Microsoft will not release a patch for a bug that exists in Windows Home Server until the month of June according to various tech sites. Corruption of application files, music tracks, and images can happen when they are transferred to a Windows Home Server unit that has more than one hard drive.

“Only a very small percentage of users with confirmed instances of this issue. It is at an extremely low level of the operating system and it requires thorough testing to ensure that the fix addresses the issue,” reported by Microsoft.

Source: InformationWeek

Symantec has released a new product and it is called Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection. It was designed for Mac users who run both Windows and Mac operating systems on their computers.

It is capable of scanning e-mail attachments automatically, clean downloaded files, and update itself in the background. It uses less resources, less impact on system startup, and users who are interested on the product and order it as a download or buy it in a CD.

The system requirements for the Mac is OS X v10.4.10 or later.

Source: Macworld

Four ‘critical’ patches will be released by Microsoft on Tuesday according to various tech sites which made their reports earlier today.

These updates would fix the Office flaws that lets a hacker execute a code on a PC remotely. The Office versions that are affected are:

1. Office 2000
2. Office XP
3. Office 2003
4. Office 2007
5. Office 2004
6. Office 2008

The first four versions that are listed above are Window versions and the last two are Mac versions.

The source of this news, ITP.net, also has a link to Microsoft’s bulletin so readers can find out more information about these patches if they are interested.

Source: ITP.net

Microsoft wants Windows users to run through the Daylight Savings Time (DST) Update Guide according to a recent post at computerworld.com

The guide has a message which says, “Unless certain updates are applied to your computer, the time zone settings for your computer’s system clock may be incorrect during this four-week period. In particular, you must make sure that both your Windows operating system and your calendar programs are updated.”

This change of time takes effect on Sunday, March 9, at 2:00 a.m. local time.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

Most technicians bring along various program installers (such as the latest antivirus update, iTunes & Winamp etc.) on a USB drive to their clients houses because the client may not have internet access, it is very slow, or the program installer is very large.

MSN/Live Messenger used to be one of those installers that I frequently brought along to clients houses. However, ever since Microsoft started pushing their other “Live” products, they no longer offered a stand-alone, offline installer for Windows Live Messenger. I hated having to re-download it every time I wanted to install Live Messenger, so I found an easy way to get the stand alone offine installer. Heres how I did it.
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The XP Eee computer by Asus has finally been launched in Europe. The company made the statement at CeBIT. The Windows XP operating system (OS) replaces the Xandros which is a Linux-based OS.

Microsoft Works is also included in the computer. It consists of various basic business tools such as word processing, spreadsheet, and a database management software. “With the new Windows-based offerings, a greater amount of work ease is expected through full compatibility with Windows applications, while Windows Live and Microsoft Works features will certainly add to greater online interaction and work efficiency,” said the vice chairman of Asus.

Source: Sky.com

A website called AppScout has posted an article about a problem on Microsoft’s webs site for Windows Vista Ultimate Extras called UltimatePC. The problem is that when users connect to the Ziff-Davis VPN software, they will be redirected to the Microsoft home page instead of the UltimatePC site.

The article tell the readers what the site is all about such as that the site contains PC specifications and a price point. The site also offer discounts for third-party products. There are only a few features that are exclusive in Windows Vista Ultimate and the author of the article does not recommend people to upgrade to this version based on its cost.

Source: AppScout

It is no longer the case that widely used PHP applications would run poorly on Windows Server when it comes to the newest Server operating system of Microsoft according to a recent post at Slashdot.

The brief article notes that 75% to 80% of PHP users develop their software on Windows workstations and this is great news for them.

Microsoft certified the Zend Core form of PHP as ready to run ‘with performance and stability’ on their latest Server OS. This statement is according to Andi Gutmans who is the co-founder and CTO of Zend.

Source: Slashdot

Hijack Reader is a freeware, portable utility that can analyze Hijack This! logs and output the results to a HTML file. Most computer technicians already know about the websites online that can analyse Hijack this! logs for you such as such as HijackThis.de and Prevx.com.

But, what happens if you don’t have access to the internet? what happens if the malware has damaged the network connection? This is where Hijack Reader shines. Hijack Reader works OFFLINE.
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Various tech sites have reported that Adam Boileau has released a tool which modifies Windows’ password protection code and makes it ineffective. Boileau is a security consultant who lives in New Zealand.

‘Microsoft was a little cagey about exactly whether Firewire memory access was a real security issue or not and we didn’t want to cause any real trouble,’ said Boileau on why he did not release the tool back in 2006.

Microsoft has not fixed the flaw which is why he decided to release the tool. The tool can be downloaded from his website and Slashdot has a link to it on their article.

Source: Slashdot