Pc News

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Microsoft Takes Third Shot at Buggy Security Patch

Microsoft just can't seem to shake problems with its MS06-042 update for Internet Explorer.

Microsoft today was forced to release its third version of the update because of a new security bug discovered in the update, according to Tony Chor, a group program manager with Microsoft.

First released on August 8, the critical patch fixes a handful of problems with the browser, but it has caused headaches for some users. Embarrassingly, it also introduced a security vulnerability into the browser, which was fixed last month.

"The original release of MS06-042 introduced a new security vulnerability for IE 6.0 SP1 users which we addressed in a subsequent re-release," Chor wrote in a Tuesday blog posting. "However... a similar vulnerability was also discovered in IE5.01 on Windows 2000, IE 6.0 SP1 (in a different location), and the original release of Windows Server 2003." His posting can be found here:

Problems Cropped Up Fast
Microsoft customers ran into problems with MS06-042 soon after it was released. Web sites that used HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 1.1 compression to speed up the downloading of images could cause the browser to fail and users of Web-based applications such as PeopleSoft, Siebel, and Sage CRM had problems with the software.

Later in August, security researchers at eEye Digital Security disclosed that Microsoft had introduced a new critical security vulnerability in the update. Two days later Microsoft fixed the eEye bug in the MS06-042 re-release.

Apparently this re-release did not address this latest but "similar" vulnerability mentioned by Chor. Microsoft executives could not be reached immediately for comment.

Microsoft often re-issues its security updates to fix minor bugs, but the security issue discovered by eEye placed a lot more scrutiny on MS06-042. Ultimately the update proved to be an ordeal for Microsoft's Security Response Center, and for Microsoft customers. The MS06-042 update can be found here:

[Rasputin]

California Says It Has Evidence to Charge HP Officials

A day after Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn promised to step down for her role in a spy scandal, the state of California is continuing to investigate the actions of HP officials and the private investigators they used.

The state now has enough evidence to indict people both within HP and contractors outside the company, confirmed Thomas Dressler, a spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

In addition, the California attorney general is working with Massachusetts officials to pursue the case, according to a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts attorney general's office.

Background
In efforts to discover the source of press leaks about board deliberations, HP has acknowledged that it hired a private investigation firm to pose as suspected board members and journalists in order to convince the phone company to disclose private phone records. This is a practice known as pretexting.

HP announced Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd will replace Dunn after a January board meeting. In a published statement, Dunn apologized for the use of inappropriate investigative techniques but said those techniques "went beyond what we understood them to be."

In an interview on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Tuesday, Lockyer said, "People's identity was taken falsely... People accessed computer records that have personal information. That's a crime in California." Dressler confirmed Lockyer's comments.

HP hired investigation firm Security Outsourcing Solutions, which shares its Boston offices with a law firm called Bonner, Kiernan, Trebach and Crociata, according to a report in The New York Times that cited sources close to the case.

Dressler declined to confirm the name of the security firm.

"Beyond what the attorney general said I'm not going to comment. It's not prudent for prosecutors to mention names before bringing charges," Dressler said.

Massachusetts Also Investigating
"I can confirm that Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly has been contacted by the California attorney general about the Hewlett-Packard matter, and we are cooperating with them," said Meredith Baumann, a spokeswoman for Reilly.

She declined to explain why the investigation involved Massachusetts or to confirm the identity of SOS as the firm hired by HP to obtain phone records.

A call to SOS today was answered by a woman who recited the name of the law firm, but denied the two businesses were connected. She declined to give her name, and said that no one was immediately available for comment.

Ironically, an SOS newsletter posted on the firm's Web site warns corporate executives that their privacy is at risk since their Web surfing and e-mail records can be traced by Internet browsers and cookies. It advises clients to shield their identities by using a Web site called Anonymizer.com.

[Rasputin]

Intuit to Carry Google Offerings in QuickBooks 2007

Intuit will integrate various search and marketing services from Google into its next version of QuickBooks, a move intended to help small business users of the Intuit accounting software promote themselves online.

QuickBooks 2007, due in the fourth quarter, will contain shortcuts and links to Google's AdWords advertising program, Maps Web site, and Base product listing service, the companies announced Wednesday.

QuickBooks 2007 customers will get $50 in credits for AdWords, Google's massive search-based, pay-per-click advertising program, the driver of most of Google's revenue.

