New Windows XP Vulnerability – How To Fix It

There’s a new vulnerability in Windows XP concerning parts of the Help and Support system. It was found by a Google researcher who posted the flaw just five days after talking with Microsoft about it. Evidently Microsoft wasn’t addressing the issue fast enough for him, raising a bit of a backlash from the community for not giving Microsoft time to respond.

Whatever the case, the exploit is now in the wild and XP machines are vulnerable to drive-by attacks on evil web sites.

It affects Windows XP’s Help and Support functions. Anything using the HCP protocol (hcp:// URI’s) is subject to unauthorized commands.

The easiest way to fix it is to go to Microsoft’s ‘Fix it’ page. You can fix it and, if you don’t like what happens, unfix it from the same site. Pretty cool.

This can also be manually done by following these simple directions:

1. Click Start, and then Run.
2. Enter regedit, and click OK.
3. Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and then highlight the HCP key.
4. Right-click and Export the ‘Selected Branch’ to be on the safe side.
5. Right-click the HCP key, and then click Delete.

I read that it may cause some problems in your Control Panel, but I’ve tried most of the links and everything seems to be working on my XP computer.

[Editor's Note: This vulnerability was fixed in this month's Windows Update (July 13th), so make sure your computer is set to update Windows automatically or open your IE browser and go to Tools/Windows Update to download the security patch].
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Free PC Troubleshooter From Microsoft

Microsoft has just come out with a free computer troubleshooter at their FixIt Center. It’s still in beta mode but I gave it a whirl. The video below is a quick demo of the PC troubleshooter…

It works on the following Operating Systems:

• Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
• Windows XP Pro (64-bit) Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Windows Vista, Windows 7
• Windows Server 2003 SP2
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2008 R2

The tool is fairly limited right now but we’ll see if they expand it in the future.

Two other resources I’ve found for solving computer problems are:

The Windows Secrets Lounge. This is a forum dealing with Windows covering the last 10 years. They’ve just modernized it so it can be spidered by the search engines but there’s still unindexed stuff you can find by searching the forum directly.

Another option if your system is all screwed up and you don’t want to have to reformat and reinstall Windows is called Reimage.

You download and run it on your Windows computer and it ‘refurbishes’ your operating system without having to reinstall all of your data and software.

It used to just work on XP computers but now works on Vista and Windows 7 as well. We’ve used it on several client’s computers and it works like a charm, especially after a virus infection.

It’s less than $50 for one key (good indefinitely on that one computer) or less than $70 for three keys. You can also create a boot CD with Reimage on it for computers that won’t load Windows at all..
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Windows 7 32 bit vs 64 bit

A client recently bought a computer off the shelf loaded with a Windows 7 64 bit OS. Why? That’s just the way it came. Later he asked us if that was the right decision.

We are in a transition period from 32 bit to 64 bit systems. As with any transition there are disadvantages for the early adopters of the newer technology. First came 64 bit processors, then 64 bit operating systems, then other 64 bit software to take advantage of the new processors.

The main disadvantage of 32 bit systems is the limitation on RAM. 32 bit computers are limited to using 4 GB of physical RAM with 3 to 3.4 GB available to you, the user. It sounds like a lot of RAM, and it is, unless you are working with large files as in video editing or major scientific work. But hell, watching a DVD on your computer can have a 4 GB file.

The advantage of 32 bit is that it’s accepted technology – everything works. Read more.
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The Video Streaming Format War Heats Up

Apple’s recently released iPad has brought video streaming formats to the forefront. Why? Because it doesn’t recognize Flash.

It wasn’t that big a deal when the iPhone shunned Flash, but when the iPad, suitable for Internet browsing, didn’t include Flash it meant that its users would have a limited view of the web.

NOTE: YouTube uses Flash video. Apple added an app that allows YouTube videos.

First, a little background on video streaming. True video streaming requires server software that handles the stream. It monitors the connection speed between the server and the viewer and matches the download speed to the connection speed.

Most web video uses progressive download. That’s where a portion of the video is downloaded and the rest downloads as it’s being viewed. The initial wait time (buffer) and streaming rate are built into the video.

The advantage of progressive downloads are its simplicity and ability to run from any web site. The disadvantage is people with slow connections having to wait during viewing for the video download to catch up and people with fast connections not receiving the optimal experience.

The Video Streaming Battle Begins…

Read more.
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Windows Mail Problem With Windows 7 Upgrade

If you use Outlook Express (Windows XP) or Windows Mail (Vista) there’s something you should know about Windows 7 – there’s no bundled email client.

