Windows 7 “top feature request list” leaked to the public

With Windows still managing to find its way to over 95 percent of the desktop computers sold each year, it’s not surprising that one can find plenty of people interested in giving their feedback about what future versions of Windows should be able to do. A few years ago, before Windows Vista had even shipped, Microsoft sent out a wish list form asking people what features they would like to see in the next version of Windows, currently code-named Windows 7. The top wished-for features in this list were recently leaked to the public and have popped up at various sites (e.g., Neowin). While anonymous sources at Microsoft tell us that they bear no relationship to the actual feature set Microsoft is currently writing for Windows 7, the list does provide interesting insight into what the Windows-using public most wants from Windows.

Read Windows 7 “top feature request list” leaked to the public >

Seven Patches Coming From Microsoft

Microsoft expects to release seven security patches with four “Critical” and three “Important” bulletins as part of its upcoming Patch Tuesday release.

The critical patches affect Windows Server Service Packs for 2000 and 2003 versions as well as Internet Explorer, versions 5 through 7 and Outlook Express for Windows 2000, 2003 and Windows XP.

The common thread of the four “critical” patches is their remote code execution (RCE) implications, a risk consideration that has been pretty consistent over the last few patch release announcements. Microsoft suggests using Baseline Security Analyzer to flesh out any potential bugs or problems.

Meanwhile, the three “important” issues are more varied in nature, with two bulletins affecting almost all Windows OS and server versions, including multiple service pack releases of Windows 2000 and 2003, XP and Vista. A third patch is related to Windows SharePoint Services.

The first important bulletin, given its breadth in affecting every Windows OS program, bears watching. That bulletin pertains to the prospect of denial of service attacks, which are attempts to make IT resources unavailable, locking users out of programs and applications.

The second important item deals with spoofs, also known in techie world as “masquerade ball” attacks, where a hacker as a user or malicious program passes his/itself off as another user/program using erroneous data and gaining unwarranted Read and/or Write access. This would affect all OSes except XP and Vista.

The last important patch affects all versions of SharePoint services and remedies concerns over potential elevation of privilege attacks, where malicious users can change profile settings, usurp access configurations and gain greater entry into the system than intended.

Of the total seven bulletins, three will require restarts.

As it does most months, Redmond will also release another update to the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal tool and has plans to release three non-security, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services and one non-security, high-priority update for Windows on Windows Update.

Although things can still change, Thursday’s advance notification points to a pretty busy Tuesday.

Vista exams review

70-622 Exam Review

Exam 70-622 PRO: Installing, Maintaining, Supporting, and Troubleshooting Applications on the Windows Vista Client-Enterprise, is a mouthful and it’s also a good test of your ability to roll out applications on this or any Windows-based network. Exam 70-622 is one of two exams that you’ll need to pass (along with completion of a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist exam, such as 70-620: Vista Configuration) in order to obtain a Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Support Technician certification.

Read the full 70-622 Exam Review here.

70-623 Exam Review

Exam 70-623 PRO: stands alone as a Microsoft certification. The exam targets IT professionals who work within the consumer market supporting end users. Familiar with The Geek Squad? Well, that’s the target audience. Exam 70-623 gives this group a way to prove their knowledge supporting users with installation, configuration and troubleshooting retail versions of Windows Vista installed on consumers’ machines.

Read the full 70-623 Exam Review here.

“Longhorn” Server Public Beta Arrives

 from: http://www.setup32.com/news/2007/05/longhorn-server-public-beta.php

The next generation Windows Server took the biggest step yet on its long and winding road toward commercial availability when Microsoft announced the release of “Longhorn” Beta 3 Wednesday night.

The next generation of Windows Server took the biggest step yet on its long and winding road toward commercial availability when Microsoft announced the release of “Longhorn” beta 3 Wednesday night.

Beta 3 is the first public release of the OS, downloadable at http://www.microsoft.com/getbeta3. Ward Ralston, a senior technical product manager in the Windows Server group, said, “We’re very excited and proud that we’re able to deliver the beta 3 milestone on time and with features we’ve promised our customers. And we’ve introduced new features that weren’t on the radar in beta 2.”

Those features include Windows PowerShell, additional Server Core roles and Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

Windows PowerShell is the new command-line shell that allows, essentially, all tasks to be scripted. It’s a feature that many administrators have clamored for over the years, the kind of functionality that’s always been available on high-end, scalable OSes like Unix.

Beta 3 also has four additional “Server Core” roles, in addition to the four roles found in earlier Longhorn versions. Server Cores are stripped-down versions of servers that are task-specific, and therefore less resource-intensive than full versions. Some of the new cores include a print server, streaming media server and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services.

Server Cores will be set up through the new Server Manager, which Ralston called “our one-stop shop for server configuration. With Windows Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003, there were a lot of opportunities for IT pros to make mistakes.” Server Manager aims to cut down on those mistakes, Ralston said.

Although Windows Firewall with Advanced Security isn’t new in beta 3, the fact that it’s turned on by default is. It’s a feature that further enhances Microsoft’s commitment to security, Ralston said.

“We’ve had thousands of servers [running Longhorn Server], both internally and through our technology adoption program, and have been monitoring them closely. Security’s held up very well. With Longhorn, shields are always up until [administrators] decide which role they want a server to perform,” he said.

Ralston said it’s part of a paradigm shift for how Microsoft views security: “You don’t lock a server down — you unlock a server by deciding on what role you want.”