Meanwhile, QuickBooks 2007 will link to Google Maps, where users can create a business listing that will be mapped on the Web site.

Auto Feed of Product Listing Info
With technology from StepUp Commerce, which Intuit acquired, QuickBooks 2007 will automate the process of feeding product-listing information to Google Base.

QuickBooks 2007 will also come with the Google Desktop application for indexing and searching PC hard drives. The Google products and services will be featured in a variety of QuickBooks 2007 versions.

The chief executive officers of the companies will hold a conference call Wednesday afternoon local time to discuss the partnership's details.

Microsoft Battle
This partnership with Intuit also opens up another front in the wide-ranging and rabid battle between Google and Microsoft, as each vendor moves aggressively into the other's core markets.

Google, a leader in Web search, has been moving into office productivity software and Web portal services, Microsoft's core markets. Meanwhile, Microsoft is trying to encroach on Google's Web search turf.

Microsoft is also an Intuit enemy in the market for small business accounting software.

[Rasputin]

Tech.gov: Congress Tries to Overhaul Cable--And a Lot More

In short order, we'll see practically no difference between much of what AT&T and Verizon offer and what Cablevision and Time Warner do. So it makes little sense to have one set of rules for the first two companies and another set for the other two--slowing down deployment of IPTV and other new services in the process. Acknowledging these facts, Congress wants to unravel the tangled web of existing laws, simplifying some, doing away with others, and in some cases creating national standards that would replace state and local laws. The new laws would apply to each of these companies more or less in the same way, based on their video service plans.

It's an important and worthy goal. Reaching that goal won't be easy, given the complexity of the issues and the sheer volume of regulations that currently exist. The House of Representatives took that into account when it crafted its targeted reform bill, the Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (H.R. 5252), which it passed in June (I discussed a slightly earlier version of this bill in my May column). The bill focuses primarily on the video franchise process, with minor attention to VoIP service, net neutrality issues, and cities or states that offer residents such services on their own.

The Senate took the House bill and completely revamped it in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. What came out of that committee was three times as long as what went in, and the bill even had a new name, the Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act of 2006, or simply the Communications Act of 2006. It reworks the cable/video franchise process, addresses net neutrality, and goes on to cover the universal service fund, cell phone taxes, the digital TV transition, communications access for troops overseas, online child protection, and much more.

Given the breadth of the Communications Act, I think it's unlikely to be passed by the Senate and reconsidered by the House by the end of this year's legislative session (especially since this is an election year). However, the two bills give us concrete points from which to evaluate what Congress intends, and whether the reforms would have the right impact.

Get Your IPTV Faster
Simplifying and expediting the video franchise process so that the market can get IPTV and greater video service competition is a primary goal of each bill. The House bill essentially does away with the local franchise system, making the FCC the clearing house for video franchise licenses across the country. Local government still receives its share of the licensing fee pot, and companies must abide by local construction/zoning laws as they build out.

The Senate takes a different tack: In its bill the local franchise system still exists, but a national, standardized form is required for any location. So potential licensees still have to send the forms to each location they want to operate in, and wait to hear in each case, but the paperwork should be more easily filed.

In both cases, approval is practically a given if you've completed the paperwork correctly, and decisions are rendered fairly quickly.

The Senate's nod to local government is nice; honestly, though, given that we are dealing with national operations, to me it makes more sense to do this on a national scale. Because local laws must still be obeyed and local government still receives its revenue, with the original House bill local agencies would get what they need and the process would better achieve its national-level streamlining goals. However, both approaches still treat satellite service differently than cable and IPTV, which must change in the long run.

Net Neutrality, Sort of but Not Really
Consumer advocates and numerous like-minded organizations have been increasingly trying to get Congress to pay attention to--and protect--network neutrality. Net neutrality advocates seek to ensure that any type of data traffic on the Internet is treated the same way, without some bits and bytes receiving preferential treatment because the originators paid for express service. (See my prior column on this topic.)

Congress has definitely turned its attention to the matter, but neither of the current bills accomplishes what net neutrality advocates hope for. The House bill, amended from the version that came out of committee, includes language that codifies some general principles the FCC sent out in a press release last year (see my February column for details). The FCC discussed in a general way what consumers are entitled to, and addressed the minimum level playing field that network providers must offer.