The problem is, I don’t know what will happen to your email if you upgrade to Windows 7 before moving your email to a third-party email client. Is it still somewhere on your computer? If you add a new email client after upgrading to Windows 7 will it still import your email and settings? Microsoft doesn’t say.

Which means you should migrate to a new email client before you upgrade.

I don’t know how many people still actually use Microsoft’s built in email client. I’m doing a survey now of all of our clients to see if any of them still use Outlook Express or Windows Mail.

There are plenty of third-party email clients out there. The one we use is Mozilla’s Thunderbird. I’ve also added the Lightning calendar add-on, and there are lots of other add-ons you can use.

You can also try migrating to a web-based email client like Gmail, Windows Live Mail or a ton of others. I have always used a local email client (installed on my computer that downloads my email) to control backups and have better search capabilities.

But, here’s my recommendation. Download and install Thunderbird. When it installs it will ask you if you want to import email and settings from your current email client, whether that’s Outlook Express or Windows Live (or any other  installed email client for that matter). Click Yes.

Once you have Thunderbird installed use it for a few days to make sure everything is working properly, then do your upgrade to Windows 7.

This may also be a good idea if you are buying a new computer with Windows 7 and want to move your email from your old computer. It’s easier to move your Thunderbird email onto your new computer than OE or WM.

Just install Thunderbird on your new computer and move your profile over. Your data is located at C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxx.default

The xxxx is a randomly generated name. Delete the profile  installed on your new computer and replace it with the profile off your old computer..
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Patches From Adobe And MS Coming Tuesday

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 both Microsoft and Adobe will be releasing patches to close vulnerabilities.

Microsoft will be releasing a massive patch on its regularly scheduled ‘patch Tuesday’. This will include a patch discovered two weeks ago that I mentioned in a post on the New Vista Exploit. Microsoft decided to wait for its normal patch schedule to release the fix rather than coming out with a special patch.

The whole patch download (13 bulletins covering 34 security vulnerabilities) will cover products that include Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, Silverlight, Microsoft Forefront, Developer Tools, and SQL Server.

Also on Tuesday Adobe will release a patch to plug a flaw in its PDF Reader/Acrobat software is being exploited by malicious attackers as part of their quarterly update schedule.

The vulnerability affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat version 9.1.3 and earlier..
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New Vista Exploit On The Way

ZDNet has just released information on a possible new attack vector for Microsoft Windows Vista.

[It] provides a clear roadmap for hackers to plant malware or open backdoors on Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and 2 as well as Windows 2008 SP1 server

This puts Microsoft in a bind, since its scheduled “patch Tuesday” isn’t for another two weeks. Do they issue a special patch?

In the meantime Microsoft has released a workaround. Or, to do it yourself you can follow the directions in the workaround section found here.

Vista users take heed..
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Small Business and Windows 7 Recommendations

In this post I’ll cover my recommendations for upgrading and/or purchasing Windows 7. But first, let me confess that I don’t use Vista – never have. Our hardware is fine running XP and we haven’t needed to upgrade, so there was no reason to run out and upgrade hardware just to use a lousy operating system.

Vista is bloated, slow and a pain in the neck to use. Windows 7 is cleaner, faster and uses less power.

So the first recommendation is – which version? There are basically two choices… Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional. The Starter (for tiny netbooks), Home Basic (not available in the U.S. or Europe) and Ultimate (more money for not much gain) are essentially irrelevant.

Here are the extras you get with Windows 7 Professional:

• Only the Pro version can act as a workstation on an internal domain (server)
• Can add a network file/folder as Always Available Offline – Win7 Pro will cache it on your computer, synchronize it and make it available even if the network is down
• If you use Windows Backup you can store a system image to a network drive
• Includes a Windows XP mode to make it compatible with older apps or hardware
• It has a Connect to Network Projector option, which allows you to to mirror your portable PC’s display on a projector connected to a network
• It also has a Presentation mode that automatically kicks in when you connect to a projector and shuts down your instant messaging program, disables your screen saver, and suppresses system messages
• Remote Desktop host service – allows you to connect to the computer remotely without 3rd party software (pcanywhere, GoToMyPC)

So, for small businesses I recommend Windows 7 Professional on all new computers, even laptops. If you need a new computer now I recommend waiting til October 22 when Windows 7 makes its official debut.

Read more.
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