Despite its inherent security shortcomings, the iPhone is now showing up for work alo...
Despite its inherent security shortcomings, the iPhone is now showing up for work alongside, or instead of, Research in Motion BlackBerries and Microsoft Windows Mobile handsets.
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Security Skeptics Invite iPhone into the Enterprise (PC World)
Despite its inherent security shortcomings, the iPhone is now showing up for work alongside, or instead of, Research in Motion BlackBerries and Microsoft Windows Mobile handsets.
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Security Skeptics Invite iPhone into the Enterprise (PC World)
How many duplicate files do you have on your machine? Do you have any idea? Have you ever looked? My guess is that the majority of PC users have never bothered to search for duplicate files and don’t realize that after a couple of years of use, a PC can pile up enough duplicate files to take up more space than you would like. Although hardware has become quite cheap, installing a simple application to contain widespread file duplication across a company can save thousands of dollars.
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder offers the following features:
But is Auslogics Duplicate File Finder the solution? Let’s install it, use it, and find out.
This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.
Installing Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is as simple as installing any other Windows application. Download the installation file from the TechRepublic Software Library. Once you have that file, just double-click it to begin the installation. You will not run into anything out of the ordinary during the installation.
Once the installation is complete, you can either run the application immediately or close the installation out and run the application from the Start menu.
If you open the Start menu, you will find a new entry labeled Auslogics. Within that directory, you will find three entries. The entry you want to click to start the application is labeled Auslogics Duplicate File Finder. When you click it, the application will run, revealing the main (and only window) for this tool, as shown in Figure A.
After you select what drive (or directory) you want to scan, you will be greeted with a second widow (Figure B) that allows you to configure the criteria for your search. From this window you can get somewhat granular with your search by dictating the tool search for duplicates in Name and/or Date, Size, Contents, or Image type.
Once you have configured your criteria, click the Scan button, and the Duplicate Finder will do its thing.
I have found that searching for duplicate files larger than 1MB will often lead to fewer matches but a faster scan. If you are primarily concerned with saving space, you will most likely want to search for larger files first. When your results are displayed (Figure C), you can then go through the listing and delete all the files you want to delete.
Obviously you will want to use caution when deleting duplicate files. You will inevitably find files that have the same name but either are not for the same application or serve different functions. So when you are faced with deleting files whose names you are not sure of, make sure you check the path the files are located in before you delete them. This isn’t such an issue when you check the Ignore Files Smaller Than option, because most critical system files are going to be smaller than 1MB.
If you opt to scan file contents for duplicates, you might want to run this scan overnight, because it does slow the scan down considerably. A scan that would take less than 30 seconds (on my nearly fresh Windows 7 installation) takes nearly ten minutes. Understand that is a Virtual Machine installation on a VM that is under 10 gigs. A much larger drive, with many more files, will take considerably more time. The results, however, paint a far more accurate picture.
I have found this application to be outstanding for locating duplicate files from installations and downloads. On the contrary, Duplicate Finder is not so great at locating user-created files. I have run tests on both Windows XP and Windows 7 for .txt and .doc files saved before and after the installation of Duplicate File Finder, and the application could not locate the duplicate files. The only way around this is to uncheck Match Date and Time, Match Size, and Ignore Files Smaller Than. You will also need to check All File Types. You will get a warning indicating that ”The selected file matching the following criteria are not safe.” Go ahead with the scan, but use caution when deleting files.
Outside of that issue, I have found the application to be a simple, quick method to reduce duplication on your hard drives.
If you keep your operating systems running for months and years, this tool might well be one that you should be employing. By scanning for duplicate files, you can gain back precious hard drive space and keep that PC running smoothly.
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In the October 9th edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, The Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program ensures compatibility for Windows 7, I explained that in addition to improving performance of the new operating system, Microsoft put a great deal of effort into making sure that Windows 7 is extremely compatible with new and existing hardware and software.
To boost this effort, Microsoft established the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program, which is designed to help Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), developers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs) work towards compatibility with Windows 7 by providing them with access to all kinds of resources and more direct contact with Microsoft including access to application testing labs through Microsoft Connect.
Also in that article I mentioned that Mark Relph, the Senior Director with the Windows Ecosystem Team, reported on the success of the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program by pointing out that over 50,000 developers from 17,000 companies are taking part in the program. He also highlighted the fact that more than 6,000 hardware and software products have received the Compatible with Windows 7 Logo.
