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Leaks from within Microsoft have revealed a suite of hi-tech new features for Microsoft's Windows Phone - including new software that will let the phones share apps with Windows PCs. A video, of Windows Phone chief Joe Belfiore, and supposedly for consumption by Microsoft's partner Nokia, lists a variety of hi-tech features due in a forthcoming update to Windows Phone software. The key feature is that apps can be shared more easily with Windows PCs, in the same way as software is shared across Apple's iPhone and iPad.

Opinions? PC tech mystery Last week my hard working Sony VGC RA840G PC (circa 2005), 2.8ghz, 3gb ram, under XP media center (a gift), which came with a hard-to-ID mobo (appears to be a Asus p5lp-vx), would not boot into Windows, but would just hang at the stage when loading settings would take place. It would boot using safe mode, but even booting with only windows services (chosen via msconfig) would result in the same terminal hang. In safe mode I scanned the system with an up to date online scan (Bit Defender), as well as Kapersky root kit scanner...

An unpatched critical flaw in 64-bit Windows 7 leaves computers vulnerable to a full 'blue screen of death' system crash. The memory corruption bug in x64 Win 7 could also allow malicious kernel-level code to be injected into machines, security alert biz Secunia warns. Fortunately the 32-bit version of Windows 7 is immune to the flaw, which has been pinned down to the win32k.sys operating system file - which contains the kernel portion of the Windows user interface and related infrastructure.Proof-of-concept code showing how to crash vulnerable Win 7 boxes has been leaked: the simple HTML script, when opened in...

An unnamed computer virus is compromising the security of U.S. Reaper and Predator drones as they fly missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Pakistan. Wired reports the virus was found about two weeks ago and hasn't kept the drone pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from conducting missions. There haven't been any reports of classified data breaches, but the virus has resisted the military's best efforts to remove it.

With the announcement that the Windows 8 Metro UI's browser would be plug-in (and therefore Flash) free, a major milestone on the road to HTML5 adoption was reached. But we're still not out of the woods yet. Apple was the first major operating system company to really start the trip down this road, with Steve Job's insistence that iOS, the core OS for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad product lines, would no longer support Abobe's Flash, citing instability and battery life concerns. Instead, Apple went with HTML5-based protocols for video and dynamic content. This week, we saw Microsoft joining...

What does the Windows 8 Developer Preview have to do with the Linux desktop? Not much, you might think at first, especially since the final version is likely to be vastly different than the preview. But as I explored the preview, I couldn't help asking myself: is this the first hint of how major desktops will look in the future on all operating systems? It's a distinct and -- for a Linux desktop user -- an alarming possibility.If you haven't already downloaded the Windows 8 Developer Preview, then Jason Perlow's informal video will give you the general idea (as well...

You, yes you, can now download a copy of Windows 8. This marks the first time that Microsoft has released a pre-beta version of one of their flagship programs to the general public. I wonder where they got that idea. Could it be from Linux? After all Linux distributions has been making early versions available to the public since Linux started 20-years ago. The Windows 8 Developer Preview alpha build, was released shortly after 8 PM Eastern on Tuesday, September 13th. The last time, debuted a similar developers preview of Windows 7 in October 2008, the company limited the early...

Secure boot only works in UEFI mode, thus preventing legacy booting in 16-bit mode. The Linux community has been quick to point out that generating signed bootloaders may be problematic for open source operating systems.

I am using a family member's Mac this weekend. I have a bunch of stuff I moved to the trash that I want to delete. However, they already had their own stuff already located in the trash. So, both of our junk is in the same trash. With Windows, it's very simple to delete specific files from the Recycle bin. Is it even possible to delete only specific files from the trash on a Mac? My googling tells me this is not possible. For real? What the Mac forums tells me is this: Create a new folder on the desktop...

Years ago, I was a reasonably content Windows desktop user. Then something remarkable took place that changed everything: I began stumbling upon various open source projects that I found to be nothing short of amazing.The first open source application I happened upon was a project called "Firebird." Destined to become what we today refer to as the Firefox Web browser, Firebird offered me a whole new way to look at software.Even back in the early days of the Firebird/Firefox browser, I knew it was going to take off like crazy as development began to pickup. As time went on, I...

