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Archive for December, 2010
Microsoft 8 rumours
December 30, 2010Search box now on Lotus Computers blog
December 24, 2010Yes… if you look across to the right of your screen you’ll see a handy search box – type a word or phrase like ‘flash cookies’ and the blogs that mention flash cookies will appear on your screen. We hope you like this handy tool.
5 reasons to move to Windows 7
December 24, 2010Here are 5 good reasons to make the switch to Windows 7, plus some XP advice, click here…
REPORTS: MICROSOFT SET TO ANNOUNCE TABLET VERSION OF WINDOWS
December 24, 2010Microsoft is set to announce a tablet version of its Windows os at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, according to separate articles from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.
The reconfigured OS will run on processors from chip maker Arm, according to the reports.
Microsoft already has one OS written for Arm chips, Windows CE, which is designed for use in embedded systems. The company in June said it has plans to release the next version of this OS, called Windows Embedded Compact 7, in early 2011. This version of the OS will be targeted for devices such as set-top boxes and slates, company officials said..
Neither news report specified if this new Arm-based version of Windows would be based on Windows Embedded Compact, on Windows 7 itself, or whether it is an entirely new code base altogether.
Microsoft did not respond immediately to comment.
Last July, Microsoft signed a licensing deal with Arm that would allow the software giant to design its own Arm-based chips, much like the Apple designed the A4 chip for its iPad.
Microsoft has been criticized for not capitalizing on the growing market for tablet computers, now dominated by Apple. Research firm Gartner has estimated that 54.8 million tablets will be purchased in 2011. At the 2010 CES show, CEO Steve Ballmer promised that Windows-based, iPad-like tablets would be released in the upcoming year. None thus far have been released though, apart from the HP Slate, which was designed for office use.
Arm chips consume relatively little power and so are ideal for portable battery-run devices such as tablets. Apple uses Arm chips for the iPad, as do various smartphone manufacturers.
BEWARE INTERNET EXPLORER CONTAINS CRITICAL VULNERABILITY
December 24, 2010Microsoft late Wednesday confirmed that all versions of Internet Explorer (IE) contain a critical vulnerability that attackers can exploit by persuading users to visit a rigged Web site.
Although the company said it would patch the problem, it is not planning to rush out an emergency update.
“The issue does not currently meet the criteria for an out-of-band release,” said Carlene Chmaj, a spokeswoman for the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), in an entry on the center’s blog. “However, we are monitoring the threat landscape very closely and if the situation changes, we will post updates.”
Chmaj also downplayed the threat posed by the bug. “Currently the impact of this vulnerability is limited and we are not aware of any affected customers or active attacks targeting customers,” she said.
The vulnerability in IE6, IE7 and IE8 surfaced several weeks ago when French security firm Vupen disclosed a flaw in IE’s HTML engine. Tuesday, researchers posted a video demonstration of an attack, and added a reliable exploit to the Metasploit penetration toolkit.
That exploit used a technique revealed earlier this year by McAfee researchers that defeats a pair of important Windows defensive technologies — ASLR (address space layout randomization) and DEP (data execution prevention) — designed to stymie most attacks.
The appearance of the Metasploit attack code may have been what prompted Microsoft to take action, as the company’s more technical “Security Research & Defense” blog highlighted the Metasploit module.
In that blog, Microsoft security software engineer J. Serna also confirmed that IE’s “mscorie.dll” file does not always automatically enable ASLR, a technology that randomly allocates executable memory to make it difficult for hackers to run their code.
Until a patch is ready, Microsoft urged users to use the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) utility to bolster IE’s defenses. The company provided instructions on how to configure EMET to block attacks in the accompanying security advisory .
EMET is a tool designed for advanced users, primarily enterprise IT pros, and manually enables ASLR and DEP for specific applications. It’s often used to reinforce older programs.
Microsoft has recommended EMET before as a stop-gap defense. In September, it told users to configure it to block attacks then targeting users of Adobe Reader. But this is just the second time that Microsoft has suggested users roll out EMET to protect an up-to-date Microsoft program.
EMET 2.0 is a free download available from Microsoft’s site.
Users running IE7 or IE8 on Windows Vista and Windows 7 are less likely to be affected by a successful attack, Microsoft claimed, because those browsers include a feature called “Protected Mode” that prompts users before letting them install, run or modify certain operating system components.
Other browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera, are not affected by the flaw.
The next regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday is Jan. 11, but because Microsoft usually updates the browser every other month, and just did so last week, it’s possible the vulnerability won’t be addressed until February.
Microsoft’s usual practice is to release an emergency fix only if attacks appear and then grow in strength. Microsoft has never revealed how it sets the point at which a rush patch is triggered.
The last time the company issued an out-of-band update was late September when it patched a bug in the ASP.Net Web application framework.
SEAGATE DEBUTS FAST ‘GREEN’ DRIVE
December 21, 2010Seagate has introduced a new high-speed, eco-friendly hard drive for low-power personal computers. The 3.5-inch desktop drive spins at 5900 RPM and includes the company’s SmartAlign technology.
SmartAlign allows the drive to be configured with the new 4K sector standard with minimum human intervention. The 4K Advanced Format standard allows disk makers to not only pack more data on drives, but to support strong error correction.
Configuring a system to use 4K, however, can be complex and requires additional integration steps and installation of software utilities. SmartAlign simplifies that process, making it virtually invisible to users, according to Seagate.
Seventy percent of the materials in the new Barracuda drives can be recycled. In addition, the units use components low in halogen to reduce the impact of that substance on the environment. The cool-running, whisper-quiet drives also have a super-low power consumption design that reduces the energy costs for operating the drive by 50 percent compared to the cost of standard desktop drives, as well as a 6Gb/s interface and 64MB cache.
Three capacities for the model are offered by Seagate: 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB. No pricing was immediately announced by the company.
GOOGLE CHROME OS – LESS IS NOT MORE
December 21, 2010Google’s minimalist Chrome OS cloud notebook is not what we need right now. Is Google getting too far ahead of itself? Read more…
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