To highlight the results of the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program, the company created the Ready. Set. 7. Web site where you can find a list of companies and detailed descriptions of the products that have received the Compatible with Windows 7 Logo. Microsoft also launched the Windows 7 Compatibility Center Web site, to assist you in finding detailed information about compatible products. While both the Ready. Set. 7. and the Windows 7 Compatibility Center site are great resources, they both require you to wade through a lot of material as you conduct your investigations.
To make these compatibility investigations more productive for IT professionals, this week Microsoft released the Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals, an Excel-based spreadsheet that provides one-stop access to a complete list of software applications (more than 5,500 applications) which have undergone the Windows 7 Logo Program testing program for compatibility with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.
In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll examine the Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals spreadsheet and provide you with an overview of what you can find in it.
This blog post is also available in the PDF format in a free TechRepublic Download.
You can download the Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals spreadsheet from the Microsoft Download Center. The spreadsheet is saved as a Microsoft Excel 97-2003 worksheet so it is easily accessible regardless of what version of Office you are using.
When you open the spreadsheet and access the Application List worksheet tab, as shown in Figure A, you’ll discover that the worksheet is arranged with column headings that provide the Application Name, Major and Minor Version numbers, the Company Name and Home Page address followed by the compatibility columns: 32-bit Windows 7 Compat Status and 64-bit Windows 7 Compat Status.
In these columns, you’ll find one of the following status classifications:
The last two columns on the worksheet indicate the dates on which the status was last updated for both the 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows. These dates will be of particular importance to you if your application has a status of Future Compatibility or Information Coming Soon.
It is very important to keep in mind that many software publishers are actively involved and working with Microsoft on compatibility testing and that a product’s status may very well change. As such, Microsoft will be updating the Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals spreadsheet on a regular basis, so it is important to keep checking the Version and Date Published dates in the Quick Details section of the download page, as shown in Figure B.
What’s your take? Will you download and use the Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals spreadsheet? As always, if you have comments or information to share about this topic, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.
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Operating systems and applications can always be reinstalled, but your data is unique, making it the most important thing on your computer or network.
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When you think about it, the most valuable thing on your computer or network is the data you create. After all, that data is the reason for having the computer and network in the first place — and it’s the bits and bytes that make up that data that are your first priority when putting protective strategies in place. Operating systems and applications can always be reinstalled, but user-created data is unique and if lost, may be irreplaceable.
Some data is also confidential; not only do you not want to lose it, you don’t want others to even view it without authorization. Exposure of your social security number, credit card, and bank account information could subject you to identity theft. Company documents may contain trade secrets, personal information about employees or clients, or the organization’s financial records.
Let’s look at some ways to protect your all-important user data from loss and/or unauthorized access.
This blog post is also available in the PDF format as a free TechRepublic Download. Adapted from a 10 Things article published April 17, 2006.
The single most important step in protecting your data from loss is to back it up regularly. How often should you back up? That depends — how much data can you afford to lose if your system crashes completely? A week’s work? A day’s work? An hour’s work?
You can use the backup utility built into Windows (ntbackup.exe) to perform basic backups. You can use Wizard Mode to simplify the process of creating and restoring backups or you can configure the backup settings manually and you can schedule backup jobs to be performed automatically.
There are also numerous third-party backup programs that can offer more sophisticated options. Whatever program you use, it’s important to store a copy of your backup offsite in case of fire, tornado, or other natural disaster that can destroy your backup tapes or discs along with the original data.
To keep others out of your data, the first step is to set permissions on the data files and folders. If you have data in network shares, you can set share permissions to control what user accounts can and cannot access the files across the network. With Windows 2000/XP, this is done by clicking the Permissions button on the Sharing tab of the file’s or folder’s properties sheet.
However, these share-level permissions won’t apply to someone who is using the local computer on which the data is stored. If you share the computer with someone else, you’ll have to use file-level permissions (also called NTFS permissions, because they’re available only for files/folders stored on NTFS-formatted partitions). File-level permissions are set using the Security tab on the properties sheet and are much more granular than share-level permissions.
In both cases, you can set permissions for either user accounts or groups, and you can allow or deny various levels of access from read-only to full control.
Many productivity applications, such as Microsoft Office applications and Adobe Acrobat, will allow you to set passwords on individual documents. To open the document, you must enter the password. To password-protect a document in Microsoft Word 2003, go to Tools | Options and click the Security tab. You can require a password to open the file and/or to make changes to it. You can also set the type of encryption to be used.