With the release of Longhorn beta 3, Ralston said Longhorn Server is feature-complete. Microsoft has maintained that Longhorn — likely to be dubbed “Windows Server 2008” upon commercial availability — continues to be on schedule for release to manufacturing (RTM) in the “second half of 2007.” No more precise dates were given for RTM, but Ralston said that at least one Release Candidate (RC) will be forthcoming following the beta period.

“As they take it for a test drive, our customers and partners will find we made some vast improvements in Windows Server ‘Longhorn’ to help them reduce costs and adapt to changing business needs,” said Bill Laing, general manager of the Windows Server Division at Microsoft, in a press release. “Between early adopter customers and Microsoft IT, we have hundreds of servers running in production environments today. If there’s one message we want to send today, it is ‘get ready, download and evaluate.'”

Longhorn also ushers in the end of an era for Microsoft: Ralston confirmed that it’s the last 32-bit OS the company will produce. Much like Microsoft Exchange 2007, future releases will be 64-bit or higher. Asked if Microsoft is worried about future OSes not being able to run on legacy systems, Ralston was confident in the company’s strategy, stating that companies like Dell and HP are not making 32-bit servers anymore.

That’s a bit of hyperbole, as server manufacturers continue to offer 32-bit hardware for current server OSes, but the move toward 64-bit power in the future should continue to trend upward.

Helene Love Snell, a senior product manager in the Windows Server Group, said that Microsoft’s own internal testing – and through testing partners – shows that Longhorn is ready for primetime.

“We’ve got close to 1,000 servers running in a production environment,” she said. “It’s a really good testament to the quality of the beta.”

Although that may be true, public betas tend to uncover many more bugs than private betas, since the test bed is expanded exponentially. So Microsoft’s pronouncements of Longhorn beta 3’s stability might be true in its closed test environment, but could prove substantially less so in the myriad environments into which it’s about to be thrust. Bug reports are sure to be just around the corner.

Microsoft updates Vista to block counterfeit copies

Software giant Microsoft has issued an update for the Vista operating system as they aim to block counterfeit copies of Vista from working properly.

The company said in a statement on this update: “In the event illegal workarounds or other counterfeit Windows Vista code are posted to the Internet or become available through other means, Microsoft will take appropriate action to protect users from the risks of using counterfeit copies and to protect its intellectual property.”

This update was released through Windows Update and it detects the frankenbuild counterfeit, and then demands a valid activation key.

Alex Kochis of the Windows Genuine Advantage team added in a blog post: “Windows Vista will use the new Windows Update client to require only the ‘frankenbuild’ systems to go through a genuine validation check. These systems will fail that check because we have blocked the RC keys for systems not authorized to use them. In other words, the wrong key is being used. The systems will then be flagged as non-genuine systems and the experience will be what we announced back in October, including losing certain functionality, and the system will have 30 days to activate with a good product key.”

Three of the Top Ten Malware Threats Run on Microsoft Vista

Sophos, a world leader in IT security, has revealed the most prevalent malware threats and hoaxes causing problems for computer users around the world during November 2006.

The figures, compiled from Sophos’s global network of monitoring stations, show that the W32/Stratio-Zip worm has overtaken W32/Netsky-P as the most widely circulated piece of malware, accounting for one third of the total number of reports.

Sophos experts note that on the launch date of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system, three of the top ten – including Stratio-Zip – are capable of bypassing the operating system’s security defences and infecting users’ PCs. The Vista-resistant malware – W32/Stratio-Zip, W32/Netsky-P and W32/MyDoom-O – comprise 39.7% of all malware currently circulating.

Read the full article here.

Microsoft to Roll Out New Version of Wga

Interesting article. Saved it just to track when they’ll update WGA again 🙂

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released a revamped version of its Windows Genuine Advantage tool that it hopes will reduce complaints arising from paid-up users of Windows XP caught in the dragnet of the controversial anti-piracy program.

The main change in WGA Notifications is a new category of results for PCs with Windows installations of questionable validity.

 Source Blog

Microsoft Grants Royalty-Free License for Office UI

Microsoft has announced it will license third-party developers to build applications that have the look and feel of Office 2007 on a royalty-free basis.

The overall concept is to give users the ability to have a common user interface between Microsoft and third-party applications but, if the past is any indication, will also help Microsoft sell Office 2007 in the marketplace. Common UI elements and components means lower training costs and can help customers make an easier transition to the new Office.

High on the list of changes to Office’s interface is the so-called Ribbon that provides users with more contextual control of application operations. But the license also covers other UI features such as galleries and the Mini Toolbar.

Besides the royalty-free license, Microsoft is also going to provide comprehensive design guidelines to help independent software vendors (ISVs) create programs that are consistent with Office 2007, the company said in a statement. However, the company is not licensing any code so ISVs are on their own on that point.

The license will be available as a simple click-through agreement on the licensing Web site, according to Microsoft’s statements.

More information on the royalty-free Office 2007 UI license is available here, although the license itself and the design guidelines have not been posted yet.

Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit For Vista

The Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools you need to develop applications that run on Windows.

The Windows SDK includes content for application development with the APIs in Windows Vista, including the .NET Framework 3.0 technologies:

• .NET Framework 2.0,
• Windows Presentation Foundation,
• WindowsCommunication Foundation,
• Windows Workflow Foundation, and
• Windows CardSpace.

Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit For Vista

Security enhancements in Windows Vista

This new white paper from Microsoft describes in detail the enhancements that have been made to the security in Windows Vista.

Each key area of security is highlighted and further links to in depth technical information on each topic are included.

Click here to read this white paper now!