinstalls the operating system files without disturbing the applications and data already on the disk drive. Because repair is essentially a roll-back to XP's original state, the OS must be updated with all subsequent patches and hotfixes using WU. A system bought soon after Windows XP SP2 was released, for example, would need to download and install about three years' worth of updates. After a repair, XP defaults to the "Automatic" setting for Automatic Updates, which means WU is immediately updated to version 7.0.600.381, the version pushed to PCs by the summer's undercover upgrade, said Dunn. Seven of the DLL (dynamic link library) files that make up 7.0.600.381, however, fail to register themselves with Windows. That, in turn, keeps XP from successfully installing approximately 80 of the most recent patches and fixes. In a normal, non-repair situation, there's no indication of a glitch, since DLLs by the same name have previously been keyed into Windows' registry. "On a repaired copy of XP, however, no such registration has occurred, and failing to register the new DLLs costs Windows Update the ability to install any patches," he said Dunn pointed out workarounds, which included installing an older version of WU over the top of 7.0.600.381. "Windows Secrets" has also posted instructions for creating a batch file that registers the seven DLLs. While the registration failure and the unsuccessful patch installations aren't directly related to the fact that Microsoft didn't disclose the silent WU updates, Dunn sees it as part of a bigger, and disturbing, picture. "It's part of the whole problem with the silent update, and all part of the pattern of Microsoft's sloppiness," he said. "They're keeping us out of the loop. They're not working well with the IT community." If anyone needed proof that stealth updates are a bad idea, Microsoft's defense of the practice notwithstanding, this is it, said Dunn. "IT needs to test updates for this very reason. It's why companies like to download and test updates before they install to the rest of the network," he said. It's not clear how long WU has prevented post-repair updates, but searches through Microsoft's support newsgroups revealed questions about similar behavior as long ago as June. Responses by other users, including some with Most Valued Professional (MVP) designation -- a honorific Microsoft gives to users who make major contributions to the Windows community -- offered advice much like Dunn's. Several of them pointed users to the support document KB916259. The earliest such postings, however, preceded the silent WU update to version 7.0.600.381. When questioned about the discrepancy, Dunn acknowledged the similarities, but in an e-mail said that the two issues were different. He cited several inconsistencies, including an error message called out in the support document that doesn't appear in his test machines. In fact, Microsoft has updated WU twice since late May: the July-August silent update and a visible update rolled out in June. That update was designed to fix aÂ long-standing problem with Automatic UpdatesÂ in which the PCs' CPUs maxed out at 100 percent. Microsoft was not available for comment early Thursday morning. ComputerworldÂ is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Many computer users prefer to install their operating system "clean" by simply using their old Windows disc to verify they own a copy of the software. However, that appears to no longer be possible using an Upgrade version of Windows Vista.
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Microsoft has crossed the line with some Windows users by secretly deploying software through Windows Update -- even to users who had turned off automatic updates. Microsoft has issued an apology, of sorts, but some security experts are still warning that the practice of updating Windows without user consent could lead to dire consequences.
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Responding to reports of endlessly rebooting PCs that flooded support newsgroups last week, Microsoft said on Tuesday it had pulled an&#160;update designed to prep Windows Vista for Service Pack 1.Although the update -- actually a pair of prerequisite files that modify Vista&#39;s install components -- has been temporarily pulled from Windows Update, Microsoft has not yet produced a fix for users whose machines either won&#39;t boot or reboot constantly.&quot;Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes,&quot; said Nick White, a Vista program manager, in a post to the company&#39;s blog Tuesday afternoon.White downplayed the problem. &quot;So far, we&#39;ve been able to determine that this problem only affects a small number of customers in unique circumstances. We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue.&quot;According to White, Update 937287 was the cause of the problem. In a support document, Microsoft describes that update as one for Vista&#39;s installation software, &quot;the component that handles the installation and the removal of software updates, language packs, optional Windows features and service packs.&quot; Along with a companion update pushed to users starting Feb. 12 and another that was offered to machines running Vista Ultimate and Vista Business in January, the guilty update is required before Vista can be upgraded to&#160;Service Pack 1 (SP1).Shortly after the two prerequisites hit Windows Update last week, users began reporting problems on Microsoft&#39;s support newsgroups. Most said that the update hung as the message &quot;Configuring Updates Step 3 of 3 -- 0% Complete&quot; appeared on the screen. When users rebooted hoping to clear the error, their PCs went into an endless cycle of reboots. A smaller number of users said that their computers refused to boot normally.Some users have been able to regain control by booting from a Vista install DVD and selecting the &quot;Restore from a previous restore point&quot; option.What&#39;s it doing in there?It&#39;s uncertain whether Microsoft knows exactly why Update 937287 is hammering PCs. Even after White posted the company statement to the Vista blog, Darrell Gorter, a Microsoft employee, was asking users to send him system logs. &quot;I still need more log files for the investigations that we are doing,&quot; Gorter said in a message on the support newsgroup. Late last week, Gorter made a similar request on the same message board.Also unclear is the actual extent of the problem. Although White called the number &quot;small,&quot; the traffic on the Vista SP1 newsgroup is heavy. One thread had been viewed more than 35,500 times by late Tuesday.But the problem is not new. Computerworld has found messages describing the endless reboot problem dated Dec. 13, one day after it first offered a Vista SP1 release candidate to the general public. That build of SP1 also required the prerequisite updates, including 937287.Microsoft was not available for comment Tuesday night to answer questions about whether, and if so how, the snafu will impact its plans to start offering SP1 to most users next month. Currently, only beta testers, Volume Licensing customers, and subscribers to TechNet Plus and Microsoft Developer Network have been able to download legal versions of the service pack.That will change in mid-March when SP1 is set to land on Windows Update as an optional update, and again in mid-April when Microsoft said it would start installing SP1 automatically on most PCs running Vista.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.&#160;
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The problem with building glass skyscrapers? Someone's got to clean them. We strapped ourselves into a cradle, with a bucket and cloth and got washing
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Microsoft Corp.&#39;s Windows XP Service Pack 2 has thrown patch management vendors into a tizzy. IT managers should be interested because, in an ironic twist, SP2 will likely make it harder to keep desktops and laptops up-to-date with the latest patches.