Archive for April, 2009
Windows 7 in October?
There is no date from Microsoft yet but Acer is reported at Neowin to be delivering a Windows 7 system on October 23. Acer also says any Vista system purchased 30 days or less before the release of Windows 7 will get a free upgrade.
The operating system that won’t die
Windows XP simply won’t go away. Many PC users have decided that XP has all the features and stability they’ll ever need and is plenty safe enough. But the kicker may be that XP will run on a lot less hardware than is demanded by Vista or even the slimmed-down Windows 7. In other words, [...]
Check the speed of your Internet connection
If you want to be sure that your Internet connection is working properly, one thing to do is to check the speed of the connection. There are numerous sites that can do this and your Internet service provider may have a link for testing. Speed tests generally use either Java or Flash applets so [...]
Windows popularity is also a weakness
Having a Windows monoculture has advantages in ease of use but it also has security problems. As I keep preaching, having hundreds of millions of Windows users inevitably means very large numbers of uninformed and/or careless users. So, no matter that Microsoft issues regular security patches- a lot of systems are just not going to [...]
Use Paint.NET to open Photoshop files
I’ve mentioned the free photo editing software Paint.NET before. A plug-in is now available that will let you open Adobe Photoshop files (those that have extension .PSD). Using the plug-in is described at ghacks.com.
AOL to be spun off
The rise and fall of AOL will doubtless provide material for business school students for a long time. In 2000, the then-dominant Internet service provider basically took over the large media company Time Warner in a deal of huge proportions. Then, in a dizzying decline, AOL rapidly fell into step-child status. Now, Time Warner wants [...]
Microsoft changes AutoRun in Windows 7
The Conficker worm finally got Microsoft to make a security change that has been urged by many for a long time. The Windows AutoRun security problem has been discussed in a number of posts (search AutoRun to see the list) and Microsoft is making changes in the feature in Windows 7. CNET reports:
In the wake [...]
Firefox updated again
Mozilla has had to issue Firefox 3.0.10 just days after version 3.09 was released. It seems 3.09 had some stability problems for some users. I had it on both a Vista and an XP system and didn’t notice anything amiss but I have now gone to 3.0.10. As usual, click in the “Help” menu on [...]
Adobe Reader unsafe again
At Computerworld, Gregg Keizer reports:
Adobe Systems Inc. today confirmed that it’s investigating reports that its popular PDF viewing software, Adobe Reader, contains a critical vulnerability.
A security researcher said that the bug is another in a long line of flaws in Adobe’s implementation of JavaScript.
Get Foxit, dump Adobe Reader.
Windows Vista SP2 is done
Microsoft has announced that service pack 2 for Vista has reached Release to Manufacturing:
Today we are announcing the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all updates that have been delivered since SP1, [...]
Swine flu brings out spammers
Phony email for swine flu medications is starting to circulate. Gregg Keizer at Computerworld reports:
Spammers have seized on the growing interest in news of a possible swine flu epidemic to hawk fake pharmaceuticals, security experts warned today.
The number of spam messages with subject headings such as “First US swine flu victims!” and “Madonna caught swine [...]