Unfortunately, Microsoft’s password protection is relatively easy to crack. There are programs on the market designed to recover Office passwords, such as Elcomsoft’s Advanced Office Password Recovery (AOPR). This type of password protection, like a standard (non-deadbolt) lock on a door, will deter casual would-be intruders but can be fairly easily circumvented by a determined intruder with the right tools.
You can also use zipping software such as WinZip or PKZip to compress and encrypt documents.
Windows 2000, XP Pro, and Server 2003 support the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this built-in certificate-based encryption method to protect individual files and folders stored on NTFS-formatted partitions. Encrypting a file or folder is as easy as selecting a check box; just click the Advanced button on the General tab of its properties sheet. Note that you can’t use EFS encryption and NTFS compression at the same time.
EFS uses a combination of asymmetric and symmetric encryption, for both security and performance. To encrypt files with EFS, a user must have an EFS certificate, which can be issued by a Windows certification authority or self-signed if there is no CA on the network. EFS files can be opened by the user whose account encrypted them or by a designated recovery agent. With Windows XP/2003, but not Windows 2000, you can also designate other user accounts that are authorized to access your EFS-encrypted files.
Note that EFS is for protecting data on the disk. If you send an EFS file across the network and someone uses a sniffer to capture the data packets, they’ll be able to read the data in the files.
There are many third-party products available that will allow you to encrypt an entire disk. Whole disk encryption locks down the entire contents of a disk drive/partition and is transparent to the user. Data is automatically encrypted when it’s written to the hard disk and automatically decrypted before being loaded into memory. Some of these programs can create invisible containers inside a partition that act like a hidden disk within a disk. Other users see only the data in the “outer” disk.
Disk encryption products can be used to encrypt removable USB drives, flash drives, etc. Some allow creation of a master password along with secondary passwords with lower rights you can give to other users. Examples include PGP Whole Disk Encryption and DriveCrypt, among many others.
A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a system for managing public/private key pairs and digital certificates. Because keys and certificates are issued by a trusted third party (a certification authority, either an internal one installed on a certificate server on your network or a public one, such as Verisign), certificate-based security is stronger.
You can protect data you want to share with someone else by encrypting it with the public key of its intended recipient, which is available to anyone. The only person who will be able to decrypt it is the holder of the private key that corresponds to that public key.
You can use a steganography program to hide data inside other data. For example, you could hide a text message within a .JPG graphics file or an MP3 music file, or even inside another text file (although the latter is difficult because text files don’t contain much redundant data that can be replaced with the hidden message). Steganography does not encrypt the message, so it’s often used in conjunction with encryption software. The data is encrypted first and then hidden inside another file with the steganography software.
Some steganographic techniques require the exchange of a secret key and others use public/private key cryptography. A popular example of steganography software is StegoMagic, a freeware download that will encrypt messages and hide them in .TXT, .WAV, or .BMP files.
Your data can be captured while it’s traveling over the network by a hacker with sniffer software (also called network monitoring or protocol analysis software). To protect your data when it’s in transit, you can use Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)–but both the sending and receiving systems have to support it. Windows 2000 and later Microsoft operating systems have built-in support for IPsec. Applications don’t have to be aware of IPsec because it operates at a lower level of the networking model.
Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) is the protocol IPsec uses to encrypt data for confidentiality. It can operate in tunnel mode, for gateway-to-gateway protection, or in transport mode, for end-to-end protection. To use IPsec in Windows, you have to create an IPsec policy and choose the authentication method and IP filters it will use. IPsec settings are configured through the properties sheet for the TCP/IP protocol, on the Options tab of Advanced TCP/IP Settings.
Data that you send over a wireless network is even more subject to interception than that sent over an Ethernet network. Hackers don’t need physical access to the network or its devices; anyone with a wireless-enabled portable computer and a high gain antenna can capture data and/or get into the network and access data stored there if the wireless access point isn’t configured securely.
You should send or store data only on wireless networks that use encryption, preferably Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), which is stronger than Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP).
If you need to send data to others but are worried about protecting it once it leaves your own system, you can use Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to control what the recipients are able to do with it. For instance, you can set rights so that the recipient can read the Word document you sent but can’t change, copy, or save it. You can prevent recipients from forwarding e-mail messages you send them and you can even set documents or messages to expire on a certain date/time so that the recipient can no longer access them after that time.