The Senate's version goes a bit further with a provision called the Internet Consumer Bill of Rights, which is more detailed than the FCC statement but more or less covers the same ground. However, the Senate version includes language preventing local, state, and federal government, along with ISPs and network providers, from discriminating and limiting or restricting consumer access based on religious, political, or similar content.

Though that's a nice safeguard, it really doesn't get at the heart of the problem: If network providers can regulate data packets based on who has paid for faster service, then established players with money have an edge and can marginalize innovative but cash-poor newcomers that lack the resources to obtain the fastest service for their sites. Moreover, nothing in the Senate or House bills would prevent, for example, a network provider that offers its own VoIP service from limiting or downgrading a competitor's service. If that provider doesn't actually make it impossible for a customer to use the rival VoIP service, it is safe under both bills.

As I've said before, I have no objection to network providers raising rates for bandwidth-heavy sites, such as increasingly popular video sites. Heck, I wouldn't object to a prioritization of certain kinds of traffic that need uninterrupted service to be of true value--such as video and music streaming--as long as it applied across the board. I'd even be willing to pay for it as a consumer if such services were very important to me.

But I don't want network providers deciding which content and service sites live or die--which would be the de facto state of affairs if such providers can regulate the speed of a site's traffic based on a premium they charge site owners. Yes, I could go to a sports or shopping site that doesn't pay the premium, as nothing prevents me from typing in a URL, but if my experience at such a site is worse than at rival sites that enjoy the faster service, I will eventually stop visiting the slower sites. That's what the providers implicitly sell.

[Rasputin]

Sony Plans Blu-ray Disc Recorder

Sony unveiled on Wednesday a Blu-ray Disc recorder it plans to launch in Japan before the end of this year.

The machine, which has yet to be named, will be a key product for the company in the end-of-year sales period, said Kiyoshi Shikano, corporate senior vice president of Sony Marketing (Japan). The recorder will be promoted alongside high-definition flat-panel televisions, camcorders and personal computers as Sony pushes the high-definition message to Japanese consumers, he said.

The new product was on show alongside Sony's other flagship products in Tokyo at the company's annual convention for electronics retailers.

While Sony is planning to launch the recorder to Japan this year, it has yet to decide when the machine will be available in other markets. A Blu-ray Disc player is due on sale in the U.S. later this year and in the first half of 2007 in Europe.

First of Its Kind?
It won't be Sony's first Blu-ray Disc recorder. The company launched the BDZ-S77 in April 2003 in Japan and, with it, laid claim to the first high-definition optical disc recorder on the market.

The machine, however, was little more than a prototype pushed out for marketing purposes. It recorded onto 23GB discs, which were encased in cartridges, and wound not play commercial movies because it didn't include support for the copy protection system.

In contrast, the new recorder uses 25GB or 50GB cartridge-less discs and can playback commercial movies that are already on sale in the U.S. and will be soon in Japan.

[Rasputin]

Feds Shut Down Illegal Spammers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shut down four illegal e-mail spamming operations, including one that offered the opportunity to "date lonely wives," the agency said Thursday.

Two of the other operations sending unwanted commercial e-mail hijacked the computers of third parties and used them to spam customers with sexually explicit e-mail, the FTC said Thursday.

The FTC charged the four operations with violating the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act. Federal courts in Illinois and Arizona approved the FTC request to shut down the operations.

Big Fine
Cleverlink Trading and its partners will give up $400,000 in spam-related gains to settle FTC charges that e-mail from them or their affiliates violated federal law. The FTC sued the group, saying their "date-lonely-wives" spam violated nearly every provision of the CAN-SPAM Act.


Cleverlink's e-mail contained misleading headers and deceptive subject lines, it did not contain a link to allow consumers to opt out of receiving future spam, did not contain a valid physical postal address and did not contain the disclosure that it was sexually explicit, the FTC said.
It also included sexual materials in the initially viewable area of the e-mail, in violation of the FTC's adult labeling rule. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division halted the operation and froze the defendants' assets. The court approved a settlement with Cleverlink and four other defendants in July.

Spam Zombies
In a second case, the FTC charged that Zachary Kinion sent spam hawking adult sites, mortgage rates and privacy software and paid other spammers commissions to send spam messages for him. Kinion hid his true originating address by routing his spam through the computers of innocent third parties, the FTC said.

The FTC charged him with violations of the CAN-SPAM Act, and the Illinois court ordered him to halt his e-mail operations. A settlement, which the FTC agreed to in June, includes a judgment of $151,000, suspended because of Kinion's inability to pay, the FTC said.

