A patch has recently been released by Oracle a few days ago which fixes 13 vulnerabilities in their database software, 11 in their E-Business Suite and a few bugs on their Application Server.

A rating of 7 is given on one of the vulnerability of their database. This particular flaw only affects Oracle which runs on a Windows XP machine.

Some flaws are old issues and David Litchfield of Next Generation Security Software said “This may indicate that Oracle is now in a position where they can ‘clear the backlog,’ indicating that most of the more important flaws have been found and patched.”

The next set of patches will be released on July 17.

Source: http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CIID=78682&src=site-marq

Dell has listened to its customers and they have made optional installations of Windows XP operating systems on two of their deskop computers and four of their laptop lines.

The Dimension desktops are the E520 and E521 models while the laptops models that can be bought with Windows XP instead of Vista are 1405, 1705, 1505, and 1501.

The operating system can be either Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional version.

Dell’s announcement on their Ideas in Action webpage says “We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings.”

The Windows XP option is only available for customers in the U.S.

Source: PC WORLD

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Microsoft has announced that they found out who leaked the Windows Home Server on the internet. Windows Home Server is currently at a beta stage.

When it was leaked from a website post, the person identified himself as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professionals) and that information turned out to be incorrect.

“We take public distribution of pre-release software very seriously. The leak was unfortunate, and we took action to find the parties responsible. We’re happy to clarify that no MVPs were involved in this breach,” said Charlie Kindel who is a WHS product manager on the blog.

The software was supposed to be release this summer but Microsoft had not made any comments on whether they will meet their target release date.

Source: COMPUTERWOLD

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Microsoft’s Windows Media Team and Port 25 has released an add-on which will let Firefox users view Windows Media content on their browser.

Hank Janssen of Open Source Software Lab said “It shows another level of interoperability and eagerness in working with the Community to get this released.”

Previously, if Firefox users visit a website that has a Windows Media content on them, it notifies them that they must use a browser that is capable of loading Windows Media Player. Therefore, they would have to use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to view the website that they want.

The add-on is an executable file and it works with Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista. The article on Ars Technica notes that the first time you install the add-on on Vista, it will fail.

Source: Ars Technica

There is more news about the recent bug on Windows DNS Server.

The exploit of the bug has now appeared in public which increases the chances of broad attacks significantly.

The bug affects Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4, Server 2003 with either Service Pack 1 or 2, and it can also affect the beta version of an upcoming Windows Server called “Longhorn Server”.

Microsoft made two recent changes on its advisory. One was made late Friday and another change happened two days ago. The changes offers more detailed recommendations on how to defend against the bug and it also notes that Windows Small Business Server 2000 and Business Server 2003 are also affected.

Source: PC WORLD

Microsoft will release a software update next month to the owners of Xbox 360 systems. The Live Messenger software creates a bridge between Windows users and Xbox 360 gamers.

They are also planning to release a keyboard that gamers can use for their console. The keyboard will be smaller compared to a computer keyboard and it will need to be attached to the Xbox 360 game controller to function.

The keyboad will be released this summer but there has been no announcement on how much it will cost.

Those who will buy the keyboard can send or view messages without switching from a game that they are currently playing on.

A standard keyboard can be plugged through the USB port but it cannot connect to the Xbox 360 controller.

Source: Hamptonroads.com

A news has been released that computer makers cannot install Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system starting on January of next year. Therefore, this will force them install Windows Vista instead.

“It’s standard practice to allow OEMs, retailers and system builders to continue offering the previous version of Windows for a certain period of time after a new version is released,” said Mike Burk of Microsoft Windows Client from an email statement.

He noted that OEMs already knew about this issue since 2006.

Dell, one of the most well known computer makers, said on one of its Direct2Dell blog that it will continue selling computers with a pre-installed Windows XP until summer.

Source: Australian PC Authority

Microsoft Windows Server operating systems are being attacked by attackers according to a recent news. These attackers are targeting a flaw which is located in the DNS service feature of the operating systems.

It affects versions Windows 2000 Server SP4 and Windows Server 2003 with either SP1 or SP2. Port 53 is not affected as well as other Windows operating systems such as 2000 and XP.

Two universities have been attacked from a source with an I.P. address of 61.63.227.125.

Microsoft has not yet made an announcement on when they will release a patch for this problem. One of the workaround instructions that they have released is to disable remote access of DNS by using remote procedure call.

Source: Channel Register