To use RMS, you need a Windows Server 2003 server configured as an RMS server. Users need client software or an Internet Explorer add-in to access the RMS-protected documents. Users who are assigned rights also need to download a certificate from the RMS server.
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The Netstat utility can help solve vexing connectivity issues – but its command-line interface isn’t for everyone. This free Vista / Windows 7 gadget makes the tool much easier to use.
The difficulty in troubleshooting TCP/IP connectivity problems on a Windows network stems from the sheer number of connections and services on a particular system. Identifying the status of the connections and determining which services are running can help you narrow down the search, but doing so takes time. However, an underused Windows command-line utility, Netstat, can shorten the time it takes to hunt down rogue connections by quickly providing information about client services and TCP/IP communications.
Unfortunately, because Netstat is a command-line tool, admins often avoid it. So to make the Netstat tool a bit easier to use, I created the Netstat Gadget, which automates the Netstat command. Let’s take a closer look.
The Netstat Gadget runs from the Windows Sidebar in Vista and the Desktop in Windows 7 and presents each of the Netstat command-line tool’s options on a flyout menu, as shown in Figure A. All you need to do is select the options you want to use and click the OK button. When you do, the Netstat Gadget opens a Command Prompt window and runs the Netstat command along with the selected options. If you need more information about an option, you can hover your mouse pointer over it to display a tooltip. You can also select the netstat /? check box.
Only one of the Netstat command’s parameters (-b) requires elevated privileges. (This parameter allows the Netstat command to display the executable involved in creating each connection or listening port.) As a result, you’ll encounter a UAC only when you select that option and click OK. Once you work through the UAC, the command runs.
When the Netstat Gadget sends the selected command to the Command Prompt window, the command line doesn’t appear in the window. If you want to see the command line, be sure that you select the Show Command Line check box before you click OK.
After you download the netstat_gadget_package.zip, you’ll find that it contains two files:
Simply extract both files to a folder of your choice and rename the Netstat.zip file to Netstat.gadget. Make sure that you have Windows Explorer configured to display file extensions. (On the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box, the Hide Extensions For Known File Types check box should not be selected.) Otherwise, the system might still have the file type set as .Zip even though it appears that you have renamed the extension to .gadget.
To continue, follow the appropriate steps for your version of Windows:
These steps are illustrated in Figure B.
As soon as you do, the Netstat Gadget will be installed in the Windows Sidebar and will be ready to use.
These steps are illustrated in Figure C.
As soon as you do, the Netstat Gadget will be installed in the Desktop and will be ready to use.
There are plenty of options available for backing up your files and folders. Most of these options are installable solutions that reside on one machine and one machine only. You can install these solutions onto a server and set up a backup server for your local network. But what about having a backup solution for on-the-go purposes? Imagine having a backup solution on a USB drive that you could use on any system? And imagine if that solution was free. Zback is that exact solution.
This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.
Zback can be installed on a local system or on a removable drive so that you can quickly and easily back up a system from a USB drive. Zback features include:
Add to these features the fact that the interface is easy to use and you have the perfect solution for portable backups. Not convinced yet? Let’s see just how easy Zback is to use.
There really is no installation required for Zback. Just follow these steps:
What is nice about this setup is that with a large enough USB drive you can run the application and backup to the USB drive all at once, creating an entirely portable, self-contained backup device. Of course, you do not have to use this from the USB device; you can keep the zback160 directory on your PC for local backups as well. And since the zback.exe is a self-contained executable file, you can right-click that file and select Pin to Start Menu to have easy startup access.
As stated earlier, Zback can be used in two ways: Manual or Batch. Let’s first take a look at doing a single Manual backup. When you open the Zback application, the main Zback window (Figure A) can be a little daunting.
To run a simple, single backup instance, you just select what you want to back up from the left tree and move it to the right tree. The simple steps are:
With Zback what you have to do is create a To Do list of items to back up. You can place only one “item” into the To Do list. Without the ability to create a Batch backup, this could be a problem in that you would be able to back up only one directory (and all of its subdirectories) at a time.
When you click the Make List button, you will see the lower pane fill up with information regarding your backup (Figure B).
As I mentioned earlier, there are options you can enable for a backup:
There are five modes to select from
If the backup you are doing will be one you will want to repeat, you should consider adding it to a batch process. To do this, make your To Do list and then click the Add2Batch button. When you click this button, you will be automatically switched to the Batch Backup tab (Figure C) where you can view the results. You can add more To Do lists to this batch file (as many as you need) by clicking back on the Manual Backup tab, creating a new To Do list, and adding the new To Do list to the batch. Once you have added all your To Do lists, go back to the Batch backup tab. You will also want to save the batch file by clicking the Save button and then giving the batch a name.