Another spam operation used spam zombies--computers used without their owners' knowledge--to conceal the source of sexually explicit spam. Defendants William Dugger, Angelina Johnson and John Vitale also violated the adult labeling rule, the FTC said.

The settlement, approved in July by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, requires the three defendants to give up $8,000 in spam-related profits, and it requires them to obtain permission from other people's computers before using them to send e-mail.

Without Consumers' Knowledge
The fourth spam operation used spam to drive traffic to Web sites by third parties, the FTC said. Brian McMullen, doing business as BM Entertainment and B Pimp, routed his promotions for pharmaceuticals and adult content through unwitting consumers' computers, the FTC said.

A settlement approved by the Illinois court in July imposes a judgment of $24,193, suspended based on McMullen's inability to pay, the FTC said. In addition, he has pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to spam and unauthorized possession of credit cards. He currently is awaiting sentencing.

[Rasputin]

Microsoft to Launch iPod Rival Before Christmas

The first Microsoft Zune products will hit U.S. retailers in time for the busy Christmas holiday season, with a 30GB digital media player and a Zune Marketplace online service the first to reach consumers, Microsoft said today.

Also on Thursday, Nintendo announced that its Wii game console--which will compete with Microsoft's own Xbox 360--will be available in time for the holidays. It will be launched in the U.S. on November 19, and will cost $250.

The details of what Microsoft is offering with its Zune product line--which will compete with Apple Computer's iPod device and iTunes software and service--sound similar to what Apple already offers, with a couple of exceptions. In addition to allowing users to play music, videos, and photos on a screen, the Zune player will include wireless technology and a built-in FM radio tuner. So far, iPods lack either radio tuners or built-in wireless technology.

Zune's wireless technology will allow users to share songs, playlists, and photos between Zune devices, Microsoft said. A user can listen to any song they receive up to three times over three days, after which they must purchase it from the Zune Marketplace if they wish to continue listening.

The Zune Marketplace, like iTunes, allows users to purchase media and manage their own media libraries. Users can purchase music tracks individually or buy what is called a "Zune Pass," a subscription service allowing users to download as many songs as they want for a monthly fee.

The Zune device will come in three colors--black, brown, and white. In addition to viewing media on the 3-inch screen, users also can customize the screen with personal photos or themes, Microsoft said.

In another deviation from Apple's plan, Zune devices will come preloaded with content from record labels. Labels that are teaming with Microsoft to provide music for the players include TS, EMI Music's Astralwerks Records and Virgin Records, Ninja Tune, Playlouderecordings, Quango Music Group, Sub Pop Records, and V2/Artemis Records.

Tough Competition
After months of speculation, Microsoft confirmed in July that it was developing a music player and service to rival Apple's iPod and iTunes.

If other attempts to unseat the iPod are any indication, Microsoft will have a tough road ahead. Recently, Dell stopped selling its DJ Ditty music player on its Web site and ended development of its own line of music players.

Still, iPod market share has fallen in the past year, leaving room for rivals in the market. At one point the music player had more than 80 percent market share by analyst estimates, but the latest reports give the iPod a little over 70 percent market share.

In addition to the devices and the online service, Microsoft also will offer three Zune accessory packs that will be sold separately and will be available at the same time as the Zune devices.

The Zune Car Pack includes a built-in FM tuner with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger. The Zune Home A/V Pack includes five products that integrate Zune with a television and music speakers: Zune AV Output Cable, Zune Dock, Zune Sync Cable, Zune AC Adapter, and the Zune Wireless Remote for Zune Dock. And the Zune Travel Pack offers five products for traveling with the Zune device: Zune Premium Earphones, Zune Dual Connect Remote, Zune Gear Bag, Zune Sync Cable, and the Zune AC Adapter.

Like Apple, Microsoft also is working with accessory manufacturers to provide more add-on products for Zune devices. Among the companies with whom Microsoft is teaming are Altec Lansing, Belkin, Digital Lifestyle Outfitters, Dual Electronics, Griffin Technology, Harman Kardon and JBL, Integrated Mobile Electronics, Jamo International, Klipsch Audio Technologies, Logitech, Monster Cable Products, Speck, Targus Group International and VAF Research.

[Rasputin]

Nintendo Wii Will Be Here for the Holidays

Nintendo will launch its Wii game console in the U.S. on November 19 and in Japan on December 2, the company said today.