Microsoft’s security used to be a joke. Its operating systems were riddled with bugs that were exploited by hackers and mocked at conferences such as Black Hat, the Las Vegas confab for security technology. But yesterday, one of the independent security researchers at the conference praised Microsoft’s progress on improving security. Chris Paget, chief hacker at security consulting firm Recursion Ventures, is a well-known figure at the twin Black Hat and Defcon conferences in Las Vegas, having demonstrated a live interception of a cell phone call last year. In her talk this year, she said she hated the limitations of...

Good afternoon! I'm looking for two tools to help with some issues I am encountering. First, I'd really appreciate some recommendations on *licensed* tools I can use to recover deleted items from a hard drive or solid state drive using Windows 7 and BitLocker. Second, I need some recommendations on a decent tool to recover passwords and to fix corrupted pst files in Outlook 2010. I really appreciate any suggestions that can be sent my way with bonus Brownie Points if you include links! Thank you!

Profits at the world's biggest software maker climbed to $5.87bn (£3.6bn) for the past three months, a 30pc increase on the same period last year. Revenues rose 8pc to $17.4bn, topping Wall Street's expectations. It was Microsoft's business division, which includes the Office set of software, that again delivered the growth. Microsoft had business spending to thank for a rise in profits in a quarter that saw consumers abandon personal computers in greater numbers. Sales of the Windows operating system, which comes pre-installed on most of the PCs sold in the world, edged slightly lower in the quarter.

Looking for Linux alternatives to Windows software? Here are twenty choice Linux apps you might want to consider.  1- LibreOffice: Some might point out that Oracle's own Open Office is still very much an option, but the fact is that Linux distributions are or have already migrated to LibreOffice in its stead. Unlike the proprietary-friendly Microsoft Office, LibreOffice offers the end-user much of the same functionality without the added cost of proprietary licensing. However, the biggest downside to LibreOffice has to be the lack of proper formatting support when opening a Microsoft docx document. While the document may be supported,...

Microsoft's past operating system woes might have some people living in the past While many computer lovers eagerly await the arrival of Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion, a massive segment of users takes a decidedly slower approach when it comes to embracing new operating systems. According to an uber-detailed infographic by blog Manolution, 40.7% of users still run Windows XP on their computers. XP, which was released way back in October 2001, has since been succeeded by both the not-so-well-received Windows Vista, as well as Windows 7. In that same time frame, a half-dozen new versions of Apple's...

First the setup: Computer is a Dell Dimension E521 running Windows Vista Home Premium. My antivirus software is AVG free edition. The other day, I ran the AV, using the "Rootkit scanner". The PC was acting slower than usual, even after a few complete scans. The rootkit scan showed a file that was possibly malware. I chose to remove that file. The AV then prompted me to restart for the change to take effect. Now, Windows will not start. A black screen appears with this message: "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause....

This week, Microsoft revealed a little of what to expect from the next Windows operating system. With its Windows Phone look and touch - literally - and tiles everywhere, it will be a major refresh, but there's a still a number of unanswered questions. Here are my top five: Can Microsoft keep desktop users happy with Windows 8? In demonstrations this week, Windows 8 is shown running legacy applications like Office side-by-side with the hip new OS. But the version of Windows 8 that runs on the ARM processor won't have legacy support. That creates an OS quandary. While Microsoft...

Does it seem like there is a lot of malware out there lately? Well, that’s because there is. Microsoft reported that one out of every 14 programs downloaded is Windows malware, and Internet Explorer (IE) blocks between 2 and 5 million attacks for IE8 and IE9 users. That really is a lot of malware. An article at PC Magazine stated: Application Reputation, a security feature of IE9, not only uses URL-based methods to detect sites that could be hiding malware, but also looks at the file itself and determines if others have downloaded it. A newly created file might not...

Rootkit writers have started exploiting a loophole that lets them write malware able to bypass the PatchGuard driver signing protection built into 64-bit versions of Windows, Kaspersky Lab has reported. A product of the BlackHole Exploit Kit, a hugely successful kit for building malware to hit specific software vulnerabilities, the first element of the attack on a system is straightforward enough, using a downloader to hit the system through two common Java and Adobe Reader software flaws. On 64-bit Windows systems open to these exploits, this calls a 64-bit rootkit, Rootkit.Win64.Necurs.a., which executes the 'bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON command, normally...