In order to actually run a batch list, you have to first load the list. To do this, double-click the list you want to load. Once the list has loaded, click the Exec B List button to execute the list. The lower pane will fill up with the report as the backup occurs.
Zback is an outstanding and simple solution to an often overly complicated process. And the ability to make Zback your portable solution makes Zback all the more useful. Although you will not find Zback solving your large-scale Enterprise backup needs, it will give you an on-the-go backup solution that will come in very handy.
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Today’s most productive knowledge worker takes advantages of multiple-tasking and multiple windows. Microsoft Windows 7 has new tools that make this environment more efficient.
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While many will simply brush off the new Aero UI features — Snap, Shake and Peek – as being nothing more than eye candy in Microsoft Windows 7, these three items have actually been designed to address the lack of any real improvement in a very common task that has been around since Windows came into being — managing multiple open windows.
If you’ve been working with the Windows operating system for a while, then you know that the problem of managing multiple open windows is an old one and that over the years, Microsoft really hasn’t devised anything new for you to more efficiently work with multiple open windows. Sure, there have been many advances in task management, but when it comes down to actual window management, there hasn’t been much innovation. That’s what makes Snap, Shake, and Peek so exciting.
In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll examine the management of multiple open windows in the Windows operating system over the years. I’ll then focus on the windows management solutions offered by the new Aero UI features: Snap, Shake, and Peek.
This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.
Before I begin, I want to preface this discussion by saying that I recognize that task switching plays a big role and is very intertwined in managing multiple open windows. However, I don’t want to get sidetracked by discussing task switching or the Taskbar. Instead, I want to stay focused on the display and manipulation of multiple open windows within the Windows operating system’s user interface.
Back in the Windows 3.x days, when task switching really came into being in the Windows graphical user interface, users could actually open multiple windows (applications) and concurrently perform multiple operations. You could minimize a window when you were ready to move to the next window, which you would maximize. To help you keep track of and work with multiple open windows in Windows 3.x, Microsoft provided the Task List window, which in addition to displaying a list of running applications, provided two buttons titled Cascade and Tile, as shown in Figure A.
Besides minimizing and maximizing, Cascade and Tile were the only features that were designed to allow you to rearrange the open windows on the desktop. More specifically, they were designed to allow you to be able to see all the open windows at the same time. (If certain windows were minimized, neither the Cascade or Tile actions would include them.)
When Microsoft introduced Windows 95, one of the key features in that operating system was the Taskbar, which appeared at the bottom of the desktop. With this new feature, every running program, whether maximized or minimized, had a button on the Taskbar, which made it easy to see exactly what programs were running.
While the Taskbar provided a better way to keep track of running programs, it really didn’t provide any new ways to work with multiple open windows. In fact, when you right-clicked on Windows 95’s Taskbar, a context menu appeared, as shown in Figure B, which provided only a slight variation from Windows 3.x’s window management features. While the Cascade command remained the same, the Tile command was now separated into two functions, Tile Horizontally and Tile Vertically. In addition to those commands, the Minimize All Windows command was added and allowed you to essentially clear all open windows so that you could access the desktop.
Those three window management features remained virtually unchanged from Windows 95 thru Windows Vista. Along the way they were renamed and Cascade became Cascade Windows; Tile Horizontally became Tile Windows Horizontally and then Show Windows Stacked; and Tile Vertically became Tile Windows Horizontally and then Show Windows Side by Side. In addition, the Minimize All Windows became the Show the Desktop command and was augmented with an icon on the Quick Launch bar. The Taskbar context menu is shown in Figure C.
(To be fair, Vista did introduce Flip 3D, which is a very interesting feature as far as viewing windows goes, but it really doesn’t count here, because it is aimed more at switching tasks than arranging open windows.)
As such, even though the Windows user interface changed over the years, we were basically stuck in the early 90’s as far as window management features went. Until Windows 7, that is.
With the introduction of Snap, we now have a completely new way of managing open windows. This feature allows you to arrange open windows, including maximizing and resizing, just by dragging and dropping a window to different edges of the screen. When a window is dragged to the correct position, a ripple effect will emanate from the cursor and you’ll see an animated outline of the window instantly appear in its new position. As soon as you release the mouse button, the window will snap to that position.
