Here are two keys words for Microsoft Windows shops to remember come this Patch Tuesday: “six” and “restart.” Six is the number of a critical bulletins Microsoft will release on February 9 that affect all the currently supported versions of Windows on both the desktop and server. And a system restart will be required for these Windows patches, which will mean down time for servers. In fact, 10 of the record-tying 13 bulletins require a restart. In all, five are listed as critical, seven important and one moderate. Microsoft getting better at Patch Tuesday updates, experts say The last time Microsoft had so many bulletins was in October 2009. In the preliminary patch information issued Thursday, Microsoft does not say how many total vulnerabilities are in those 13 bulletins. In October, the number was 34. Experts say on average there are two vulnerabilities per bulletin. “Bulletin six is definitely key, we can see that both server teams and desktop teams are going to be impacted,” says Don Leatham, senior director of solutions and strategy for Lumension. Leatham says IT teams should look at their maintenance windows and see how and when they can get these critical patches out. “With bulletin six it might be worthwhile to move up the maintenance window if need be,” he says. Many organizations with patching policies time server maintenance with patch releases. Leatham says users should not wait to scramble on Tuesday but instead should start prepping as soon as possible. “Usually when there have been bulletins like this in the past that cover every single Windows platform it means it could be fairly low level in the OS,” he says. This month, the other trend is that there are fewer patches on the applications side. Only two patches address applications and both are for Microsoft Office. Microsoft had a single patch last month, which was in the font engine of Windows. Follow John on Twitter: twitter.com/johnfontana
Archive for the Category ◊ Vista ◊
Microsoft plans to release the final version of its free antivirus software soon, according to a note sent to testers late Sunday.
“The final version of Microsoft Security Essentials will be released to the public in the coming weeks,” Microsoft said in the note.
Microsoft first announced its plans for the product, then code-named Morro, last November, at the same time the company said it was scrapping its paid Windows Live OneCare product.
Public beta testing of Security Essentials started in June, with Microsoft reaching its goal of 75,000 testers just one day after it issued a call for them.
SAN FRANCISCO–Dell is launching its first laptops with Intel’s new Core i7 processor for laptops.
The Intel “Clarksfield” Core i7 processor boasts four cores and is the chipmaker’s first mobile chip based on its new Nehalem microarchitecture. Most Intel processors will move to this design in 2010.
Dell is trying to take an early lead in embracing the new technology. Dell’s flagship product for the mobile Core i7 will be the 15-inch Alienware M15x gaming laptop. Dell is also offering the chip as an option on other laptop models worldwide, including the Studio 15 and Studio 17.
At the Intel Developer Forum today, David Perlmutter, executive vice president and co-general manager of Intel Corporation’s Intel Architecture Group, is discussing Intel’s mobile Nehalem platform that also includes a future chip codenamed “Arrandale,” which will integrate graphics into the CPU, or central processing unit.
The Core i7 is packaged with the Intel PM55 Express chipset–companion silicon that assists the processor in communicating with the rest of the system. Two features that differentiate Core i7 from Core 2 Duo processors (the most-widely-used chips in laptops today) is Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading. Turbo Boost speeds up and slows down individual cores to meet processing and power-efficiency needs, respectively. Hyper-Threading can double the number of tasks–or threads–a processor can execute.
The Alienware M15x configurations include the Intel Core 920XM CPU and 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics chip.
The Dell Studio 17 will feature the Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz processor, a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics chip, 17.3-inch HD+ (1600×900) display, and 9-cell battery.
The Studio 17 starts at $1,099.
Dell will also offer the Studio 15 with Core i7. Configurations include Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics chip, and 4GB of memory. Pricing start at $999.
And the Dell Studio XPS 16 will come with a Core i7 option, with a starting price of $1,249, Dell said.
I get a lot of email from people who believe their computer is infected by a virus. In most cases, it’s not infected at all–evil software designers are still outnumbered by incompetent ones.
And even if there is malware involved, it’s almost certainly not a virus.
The word virus refers to a very specific way that malware spreads from one PC to another. A computer virus infects an executable file, like a program, the way a biological virus infects a cell. When it gets the chance, it infects another file, and thus spreads.
Or perhaps I should say used to spread. Over the last few years, rogue programmers have found better ways to infect your computer, more suited for the Internet and email age. For instance, Trojans–programs that trick you into opening them, and infect your computer when you do–are quite popular among the tech-savvy criminal set.
Yet the word virus stays around. Why?
Because viruses were the most prominent form of malware when large numbers of people finally figured out that this was something to worry about. Everyone was talking about viruses in the 1990’s. One of them destroyed an evil corporation in seconds, and another saved the world from alien invasion. (And no, I’m not going to tell you what movies I’m talking about; that would be spoiling.)
Thus, to the uninformed, the word virus came to mean any malicious computer program. It’s like using the name Frankenstein to refer to the monster rather than the monster maker.
So check yourself before you tell someone your computer has a virus. You’re probably admitting your own ignorance.
Ineptitude and arrogance cause most PC problems, but vicious software designed to trick you, steal from you, and use your computer to hurt other people do the worst damage. After all, bugs aren’t designed to protect themselves, but “viruses” are.