Yes. It’s true. For the first time, Mac users have a significant malware problem. But, hey, it could be worse. You could be running Windows. After all, Microsoft, not some third-party anti-virus company trying to drum up business, has just admitted that based on analysis gained from IE 9 use, “1 out of every 14 programs downloaded is later confirmed as malware.” If I may quote from Matthew 7:5, the King James Bible, “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”Window PCs...

I need some computer advice, and I don't know of a better place than FR. My desktop pc is warning me that it is ready for retirement: sound is off, sometimes does not allow me to type, keeps freezing... My problem is that I love Windows XP and both my husband and son have Vista and they do nothing but complain about it. Can anybody give me an objective opinion of Windows 7? What do you like/dislike about it? If you had a choice between Windows XP and Windows 7, which one would you choose? Thanks to everybody!

Security researchers have outlined a way to hijack huge amounts of confidential network traffic by exploiting default behavior in Microsoft's Windows operating system. The MITM, or man-in-the-middle, attacks described on Monday take advantage of features added to recent versions of Windows that make it easy for computers to connect to networks using the next generation IPv6 protocol. The attack will also work against Apple's OS X for Macs, although the proof-of-concept has not been tested on that platform, said Jack Koziol, a program manager at InfoSec Institute, an information security services company. The attack exploits an industry standard known as...

I was reading on the internet when all of a sudden my screen went blue and said it was shutting down. My computer restarted fine and the error for this said: "Download updates for PX Engine PX Engine has stopped working properly. To solve this problem, go to the Roxio Software website to download and install the update" I have never seen or heard of such a thing. My kids burn CD's, etc. but I have no clue what this is! Thanks for your help. Dell Inspiron Windows Vista Home Premium All AV and Malware programs updated daily

Are the glory days over for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone? Market researcher IDC thinks so. In its smartphone forecast released Tuesday, IDC sees Apple’s global market share hitting a plateau of 15.7% in 2011. It sees Apple’s share of the market dipping to 15.3% by 2015. IDC predicts that Apple’s smartphone sales will grow at a compound annual rate of 18.8% from 2011 to 2015, while the overall market grows at 19.6%.

As expected, Microsoft launched the Release to Market version of Internet Explorer 9 on Monday. The rollout began earlier in the day with a launch in the UK, and was heralded at an event at SXSWi in Austin, Texas. The browser will be available in 39 languages across the globe, and can be downloaded at Beautyoftheweb.com or right here in our FileForum at midnight EST March 15. "The browser is only as good as the operating system it runs on," Internet Explorer general manager Dean Hachamovich said on Monday evening's event in Austin. But with HTML5 letting the browser tap...

We have two desktops in our household. Just a couple of weeks ago, my wife's WinXP desktop, at that time just under 3 years old (not on warranty), started going blue screen every day at least once, always when she was using it, but you could always reboot it. I took a pic of the BSOD and emailed it to a computer service guy friend, and he said that machine was on the way out, and not worth repairing. We turned off the machine, bought a new computer, then I transferred my wife's data to the new machine. I wanted...

A spate of thefts in several towns and villages in Kent and Surrey over the past few months led to many householders taking action to protect their property. Some have been warned by police that using wire mesh to reinforce shed windows was ''dangerous’’ and could lead to criminals claiming compensation if they ''hurt themselves’’. Thieves target sheds to steal lawnmowers, power drills, bicycles and a variety of DIY tools. Thomas Cooper, of Tatsfield, Surrey, used wire mesh to protect three of his garden sheds after two break-ins over the past four years. He decided to take action after reports...

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – A unified effort has lopped the head off a treacherous Conficker computer worm but the malicious computer code lives on in infected machines. A Conficker Working Group report available online on Tuesday said the alliance has prevented the people who released the worm from using it to command computers as an army of machines referred to as a "botnet." "Nearly every person interviewed for this report said this aspect of the effort has been successful," the group said in a summary of its findings. The group considered is biggest failure as "the inability to remediate infected...

My computer is infected with malware that hijacks Google. I have swept with Webroot and Avast! No luck. Help? I prefer not to get into the registry - I lack the skills. I will be out for awhile, so thanks to all in advance.