For example, you can maximize a window by clicking and dragging its title bar to the top of the screen. To restore a maximized window, just click and drag the title bar toward the middle of the screen. To position a window on half of the screen, just click and drag the title bar toward the left or right side of the screen. (The further to the right or left side of the title bar that you click and drag, the quicker the snap occurs.) To stretch a window that is in the middle of the screen so that it spans from the top to the bottom, just click the bottom or top edge and drag toward the bottom or top of the screen.
While in this simple explanation, Snap may not sound all that functional, once you begin using it to manipulate windows when you are running multiple applications, you’ll really begin to appreciate the capability that it brings to the user interface.
For example, when you need to copy files from one folder to another, you can use Snap to position two Windows Explorer windows side by side and easily drag files from one to the next. If you’re reading a long document in one window and want to keep an eye on a Desktop Gadget, you can use snap to stretch the document window from the top to the bottom of the screen. If you’re using multiple monitors, you’ll discover that Snap allows you to drag a maximized window from one monitor to the next.
If you continue using Snap, you’ll become more and more proficient at it. In fact, you’ll come to depend on it so much so that if and when you go to use Windows XP or Vista, you’ll definitely miss it when you find yourself manually dragging and resizing windows.
If you haven’t seen Snap in action, you can check out this ZDNet video demo.
If you’re interested in learning more about the development of Snap, you can check out the Designing Aero Snap article on the Engineering Windows 7 blog.
Shake also provides a new way to work with open windows. When you have multiple windows open at the same time, you can use Shake to quickly minimize all the open windows except the one that you want to focus on. Just click the title bar of the window you want to work with and while holding the mouse button down, shake the window back and forth. (You don’t have to shake wildly; just a couple of flicks of your wrist are all it takes.) When you do, all other open windows instantly minimize to the Taskbar. To restore all the minimized windows, just click and shake the window again.
Again, within this simple explanation, Shake might not sound all that functional; however, once you begin using it when running multiple applications, you’ll really begin to appreciate the capability that it brings to the user interface. Especially if you have to use Windows XP or Vista and find yourself manually minimizing multiple open windows.
If you haven’t seen Shake in action, you can check out this ZDNet video demo.
A vast improvement over the old Minimize All Windows and the Show Desktop commands, the new Peek feature allows you to instantaneously make all the open windows on the desktop become temporarily transparent so that you can see any icons or Gadgets on the desktop without having to minimize anything. To activate Peek, you just hover your mouse pointer over the transparent Show Desktop button in the bottom right corner of the screen. When you do, all you’ll see of the open windows is a faint outline, as shown in Figure D. When you move your pointer off the button, the windows reappear.
If you click the transparent Show Desktop button, of course, all open windows are minimized. Click it again, and all the minimized windows are restored.
Snap, Shake, and Peek may seem like nothing more than eye candy to the uninitiated, but once you begin using them on a day-to-day basis, you begin to take them seriously. It is such a practical feature that many third-party developers are now working on small applications that will allow you to emulate the effects in Windows XP and Vista. What’s your take on Snap, Shake, and Peek? If you have any questions or comments concerning these features, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.
TechRepublic’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report newsletter, delivered every Friday, offers tips, news, and scuttlebutt on Vista and Windows 7, including a look at new features in the latest version of the Windows OS. Automatically sign up today!
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This month’s actual “Patch Tuesday” items are short and sweet. So why is this month’s report so insanely long? Blame it on W7 and 2008R2, but not in a bad way! Microsoft is back-porting a lot of W7/2008R2 functionality to previous versions of Windows, and most of the interim patches are related to this effort. While I applaud Microsoft for doing this, and while I understand why they would want to release those items out of band, I think that most systems administrators would rather not see those kinds of items show up until the proper Patch Tuesday.
For information on previous patch Tuesdays, visit the TechRepublic Microsoft Patch Tuesday archives.