The console will cost $250 in the U.S. and about $213 in Japan. Both prices are considerably cheaper than the $508 price tag of the competing PlayStation 3 that will go on sale on November 11 in Japan and November 17 in the U.S.

Wii will go up against two tough opponents: Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The former is awaited by many gamers, while the latter has been on the market for a year and has been generally well received by gamers in Europe and the U.S., although less so by those in Japan.

In other digital entertainment news, Microsoft today released all the details of the Zune, its iPod competitor, and said it, plus a Zune music service, would be available before the holidays.

Family Fun
Nintendo, the smallest of the three companies, is well-known for its family-friendly video games, and for pursuing the market with an emphasis on light-hearted fun in an effort to widen the gaming audience. The company has already had some success. While sales of the PlayStation Portable are expected to decline this year, sales of Nintendo's competing Nintendo DS portable are surging, thanks to the surprise hit of a brain-training game.

The company's innovations with the Wii include its controller, which looks similar to a remote control. The device features motion sensors and links via wireless to the Wii so that it can be swung like a bat in a baseball game or jabbed like a fist in a boxing game. The idea behind the controller is that anyone--not just experienced gamers--can use it.

Games Available at Launch
The Japan launch software line-up will consist of 16 games, and there should be 22 on sale by the end of 2006, said Iwata. Several will come from Nintendo, including "Wii Sports," a package including baseball, boxing, tennis and bowling that will retail for about $40. There will also be "Zelda: Twilight Princess," which will cost about $58.

Nintendo will also offer so-called classic games for download at prices between $4.25 and $8.50. Titles from the days of the company's Famicon and Super Famicon will be offered and accessed through the console's Wii Channel service. Wii Channel will also offer the latest news and weather information, a sticky notes-like message service that can be used by family members, and access to the Internet through a version of the Opera Web browser.

Wii Channel is part of push to widen the audience. The company is hoping to make the Wii something that people use everyday and not just for gaming. The other features could also attract non-gamers in a family who might one day be tempted to buy one of the low-cost classic games and eventually progress to make their first purchase of more sophisticated packaged software.

[Rasputin]

Yahoo Expands Web Mail Beta

Yahoo plans to significantly expand the number of people with access to its next-generation Web mail service, which has been in test, or beta, mode for about one year.

Until now, the new Web mail service has been available to a limited number of people in the U.S. and to all users in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Canada, and South Korea.

But starting Thursday, Yahoo will roll it out to all users in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, and Taiwan.

It will take about two weeks for Yahoo to complete this deployment, Yahoo spokeswoman Karen Mahon said. Yahoo plans to remove the beta tag from the new service "in the coming months," she said.

This new version is the largest overhaul of Yahoo's Web mail service since its introduction in 1997. Unlike the current version, it works like a desktop application, eliminating the delays found on many other Web-based applications.

New Features
Among its features are the ability to drag and drop messages into folders, a pane to preview the content of messages, the ability to have multiple message windows open, and keyboard shortcuts to, for example, delete or create messages. It also has an integrated RSS reader. The service's calendar tool can now present maps to appointments.

This new version extends the traditional Web mail concept from a simple mailbox to a broader central information repository that not only handles e-mail messages, but integrates RSS management, calendaring, and instant messaging, and this makes it a significant upgrade, said Allen Weiner, a Gartner analyst.

Competition in the once languid Web mail market heated up in April 2004 when Google launched its Gmail service. Since then, Web mail providers such as Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL have been busy retooling their services, dramatically increasing storage capacity, sharpening spam and e-mail filters, and giving user interfaces extreme makeovers.

Much is at stake in the Web mail wars, because the level of attachment users form with their e-mail accounts is much higher than with other online services. A strong Web mail service serves as a user-magnet for portals with other online services. Web mail services have also proved effective for advertising.

[Rasputin]

Microsoft Debuts New Keyboards, Mice

Microsoft refreshed its line of keyboards and mice yesterday, introducing a desktop system that includes a keyboard designed for use with Windows Vista and the company's Windows Live online services.

The Ultimate Keyboard comes in the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 package, which also includes a wireless laser mouse, according to the company.

A Windows Live Call button on the keyboard provides one-touch access to a list of Windows Live Messenger buddies online to initiate a videoconference or chat session. It automatically logs a user in to Windows Live Messenger and opens a list of contacts that are currently online.