While I was on my flight to Alaska, Mary Jo beat me to the punch with the news that more than 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold by the manufacturers since the launch in late October (Europe) and early November (U.S.). While these numbers do not show the total bought by consumers, it still is pretty impressive and much more than what some have predicted. Device sales isn’t the whole story with Windows Phone 7 though as we also see a huge growth in applications with over 4,000 apps now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Device...

A new report from NSS Labs studies how various Web browsers perform when it comes to blocking socially-engineered attacks. The startling results show that Internet Explorer isn't just better than rival browsers like Chrome and Firefox--but leaves competitors completely in the dust. ... NSS Labs reviewed Internet Explorer 8 and 9, Firefox 3.6, Safari 5, Chrome 6, and Opera 10 to see how well each browser helps users recognize and avoid these attacks. Data was collected 24/7 for eleven days, with 39 discrete tests run every six hours. The testing included 636 URLs identified as potentially malicious. ... Meanwhile, Internet...

Another mammoth Microsoft security update will fix the final bug that allowed the Stuxnet d. But as news that Stuxnet r problem in Iran, Congress n warned that it could be a cyber warfare. update has 17 bull

I'm working at a company where our email is handled by Google Apps the usual way. Where we open browsers to http://mail.OURDOMAIN.com and then we type in usernames (tied to our domain) and passwords. My non-technical supervisor came to me and asked me why he can no longer log into the account with the username of "sysadmin", which has important info we need. After confirming that the username and password did not fail as a result of a typing error, I then sent email from INSIDE our domain to the administrator account at sysadmin@OURDOMAIN.com. I got the first "hard bounce"...

Today, in 1985, Windows 1.0 is released. It turned out to be a big deal.

How many times have you heard this statement: "It's the year of the Linux desktop." Not recently? Then how about "Linux is making gains on the Windows desktop"? Still leaving a bad taste in your mouth? Bet I know why. For years, both the statements above have been over-used to the point that either idea is now completely meaningless. Not due to anything negative with the Linux desktop, mind you, rather due to inherent differences in how Linux is marketed to the world, who its intended audience is and whether mainstream adoption even matters in the first place. Let's blame...

Microsoft says it has sold 240 million Windows 7 licenses since releasing the operating system to retailers a year ago, making it the fastest-selling OS in the company's history. Also, as of September, the successor to the much-maligned Windows Vista was running on 93% of new consumer PCs, Microsoft said Thursday. According to Web metrics firm Net Applications, Windows 7 accounted for 17.1% of the global OS market as of the end of September and had surpassed Vista in July. In the six months after Windows 7 started appearing on store shelves, all of Microsoft's more than 18,000 computer-making partners...

As more noise in favor of GNU/Linux is heard, some people might feel tempted to replace their solid, green-red-blue-and-yellow Windows system with an unknown, shady, black-and-white Linux penguin. Some of these users, thinking they are about to enter the Promised Land, fail to fully consider the disastrous consequences that abandoning the firm, old Windows tradition may cause. In this light, I found appropriate to let these naive migrants know a number of issues to consider before they take the leap to their doom. These issues are based on empirical, but honest observation and may bring upon me the deepest animosity...

I have both Windows Vista 64/SP2 and Windows Media Player 11, can I play Blu ray DVDs on my computer? I have a LCD 1920 X 1080 HD screen.

Vice President Biden Touts Weatherization Program Biden Visits NH Home To Mark Milestone In Federal Program UPDATED: 12:38 pm EDT August 26, 2010 MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Vice President Joe Biden visited New Hampshire on Thursday to note a milestone in a federal program to improve home energy efficiency. Biden went to the home of Lyn Dumont, a single mother of two children who learned this week that her house was going to be part of the weatherization program. Biden said that with her house, 200,000 homes have been made more energy efficient under the program. While acknowledging that these are...

We know you love Windows XP, and you're in good company. Millions of Windows XP users are fans of the operating system, and many depend on Windows XP to run earlier applications and hardware that is not compatible with Windows 7. Windows 7 is designed to be compatible with the most popular hardware and software products you use every day and even though we are ending the sale of Windows XP on October 22, 2010, we still plan to provide support for Windows XP until April 2014.