MS09-045/KB975542 – Critical (2000): This patch fixes a remote code execution exploit in Jscript 5.7 on Windows 2000. The patch has been available since December for other versions and other OS’s. 718 KB MS09-063/KB973565 – Critical (Vista, 2008): An attacker on the local subnet only could use a specially crafted packet to perform a remote code execution exploit against Vista and 2008. This is a surprising item, in that it only affects Vista and 2008. You will want to get this patch installed immediately, because it requires zero user interaction to trigger it, and the attacker gets full rights from what I can tell. 245 KB – 576 KB MS09-064/KB974783 – Critical (2000): A problem with the License Logging Server on Windows 2000 allows attackers to perform remote code execution exploits against the machine. You should install this patch on as soon as you can. 532 KB MS09-065/KB969947 – Critical (XP, 2000, 2003)/Important (Vista, 2008): There are a number of problems with the Windows kernel that allow attackers with carefully crafted fonts to attack the system. On 2000, XP, and 2003, these are remote code execution exploits. On Vista and 2008, there are “merely” escalation of privileges attacks. You should get this patch on your systems as soon as you can. 1.1 MB – 5.6 MB
MS09-066/KB973037 – Important (XP, 2000, 2003, 2008): A problem with various active Directory systems allows specially crafted LDAP queries to jam up the Active Directory system on servers. This is a low priority item, and the patch can wait until your next patch cycle. 800 KB – 5.6 MB MS09-067/KB973593 – Important (Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2004 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac, Open XML File Converter for Mac, Excel Viewer 2003, Office Compatibility Pack 2007 SP 1 and SP2): A number of problems with various applications than can open Excel files can lead to a remote code execution exploit. The damage is limited on systems with restricted user accounts. Microsoft calls this update “Important” but I feel that you will want to install it immediately, due to the user habit of opening any and every Office file they receive. MS09-068/KB976307 – Important (Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2004 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac, Open XML File Converter for Mac, Word Viewer): Similar to the Excel bug above, specially crafted Word documents can be used to perform remote code execution attacks, which may have lower permissions for restricted users. Again, the prevalence of Word files makes this more critical than the potential damage would normally indicate, so install this patch quickly. There is a known issue where Office XP users will need to re-agree to the software terms after installing this update. KB943729: 2008R2 and 2008 introduced new Group Policy items for Windows clients; this update makes these policies available to machines running XP and 2003. 700 MB – 890 KB KB960568: This update for Vista and 2008 adds BITS 4.0 functionality, which is used by much of the Windows Management system. 1.4 – 1.9 MB KB968930: Adds PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Remote Management 2.0 (for managing Windows computers via SOAP Web Service calls) to XP, Vista, 2003, and 2008. 6.1 MB – 35.9 MB “The Usual Suspects”: Updates to the Malicious Software Removal Tool (9.3 – 9.7 MB) and Junk Email filters (2.2 MB).Changed, but not significantly: Windows Media Center Update (KB975053).
We did not have any security patches release out of band since the last Patch Tuesday.
There have been a number of minor items added since the last Patch Tuesday:
Windows Media Center Update (KB975053) to fix problems with ISDB broadcasts (Japanese broadcasts). 305 KB – 645 KB Windows 7 Application Compatibility Update (KB975891), which fixes issues with certain HP printers and their software. 194 KB Update to the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program (KB975889), this update is not really worth installing unless you really care about the CEIP system 30 KB IE8 Compatibility View List (KB975364). 38 KB – 684 KB Windows Media Player/Set program access issue update (KB972145) – if you have been having problems using “Set Program Access and Computer Defaults” to disallow access to Windows Media Player, this update fixes it. 16 MB – 22 MB Platform Update for 2008 and Vista (KB971644) brings some of the new programming libraries introduced in W7 and 2008R2 to 2008 and Vista. 7.2 MB – 18 MB WPD Update for Vista (KB971514) adds some of W7’s functionality for portable devices to Vista. 3 MB – 4 MB Automation and Accessibility Updates (KB971513) which introduces some of W7’s user interface automation and accessibility libraries to 2003, XP, Vista, and 2008. 760 KB – 1.3 MB Graphics Update for 2008 and Vista (KB971512) adds some of W7’s improvements to the Windows Graphics subsystem to Vista and 2008. 4.6 MB – 9.7 MB Windows Ribbon and Animations for Vista and 2008 (KB960362) – W7 and 2008R2 ship with a Ribbon component and animation libraries that developers can leverage in their applications; this update brings that functionality into Vista and 2008. 1.9 MB – 3 MB IE Update (KB976749) resolves problems in IE that are caused by security patch MS09-054/KB974455. 1.5 MB – 13.1 MBTechRepublic’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report newsletter, delivered every Friday, offers tips, news, and scuttlebutt on Vista and Windows 7, including a look at new features in the latest version of the Windows OS. Automatically sign up today!
