All versions of Windows have recently been hit by one of those critical vulnerabilities all PC users have come to know and love over the years, this one a particularly nasty affair.
So much so that Microsoft has decided to break stride with its usual security schedule and roll out an emergency patch to tackle the [...]
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Microsoft to release emergency patch for shortcut exploit
Microsoft is warning computer users that their equipment should have the service pack 3 installed, because it is ending its support for the service pack 2.
Yesterday was the last set of security patches sent out for service pack 2, therefore any user that fails to change up to service pack 3 could be putting their security at risk from a number of different angles.
The problem is that the cybercriminals also know this and are free to exploit any vulnerability that the unprotected computer has.
Of course, this does not just mean that XP is affected; this issue will also affect Internet Explorer, Outlook and Windows Media Player too.
It turns out that most home user are already using service pack 3, but for businesses this is a different matter with around 50 per cent of the computers running service pack 2.
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Windows XP service pack 2 support ends
Microsoft was due to end downgrade rights for Windows XP when the first service pack for Windows 7 emerged.
However, with the public beta release of SP1 for Windows 7, it appears that Microsoft has had a rethink in its customers best interests.
A spokesperson for the company wrote on the Windows Team Blog: “While the majority of customers are actively transitioning to Windows 7, and PC manufacturers are focused on delivering PCs and devices with Windows 7 pre-installed, our business customers have told us that the removing end-user downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional could be confusing, given the rights change would be made for new PCs pre-installed with Windows 7 and managing a hybrid environment with PCs that have different end-user rights based on date of purchase would be challenging to track.”
Therefore, Microsoft has decided it needs to maintain a more “straightforward” policy, and is thus extending the right to downgrade to Windows XP Professional.
Businesses will now be able to downgrade throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle, making it easier for customers to plan their deployment to Windows 7, Microsoft says.
The mobile rumour mill – not a portable rumour mill, but the grapevine regarding mobile phones – is in full swing this morning.
Mobile comparison website Omio has leaked out a road map which allegedly shows the up and coming handsets for later this year, and their target UK launch dates.
The big news is on the HTC front, with the company apparently planning to launch the “Gold” in November, a smartphone which will come loaded with Microsoft’s new mobile OS Windows Phone 7. Could this claw back some market share from Android for MS?
November promises to be a busy month, with the Nokia E7 potentially also coming out, an AMOLED display, Symbian^3 toting, full Qwerty keyboard effort from the Finns. Then there’s the Samsung i8700 Cetus, which will possibly be a high-end Bada handset.
Looking to the nearer future, the Nokia X6 8GB is expected in August, along with the BlackBerry Curve 9300 (which Omio reckons has a 3.2 megapixel keyboard – we’re more looking forward to the Qwerty camera, though, which takes pictures of you and displays them in ASCII text).
Expect the Nokia X2 in September, which Omio describes as a “slender candybar handset complete with dedicated music player buttons emblazoned down the sides”.
And the HTC Vision – snaps of which were leaked earlier this week – is set to arrive in October. The Vision is basically the Desire but with a Qwerty keyboard tacked on. HTC will also be bringing out a second model in October called the Ace, which Omio has no details on.
Other sources such as Gadgetorama point to the possibility that the HTC Ace may be a 4.3 inch AMOLED display phone, with a dual-core Snapdragon processor, and an 8 megapixel camera. Sounds like a beast.
Omio points out that these dates may be subject to change, and indeed could be old target launch dates which have already altered. However, the site says it has “little reason to doubt the veracity” of its source.
The dates and models certainly seem to have a ring of truth about them, so we look forward to sussing out Windows Phone 7 on the HTC Gold before Christmas. And the inevitable Spandau Ballet backed advert tune.
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HTC Gold Windows Phone 7 handset in November?
The much awaited Windows 7 series mobile phone operating system, has been given a release date of sorts.
It will become available as some time during October this year.
The new operating system, designed for easy use on the mobile phone platform, is supposed to be more radical and powerful than previous operating systems.
This is in fact one of the major changes in the mobile operating systems from Microsoft since the early days in 2004.
There are many promises but at the end of day, especially when it comes to operating systems, whether they are for smartphones, mobile phones or computers, the proof of their worth only comes when the consumer begins to use them.
It is a wonder that this operating system has made it at all, as it was cancelled a couple years ago.
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Windows 7 series phone launching in October