(Why did I just put the word viruses in quotation marks? Anything that infects your PC today is almost certainly not, technically, a virus. But the word has become a common term for any malicious software, whether it spreads like a virus or not. See Is It a Virus? for details.)
What are some of the signs that you may have an infection?
* Your home page keeps changing, or web searches keep taking you to the wrong page.
* Software that should protect you, like your anti-virus program, can’t update or no longer works properly.
* Common programs you can use to configure your system, such as msconfig or System Restore, stop working.
* Your computer accesses the Internet a lot when you’re not using the Internet.
* Your security software tells you that you have an infection, but can’t get rid of it.
If you think you have an infection, try the following four fixes, in this order. And use them all, even if the second one solves the problem.
1) Accept that your anti-virus program has failed. Don’t be too hard on it; you just had the misfortune to get the malware before the update that would have protected you from it. But until everything else is fixed, your current software probably isn’t working.
2) Restore the system. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Follow the prompts to restore from a time before you starting having the problem. If you don’t have a restore point that old, go on to step 2. If System Restore fails to work, reboot into Safe Mode (reboot, then press F8 before Windows starts loading (it may take a few tries to get the timing right) and try System Restore there.
3) Get a second opinion from another security program. I recommend the free version of either SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware. Download the program, install it, and have it scan your hard drive and eliminate what it finds.
4) Get a third opinion. Repeat with the other of those two programs.
If you’re not satisfied that you’re now clean, download and install another free program: Trend Micro’s HijackThis. This one doesn’t actually fix anything, but it gives you a very thorough, and for most people, thoroughly unreadable report. But someone who knows what they’re doing can study this report and figure out what your problem is and what you can do about it.
Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first, such as:
- Advertising
- Collecting personal information
- Changing the configuration of your computer
Spyware is often associated with software that displays advertisements (called adware) or software that tracks personal or sensitive information.
Trading tracking for services
That does not mean all software that provides ads or tracks your online activities is bad. For example, you might sign up for a free music service, but you “pay” for the service by agreeing to receive targeted ads. If you understand the terms and agree to them, you may have decided that it is a fair tradeoff. You might also agree to let the company track your online activities to determine which ads to show you.
What spyware does
Other kinds of spyware make changes to your computer that can be annoying and can cause your computer slow down or crash.
These programs can change your Web browser’s home page or search page, or add additional components to your browser you don’t need or want. They also make it very difficult for you to change your settings back to the way you had them.
Know what you’re installing
The key in all cases is whether or not you (or someone who uses your computer) understand what the software will do and have agreed to install the software on your computer.
A common trick is to covertly install the software during the installation of other software you want such as a music or video file sharing program.
Whenever you install something on your computer, make sure you carefully read all disclosures, including the license agreement and privacy statement. Sometimes the inclusion of unwanted software in a given software installation is documented, but it might appear at the end of a license agreement or privacy statement.
There are a number of ways spyware or other unwanted software can get on your computer. To learn more about spyware, read How to help prevent spyware.
Core i7-975 ExtremeSpecs: Socket LGA-1366; Core clock: 3.33GHz; 32KB data/instruction cache per core; L2 cache: 256KB per core; L3 cache: 8MB shared; 130W TDP.Test system specs: Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Extreme; Memory: 6GB Corsair DDR3-1600; Graphics: Zotac GeForce GTX 260 Core 216; HDD: 300GB WD VelociRaptor
Intel has held the performance crown for more than three years—ever since the launch of its Core 2 microarchitecture. It goes without saying that the company doesn’t need to introduce a new flagship just to one-up itself. And yet Intel is yanking the cover from a fresh Core i7 CPU: the 975 Extreme.
Although it runs a scant 133MHz faster than its predecessor, we’re hardly able to complain, as this processor costs just as much as the one it replaces. As with the 965 Extreme, Intel’s latest iteration boasts four cores armed with Hyper-Threading. Its QuickPath Interconnect operates at 6.4 GT/s. And the processor’s triple-channel integrated memory controller supports up to DDR3-1066 speeds (officially). Of course, most motherboards expose additional multipliers to push RAM significantly faster, and we were able to get our test platform cruising at DDR3-2133 as part of our overclocking gauntlet. The processor itself topped out at 4.12GHz via a 31X multiplier, standard 133MHz BCLK, and 1.38V.
Performance using those overclocked settings is naturally unrivaled. Even at stock settings, however, our benchmark results are impressive. As we’d expect given Core i7’s established track record in A/V software, DivX and Xvid encoding is lightning-fast. And because WinRAR is optimized to take advantage of threading, it’s able to compress our test archive using all eight of Core i7’s logical cores.
At the end of the day, we appreciate a 3.33GHz processor at the same price as Intel’s former flagship. But at $999, “value” is most definitely a relative term. The 2.66GHz Core i7-920 is still an undeniable favorite. After all, most of the samples we’ve seen are good for 4GHz, so long as you’re willing to overclock. Without question, that’s the route we’d take in building a brand new Core i7-based machine
Windows XP/Vista store the DNS information of Web sites you’ve visited, to reach those sites faster each time you access them. The cache sometimes gets corrupted or stores a lot of unusable data, and that leads to slower Internet response times. To clear the cache, go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns. The command purges the DNS cache and restores your Internet access speed.