Bill Lindner

Not that it should come as any surprise, but Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), Microsoft's first update to (the never ending nightmare known as) Windows Vista, has reportedly been causing more problems for users. When Windows Vista was ... released to the public over a year ago, a plethora of users found out that it was riddled with speed and compatibility issues. So much so that even Microsoft executives complained, as revealed by a pending class action lawsuit. As reported by our own John Lister, Microsoft recently released Windows Vista SP1 as a means to improve performance and ... (view more)

A startling report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently revealed details on what appears to be a domestic-spying program that was banned by Congress in 2003 known as the 'Total Information Awareness' (TIA) program. As noted by the American ... Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Orwellian program was shut down by Congress because it represented a massive and unjustified governmental intrusion into the personal lives of citizens. Despite the fact that Congress shut down the program, security agencies under the Bush administration pushed ahead anyway. The National Security Agency (NSA) has ... (view more)

Recently we reported the release of a tool that can hack into a Windows XP PC without a password using a two-year old authentication bypass technique. Information Week is reporting that it turns out the same method also works on Windows Vista and ... computers running Linux, Mac OS X and BSD Unix. Microsoft doesn't consider the bypass technique to be a legitimate security vulnerability. As noted by the company, if a hacker has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore. A couple weeks ago, researchers from Princeton University, the Electronic Frontier Foundation ... (view more)

A New Zealand-based security consultant has released a tool that can unlock a Windows computer in seconds without a password. The hack, which involves Windows XP computers but has not been tested with Windows Vista, was first demonstrated by Adam ... Boileau at a security conference in Sydney in 2006. Microsoft has not developed a fix for it yet. (Source: com.au ) The tool released by Boileau can unlock Windows machines or login without a password by plugging in a Firewire cable and running a command. Boileau did not release the tool in 2006 because Microsoft was cagey about whether Firewire ... (view more)

Late last week, a federal judge reportedly granted class-action status to a lawsuit alleging that Microsoft unjustly enriched itself by promoting PCs as "Windows Vista Capable", even when they could only run the "Vista Home Basic" version of the ... operating system. As an attempt by Microsoft to maintain sales of Windows XP computers during the 2006 holiday shopping season, the "Windows Vista Capable" slogan was emblazoned on PCs after the release of Windows Vista was delayed. At a hearing held two weeks ago, Microsoft lawyers argued that because each consumer who bought a computer labeled as " ... (view more)

The annual "X-Force" report, recently released by Internet Security Systems ( ISS ), part of IBM Corp., says 6,437 security flaws were acknowledged in 2007 by network and software vendors, down 5.4 percent from 2006. (Source: com.au ) While computer ... security vulnerabilities decreased last year, security researchers are cautioning that there has been no improvement in web safety. ISS Chief Technology officer Chris Rouland said that in at least 10 years of counting he had not seen that figure drop. Rouland suggests that the 2007 number of vulnerabilities reported would have been higher if a ... (view more)

One of the 'big' features reportedly discussed in the early speculation surrounding Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was a kernel upgrade that would supposedly bring Windows Vista into line with the Longhorn kernel used in Windows Server 2008. ... Little if any mention has been made by Microsoft about the kernel update, even as Vista SP1 goes RTM (released to manufacturing). The kernel was updated, but Microsoft appears to be more keen to promote the improvements and enhancements to Vista rather than placing emphasis on a kernel upgrade, which might be seen as a risk to stability. Windows Vista ... (view more)

Microsoft posted notice to administrators that on February 12, 2008 Microsoft will release the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability update to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) marked as an Update Rollup package -- and they ... included instructions on how to prevent it to ensure you end up with the version of Internet Explorer you want. Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article 946202 describes the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability Update that will upgrade machines running Internet Explorer 6 to Windows Internet Explorer 7 if you use WSUS to manage ... (view more)

Trying to sway public opinion about a flailing product, Microsoft has reportedly once again boasted about the security of Windows Vista, claiming that the operating system had 36 vulnerabilities in its first year compared to the 65 found in Windows ... XP during that same period. Analysts remain skeptical. "I think that it's fair to say that Windows Vista is proving to be the most secure version of Windows to date. Our investments in the SDL (Security Development Lifecycle) and our defense in depth approach to building Windows Vista seem to be paying off," wrote Austin Wilson in a recent ... (view more)

Citing several real-world scenarios mainly applicable to businesses, Infoworld has started an online petition to save Windows XP in hopes of extending the current end date of availability to OEM's of June 30, 2008, although ZDNet says it will be ... available from white-box vendors/system builders through January 31, 2009. Reasons for saving Windows XP included: The (Post-SP1) Vista Verdict: Wait for Windows 7 Windows Vista is not -- and likely never will be -- the right choice for the vast majority of IT shops due to lack of value, poor performance and a still-worthwhile Windows XP. Service Pack ... (view more)