The keyboard's Start menu button for Vista or Windows XP is placed below the space bar, replacing the Start menu buttons traditionally found next to Alt buttons on traditional keyboards. A Gadget button on the ergonomic keyboard provides access to Gadgets in Windows Vista, which are windows on the PC desktop that display news, sports, weather and other information.

The Ultimate Keyboard's keys are backlit, with the illumination adjusted based on surrounding light and user proximity. A Universal Serial Bus-powered dock included in the desktop package charges the built-in batteries of the keyboard and mouse simultaneously. The keyboard can be used during charging, and it includes an integrated pointing device. The keyboard and mouse use Bluetooth technology to communicate wirelessly with a computer at up to a 30-foot range.

The $250 desktop package will become available in February 2007 in the U.S.

New Webcams
The Windows Live Call button will also be found on Microsoft's new LifeCam NX-6000, a $100 webcam designed for laptops that shoots 2-megapixel images at a 640-by-480-pixel resolution. The LifeCam also has a built-in noise-canceling microphone. It will become available in November.

The LifeCam NX-6000 simplifies the creation of photo blog entries on Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces community site, the company said. An optional software service called "One-Touch Blogging" publishes pictures free to the user's blog on Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces. After the LifeCam NX-6000 snaps a picture, the software automatically logs the user in to Windows Live Spaces. Users can add text to the photo blog entry before publishing it with a single click, said Liz DeBord, a Microsoft spokeswoman.

Microsoft also launched two headsets, the wireless LifeChat ZX-6000 ($70) and the wired LifeChat LX-3000 ($40). The LifeChat ZX-6000 communicates with a PC using RF technology. Both headsets, which include microphones, work with the LifeCams, and are designed to meet the growing demand for videoconferencing products, the company said. Both headsets will become available in the U.S. in January 2007.

[Rasputin]

Microsoft Takes Third Shot at Buggy Security Patch

Microsoft just can't seem to shake problems with its MS06-042 update for Internet Explorer.

Microsoft today was forced to release its third version of the update because of a new security bug discovered in the update, according to Tony Chor, a group program manager with Microsoft.

First released on August 8, the critical patch fixes a handful of problems with the browser, but it has caused headaches for some users. Embarrassingly, it also introduced a security vulnerability into the browser, which was fixed last month.

"The original release of MS06-042 introduced a new security vulnerability for IE 6.0 SP1 users which we addressed in a subsequent re-release," Chor wrote in a Tuesday blog posting. "However... a similar vulnerability was also discovered in IE5.01 on Windows 2000, IE 6.0 SP1 (in a different location), and the original release of Windows Server 2003." His posting can be found here:

Problems Cropped Up Fast
Microsoft customers ran into problems with MS06-042 soon after it was released. Web sites that used HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 1.1 compression to speed up the downloading of images could cause the browser to fail and users of Web-based applications such as PeopleSoft, Siebel, and Sage CRM had problems with the software.

Later in August, security researchers at eEye Digital Security disclosed that Microsoft had introduced a new critical security vulnerability in the update. Two days later Microsoft fixed the eEye bug in the MS06-042 re-release.

Apparently this re-release did not address this latest but "similar" vulnerability mentioned by Chor. Microsoft executives could not be reached immediately for comment.

Microsoft often re-issues its security updates to fix minor bugs, but the security issue discovered by eEye placed a lot more scrutiny on MS06-042. Ultimately the update proved to be an ordeal for Microsoft's Security Response Center, and for Microsoft customers. The MS06-042 update can be found here:

[Rasputin]

Vista release candidate may be around the corner

Reviewers will soon be getting their hands on the first release candidate of Windows Vista, which means that Microsoft Corp. could be on target to deliver the operating system to business customers before the end of the year.

According to sources familiar with the company's plans, Microsoft will be giving product reviewers access to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) as soon as today, with the code set to drop publicly as early as Sept. 5. Microsoft has maintained it would have Windows Vista RC1 available by the end of September.

When Microsoft makes available the first release candidate of a product, the software is in its final stages of being ready to head to the manufacturer. The goal of making RC1 available is to show testers as close to a final version of the product as possible so Microsoft can identify and address last-minute bugs before putting the product on CDs.
"It's like throwing one of those roach bombs in an empty apartment and see what comes out," said Joe Wilcox, an analyst at Jupiter Research, of the RC1 testing process. "They're looking [to see] if there are any bugs hiding in the walls somewhere."

