News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Microsoft is providing “Free unlimited installation and compatibility support” for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). This includes support via phone, email, and individual chat.
Link: http://support.microsoft.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Earlier this year a security researcher found a previously unknown and far-reaching security hole in the Domain Name System (DNS). As far as I can tell, it’s not a bug in a specific DNS implementation but rather an issue with the actual DNS specification. It’s a form of DNS cache poisoning, which is pretty much impossible for the end user to detect or guard against and which we’ve discussed previously here at Chad’s News. Yesterday, a large coalition of vendors released a simultaneous patch for all of their products. Details about the vulnerability are sparse, as the security experts are waiting a month before giving out the specifics. What I found surprising was that both the DNS servers (usually hosted by ISPs) and the DNS clients (e.g., end-user PCs) require patches.
It’s recommended that everyone apply the appropriate updates. For Windows users, this means doing a Windows Update. But be careful. The Microsoft DNS patch conflicts with the ZoneAlarm firewall and will block all internet access if you have both installed at the same time. The exploit does not yet exist in the wild, so it will probably be okay to delay the updates for a few days while Microsoft and ZoneAlarm get their act together.
Link: http://securosis.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Now that the June 30th deadline has passed, Windows XP will no longer be sold on new systems (with a few special exceptions). The good news, however, is that Microsoft has committed to support XP through 2014.
Link: http://www.informationweek.com/…
(via Engadget)
Here at the Chad’s News network command center, we plan to continue using Windows XP for a long, long time. But we recognize that some people have purchased new equipment and are pretty much forced to use Windows Vista. The linked article has some nice tips for making Vista less annoying.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
The linked article performs various speed tests on four different browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. There wasn’t really a clear winner, but Internet Explorer was definitely the loser.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 are now officially available via the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update.
Link #1 (XP): http://www.microsoft.com/…
Link #2 (Vista): http://www.microsoft.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Microsoft is adamant that June 30th is the last day it will sell Windows XP. Dell, however, has an interesting licensing agreement that will allow it to continue shipping PCs with XP pre-installed.
Service pack 3 for Windows XP was supposed to be available yesterday (April 29th), but a last-minute bug prevented its release. Official release, that is—if you are not affected by the bug, you can download the service pack directly (warning: 300MB file). The bug involves an incompatibility between SP3 and the Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System, which I’m pretty sure is not an issue for the vast majority of Chad’s News readers. Additional download links, as well as more information about what’s included in SP3, are in the linked article.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
Windows XP and Vista support two file systems for writable optical discs: “Live File System” and “Mastered”. The Mastered format is compatible with pre-XP versions of Windows as well as ordinary CD/DVD players that can read and play MP3s. The latest version of Live File System, however, is only compatible with WinXP or later versions of Windows. This would not normally be a problem, except that Microsoft has made Live File System the default format under Vista. Depending on who is going to use the disc, it may be necessary to change the format to Mastered.
Thanks to Kim Komando for this topic.
With the advent of Windows 95, Microsoft took the ability to edit environment variables and buried it in an obscure part of the system configuration, known only to the chosen few. To make matters worse, the dialog used to edit/display environment variables is too small and can’t be resized. The linked application, Redmond Path, makes it very easy to modify one particular environment variable: the system path.
Update: It appears they’re also developing a utility with which to manage the other environment variables. It will be available here when completed.
Link: http://redmondlab.googlepages.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
I recently purchased an OEM version of Windows XP at my favorite computer store, Micro Center. Buying the OEM version saved me quite a bit of money, but there are some downsides. The linked article discusses them, including what I consider to be the primary issue—that OEM software is tied to one motherboard. (Note that the article is over a year old, but the points are still valid.)
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
For those unfortunate Chad’s News readers who are running Windows Vista, Microsoft officially released Service Pack 1 today. It should be available via Windows Update, or you can get it from the link below.
Link: http://www.microsoft.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