My Firewall/Antivirus detected an infection of the "Packed.Win32.Krap.hm!A2" and http://www.threatexpert.com/report.aspx?md5=45e98426fafd221ffb7d55ce8a1ae531 says it's: A malicious trojan horse or bot that may represent security risk for the compromised system and/or its network environment. I tried to block it and delete the infected files, but that just set off an attack against my computer, which caused me to reload from backup several times. How do I get rid of this nightmare, and prevent it from coming back?

Researchers have identified a kernel-level vulnerability in Windows that allows attackers to gain escalated privileges and may also allow them to remotely execute malicious code. All versions of the Microsoft OS are affected, including the heavily fortified Windows 7. The buffer overflow, which was originally reported here, can be exploited to escalate privileges or crash vulnerable machines, IT research company Vupen said. The flaw may also allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The bug resides in the “CreateDIBPalette()” function of a device driver known as “Win32k.sys.” It is exploited by pasting a large number of color values...

I am at wits end here because of a problem when I run Windows XP on my iMac via bootcamp, so I am hoping some brainy FReeper can help me out. The problem is that the display dims immediately after I log in, and I can't find the controls to brighten it back up to normal. It's almost as if it is going into some sort of screen-saver mode. Note that there is absolutely no problem when I launch my spouse's profile or guest. It only happens when I log into my profile. And, it only happens when I am...

Microsoft is hard at work preparing a Windows-based alternative to Apple's already-popular iPad tablet, the company's CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts on Thursday. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Asus, Lenovo, and Toshiba are cooperating with Microsoft on such a device, expected later this year, in a bid to catch up with Apple and Google Android. "It is job-one urgency around here. Nobody's sleeping at this point," Ballmer told analysts. The Microsoft CEO was also surprised to hear Apple sold more than 3 million iPads, since launched in April: "They've sold more than I'd like them to sell. We think about that," he said....

Jim Robinson has laid down the law with regard to tech thread flame wars. I am motivated to make sure we tech-thread-heads are aware of this. This vanity is a heads-up with regard to Jim's comments last night, and I've added a few thoughts of my own as an observer. Here's what Jim said: To All: [That goes for everyone.] I don’t see any reason whatsoever to be having flamewars on FR over computer products. Those who have a problem with Apple should just not buy the product and that takes care of that. Don’t come to FR to flame...

Now is a particularly good time to ditch Windows for good, for workstations as well as servers. For instance, now that Microsoft stopped supporting Windows Server 2003 on July 13, you'll need to find something different to use for your servers. Whether it's switching from Windows Server 2003 to 2008 or to Linux-based servers--or changing out tired and faulty Windows Vista desktops for the alien Windows 7 or something more user-friendly--Linux provides you with freedom and freedom of choice. You might believe that dumping Windows and switching to Linux is a difficult task, but the change in thought and the...

Here's another blow to those insist that Apple products are rock solid and unhackable: The security company Secunia reports that Apple products have more vulnerabilities than those of any other company. Oracle came in second place, with Microsoft in third. Secunia just issued a report that covers vulnerabilities for the first half of 2010, and it's not good news for Apple. The report (which you can download here) shows that Apple last had the most vulnerabilities of all vendors in 2005, before Oracle took over the top spot. And now Apple is on top again. You can see the chart,...

Here's one more piece of evidence that the Mac isn't the secure, locked-down system that its proponents claim: The organizer of the Pwn2Own hacking contest says that Windows 7 is more secure than Snow Leopard, and that Safari will be the first browser to fall victim in the upcoming hacking contest. Contest organizer Aaron Portnoy, who is the security research team lead with 3Com TippingPoint, the sponsor of Pwn2Own, told Computerworld's Gregg Keizer that: "Safari will be the first to go. [Safari will] be on Snow Leopard, which isn't on the same level as Windows 7." Last year at the...

In terms of speed, we can't deny the fact that Linux has an edge over Windows. This is because Linux is more efficient in handling computer resources when compared to the more bloated Windows. Through this speed advantage, it has been utilized on mobile devices and desktop PCs with limited hardware capabilities. Compared with Windows, Linux desktop boots faster and applications open up quicker and run snappier inside it. Linux servers are favored against those running on Windows because aside from being fast, they are also reliable and secure. I can go on and on explaining about its quickness but...