Wilcox said it's likely Windows Vista will have at least two release candidates. If this is the case, the company could make its target deadline of releasing Vista to business customers in November and to consumers in January.

However, if Vista requires a third release candidate because of any problems or bugs that come up during the final testing period, "no way" will Microsoft hit its current deadlines, he said.

With the last major upgrade to Windows, Windows XP, it was "not quite" two months between RC1 and the product's release to manufacturing, Wilcox said. If Microsoft releases Windows Vista RC1 on Sept. 5 or thereabouts, the release to manufacturing -- and a release to business customers -- could happen as soon as early November. Microsoft has said it will release Vista to business customers in November, but has not specified the exact date.

Resellers typically need about six weeks to get the operating system installed and tested on PCs before putting those machines on the market, so if Windows Vista makes it to manufacturing by the end of November, it could hit its January release date for consumers.

Microsoft has not specified when in January Vista will make its debut, though some observers have speculated that the company may want to make a big splash with Vista at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. CES 2007 is scheduled for Jan. 8-11.

Microsoft in March pushed back the release date of Windows Vista to November for business users and January for consumers. However, some analysts suspect that the release may slip further, and some Wall Street analysts have even changed revenue expectations based on this assumption.

[Rasputin]

Inside Windows Vista RC1: Initial test drive

Is Windows Vista ready for prime time? Microsoft is throwing open the doors on a very large public test of Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1), which means for anyone who has a hankering to try it before it costs money, this is likely your last chance. So, whether or not it's ready, over 5 million people will be invited to find out. Microsoft is clearly betting that it's good enough to try.

Based on an initial test drive, Vista RC1 is the first version of the forthcoming Windows operating system to show true refinement, both in terms of reliability and overall performance. For this story, Computerworld worked with Vista Build 5600 on five test machines for a period of about 48 hours. It's the tip of the iceberg, offering initial impressions that will be followed by a more exhaustive review in the days ahead. But during the first two days, Vista RC1 didn't disappoint. For the first time, it feels stable enough to run on a production PC.

Performance takes many guises. Microsoft is promising 2-second resume times from Sleep mode that don't degrade over time. Another performance boost comes from smartly balancing the usage of CPU time. Microsoft is giving background services, like Windows Defender, lower input/output priority to increase the performance of your line-of-business applications. In particular, it aims to make applications load quickly and to maintain that state of alacrity over time. It's too early to say whether the software maker has achieved that in RC1, but resume-from-sleep times are in the 3-to-5-second range. And applications such as Microsoft Word appear to pop open quickly. Time will tell.

Nuevo Networking

RC1 introduces a fairly radical overhaul of the Network and Sharing Center. It merges two previous networking control panels into one, and reworking the functionality makes it truly useful for the first time. The new Manage Wireless Networks task area finally gives wireless networking users a logical, useful way to control named and saved Wi-Fi connections. You can right-click the Network desktop icon and choose Properties to open the Network and Sharing Center. Or click the Network icon in the system tray to initiate a new network connection.

Networking controls have never been a Microsoft strong suit, but even so, the Network and Sharing Center, as well as the tasks it offers, form the best networking control interface that Windows has ever had (see our visual tour of Vista RC1).

One of the confusing things about Vista Beta 2 was the difference between public and private networks. When you create a new network connection, Vista Beta 2 asked you to classify that network as one or the other. There were many situations in which even experienced users weren't sure which of the two classifications to use for the networking environment. Private sounds more secure, but it was actually less secure. So, Microsoft has changed this for the better. There are now three classifications: Home, Work and Public Location.

This build of Vista shows a remarkable improvement in network browsing speed. When you open the Network window, which displays other workstations on a network, the mild delay before all available workstations appear is in the 5-to-10-second range on a typical six-node peer network of mixed Vista and Windows XP machines.

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Larger networks didn't require noticeably longer wait times either. Even first-time connections are fast. In Vista Beta 2 and earlier, the network browse-to-completion time could sometimes be measured in minutes -- and some workstations never showed up. Gone is the peer networking balkiness of early versions of Vista (as well as earlier generations of Windows).

That said, it does seem like Microsoft is missing some opportunities in the networking area. Why are the controls for naming and saving LAN connections different from the ones that manage wireless connections? Couldn't Windows offer a location-based, named and saved set of network configuration settings? Why does Vista continue to hide the wireless radio channel from you, even deep in status dialogs? On large networks that use the same SSID with multiple access points, it's annoying not to know the radio channel your PC is currently connecting to when you're roaming.

