Microsoft's latest round of security patches appears to be causing some PCs to seize up and display a black screen, rending the computer useless.   The problem affects Microsoft products including Windows 7, Vista and XP operating systems, said Mel Morris , the CEO and CTO for the U.K. security company Prevx.   Prevx was alerted to the problem by users of its security software last week, Morris said. Microsoft apparently made changes to the Access Control List (ACL), a list of permissions fo

Computerworld - Microsoft late on Friday confirmed that an unpatched vulnerability exists in Windows 7, but downplayed the problem, saying most users would be protected from attack by blocking two ports at the firewall.   In a security advisory, Microsoft acknowledged that a bug in SMB (Server Message Block), a Microsoft-made network file- and print-sharing protocol, could be used by attackers to cripple Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 machines.   The zero-day vulnerability was first re

Unless you're seriously into networking (and okay, maybe you are), all the features in the new Secure Remote Connection - not to mention the pieces required to make it work - can be fairly tough to figure out. But the benefits make sense: "With this feature," writes Steven Vaughan-Nichols, "a user on any Windows 7 system can gain access to the corporate intranet's resources. In short, with the right back-end setup you can run office-only programs and get to server-based files from any Windows 7

Everyone loves a killer feature: that must-have capability or technology that prompts you to plunk down your hard-earned cash in an effort to upgrade your computing experience.   In the case of Windows, there have been precious few versions that included a truly killer feature. Windows 3.1 was a killer version because it allowed PCs to finally break (or at least reduce the impact of) the dreaded 640K barrier. Windows NT was a killer version (at least for power users) because it introduced the

Click-to-Run is a new technology Microsoft are introducing to allow you to test out Office 2010 quickly and easily, by literally streaming the app to your computer from the Internet into a virtualised space.   This technology is one piece in Microsoft’s plan to make Office 2010 easier to obtain, including Office 2010 starter, an advert-supported, crippled version being sold to OEMs   Click-to-Run is designed to sweeten the experience of trying and buying Office by avoiding a lengthy download

Users remained stymied today by endless reboots after trying to upgrade their PCs to Windows 7, according to messages posted on Microsoft's support forum. An answer has yet to be found for all users, who began reporting the problem last Friday after watching the upgrade stall two-thirds of the way through the process.   http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139991/Windows_7_endless_reboot_answer_evades_Microsof   via osnews.com

It's October 22 today. A completely random date in the grand scheme of things (we Dutch lost a big naval battle to the Ming dynasty on October 22 1633), but it also happens to be the release date of the newest version of Windows - Windows 7. Since Windows is still the most popular desktop operating system out there, this is pretty big news.   The problem, of course, with releases like Windows 7 is that the new operating system has already been torn apart and examined in great detail over the p

finally the moment we have been waiting for, SCCM 2007 Sp2 is out now     Get it > http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=3318741a-c038-4ab1-852a-e9c13f8a8140