Lots of Little Things

Performance, reliability and networking controls are the most important aspects of what's new in Windows Vista RC1. But there are also some smaller elements you'll want to check out when you have a chance:

• The Flip 3D three-dimensional window-switching feature (accessed with the Windows key-Tab key combination) offers mildly improved graphics — thanks, it appears, to a tipping back of the windows so they're not quite so vertical, eliminating some of the "jaggies." There's also a new "Switch between windows" icon on the QuickLaunch bar (beside the Start button), which initiates Flip 3D with the mouse. It's a boon for mouse-centric people because it requires no key presses. The windows open-and-close movement is a tad more fluid, too. All in all, this Apple Exposé-like visual task-switcher and desktop reveal feature is shaping up well in Vista.

• The new Additional Clocks tab on the Date and Time Control Panel gives you an easy way to display your local time plus two additional times, such as London and Tokyo, to help you make correct time translations.

• The default search page, which is also the default Internet Explorer home page, is now called Windows Live Search. Of course, this is MSN with Windows Live clothing.

• When you right-click the system tray area, there's a new Customize Notification Icons option that lets you configure on the spot which icons are hidden or displayed when inactive.

• The new Windows CardSpace tool, newly added to the Control Panel, provides a way to manage your digital identities and handle your log-ins and passwords.

• Microsoft gave the Parental Controls Control Panel and MeetingSpace ad hoc peer-collaboration program a dusting off and revised their settings and user interfaces.

• Windows Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and DVD Maker have each received tweaks from the development team since Vista Beta 2. Photo Gallery may sound like eye candy, but in an increasingly image-rich business environment, it may be the most useful new applet in Vista.

• Vista supports the HD-DVD and Blu-ray high-definition DVD formats.

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Handling Hardware

Vista RC1 does a better job than previous releases of automatically connecting to the Internet after initial setup to install drivers for hardware not included in the Vista driver pack. Two test machines used for this story had multiple devices that Vista's installation program wasn't able to configure properly. While the new operating system wasn't able to online-update the Linksys gigabit NICs in these machines, once those drivers were added manually, Vista was able to grab drivers for other devices.

On another test machine whose 4-in-1 card-reader hardware wasn't in the driver pack, Vista's ability to actively search for and retrieve the correct driver — based on the plug-and-play hardware identification it found — made finding the drivers easy. Using the standard "reinstall routine," you just opt to "browse" locally for a driver and point Vista to the initial directory containing OEM device drivers. Vista then searches all subdirectories until it finds the right driver and installs it. You can even just go into Device Manager and set this in motion, even when you don't know what the hardware is.

There's also better support for drivers in general. Some XP drivers that previously weren't supported in Vista Beta 2 and Build 5274 now work in RC1. And, according to Greg Sullivan, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows, "thousands more device drivers are included in the box," with an emphasis on printers, wireless adapters, SATA controllers and Media Center tuners.

The Media Center PC in the Computerworld test environment that had difficulty running Media Center with earlier releases of Vista ran RC1's Media Center nearly perfectly. On one test unit, a Dell Inspiron E1505, all attempts to resume from sleep resulted in failure, requiring a reboot. This problem was resolved by installing ATI Radeon x1400 beta video drivers specifically released for Windows Vista RC1.

UAC: Better, Not Best

A significant amount of criticism was leveled by the press and beta testers at the Vista's User Account Control (UAC) security feature as it was implemented in Beta 2. An earlier Computerworld story took UAC to task, for example. With the release of Windows Vista Build 5274, Microsoft began to turn the corner on the UAC user experience.

The purpose of UAC is to make Windows users aware of potentially dangerous activities on their computers. The potential threat is that a malware program (or possibly a determined hacker) could be carrying out a scripted set of steps that will lead to a negative event on your computer, such as the loss of data or damage to your Windows installation. In a nutshell, the question UAC asks is: Did you initiate this process that's attempting to run? When the answer is yes, you click OK or Allow to permit the action. When the answer is no, your prudence in letting UAC block that action could save you from a very bad experience.

The easiest example to understand is the prompt that pops up when an unsigned program installation begins to run. In RC1, it reads: "An unidentified program wants access to your computer." Your choices are Cancel or Allow.