When all other Windows troubleshooting fails, try WMI Diagnostic Utility
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is an important Windows framework that is used by many system components, as well as plenty of third-party applications, so if it’s ever damaged then you could experience all kinds of odd system problems. There’s no single place that you can check to see whether WMI is working, either, as it’s just too complex, and so Microsoft has developed a script called the WMI Diagnostic Utility to provide some in-depth troubleshooting information.
The tool is aimed at system administrators and other IT professionals, so if you’re a Windows novice then it’s probably best to stay away. If you’ve even just a moderate level of PC experience, though -- you’ve no problems running the occasional tool at the command line, say – then it could be worth a look.
Microsoft claims expired SSL Certificate caused Azure outage
Microsoft's cloud service, Windows Azure, along with Team Foundation Service, suffered a major outage yesterday that also affected non-enterprise people, as it resulted in problems with Xbox Live as well. However, according to the Xbox Status page, the Live system, along with Xbox Music and Video, which were also affected, is back up and running.
Now, as of this morning we have some information on the root cause of the much-publicized problem. Brian Harry, Product Unit Manager for Team Foundation Server, blames the nine-hour outage on "an expired SSL certificate in Windows Azure storage". Harry goes on to explain that the company stores "source code files, Git repos, work item attachments and more" there and that "the expired certificate prevented access to any of this information, making much of the TFService functionality unavailable".
Mac malware invades Microsoft, too
How's this for a helluva endorsement for Windows security over OS X? Today, Microsoft acknowledged falling prey to "similar security intrusion" as Apple and Facebook. They got nabbed by a Java exploit affecting Apple's OS.
"We found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit that, were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations", says Microsoft security chief Matt Thomlinson.
Expect more-sophisticated Bank DDoS attacks this year
What's the end of February without some scare tactics? Gartner warns that one-quarter of distributed denial of service attacks this year will be against applications. Really? That low? I'm surprised the number isn't higher. After all, as enterprises shore up the network perimeter, HTTP remains open wide enough to drive a freight train through and for that long duration.
The attacks seek to overtax CPUs, disrupt applications and, ultimately, distract IT and security personnel. While they look over there, the bad boys are work over here. Gartner sees DDoS attacks as part of a larger trend singling out financial institutions.
Apple nearly catches up to Samsung in smart-connected device shipments
Analysts wouldn't generate new business without something fresh to sell. So they create new categories to tabulate, or dream up strange labels to describe them. Few quarters back, IDC rolled up PCs, smartphones and tablets into the "smart-connected devices" segment. Four things counted separately became something new, which also give schmoes like me something else to write about.
Yesterday, while my heart nearly failed writing about Chromebook Pixel, IDC released numbers for the segment, claiming 28.3 percent growth for fourth quarter and 29.1 percent for all 2012. Samsung nudged ahead of Apple to top the category for the quarter, with slightly wider lead for the year. Considering that smartphones make up 60.1 percent of the segment, the top-five ranking makes sense: Lenovo, HP and Dell follow the leaders. The two bottom-feeders mostly sell PCs, which lost share year over year.
Pale Moon 19 is first major update since version 15
Moonchild Productions has launched Pale Moon 19.0 and Pale Moon x64 19.0 for Windows. Pale Moon is a customised build of popular web browser Firefox, with the developer making no attempt to keep pace with Mozilla’s six-weekly development cycle in favour of applying security updates and concentrating on delivering improved performance.
This release marks the first major update since Pale Moon 15.0 -- based on Firefox 15 -- was released last August, but while Pale Moon 19 utilizes the brand new Gecko 19 engine found in the latest version of Firefox, don’t expect to see all the functionality in Firefox 19 making an appearance here.
Better hurry! Nexus 4 is free from T-Mobile
The LG-made, Google-branded Nexus 4 made quite a splash when it debuted, but some of that attention was for the wrong reasons. The phone was almost impossible to grab, even at launch. Since then, supply problems have continued, extending from the T-Mobile online and brick-and-mortar stores to the Google Play Store.
If you think demand issues were bad before you may not have seen anything yet. Today T-Mobile dropped the price on the Android 4.2 handset all the way to zero.
NUI can save Microsoft
I don’t know about you but as a lover of technology and the world around it, I find these times to be quite compelling. Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft (the big four) are setting the stage for an epic battle for tech dominance. The many articles and blog posts calling Microsoft dead in the water are way too premature. We are way too early in this new world of mobile computing to call Microsoft out of this game.
However, I will say this: If any of the four previously mentioned companies are in the most danger of failing at the consumer market, it’s Microsoft. The company better figure out how to get things together and quickly as time is not on the leadership's side and their competition is hitting on all cylinders.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Seventeenth in a series. The Windows 8 app store is picking up pace again. New apps this week almost doubled in comparison to last week. A total of 1,049 new apps found their way into Windows Store -- of which 826 were listed as free to install and use and 224 as paid apps. It will be interesting to see if this is the beginning of an uptick in terms of new apps in the store or if things will dry off again in the coming weeks.
Microsoft did update a couple of first-party applications this week. Just in is the Skype update, which enables Windows 8 users to transfer files using the client, a feature that has been an integral part of the desktop app for a very long time.
You can run legacy apps on jailbroken Windows RT and will be able to use a third-party app store (soon)
Starting out as a rookie among veterans, in a matter of months Windows RT has transformed into an exciting and intriguing alternative to established tablet operating systems. The trigger for the frankly unexpected makeover is the jailbreak which allows enthusiasts to run unsigned apps on their Windows RT-based devices -- there's even an automated tool which makes modding a breeze. If you think that is not good enough and you still need or want your old apps, a developer has released a tool that allows legacy programs to run on Windows RT.
The tool, however, does not support every Windows-compatible legacy app known to mankind. It comes with some limitations as resource-hogging, complex, .NET-based, modern, 16-bit and 64-bit apps, among others, cannot run. The reasoning, judging by the developer's input on the matter, is to deliver a solid user experience across the board without major compromises when running legacy programs.
HFS simplifies the process of sharing files across your network or the web
When you need to share files with others, setting up a web server probably won’t be the first idea that comes to mind. It just seems like too bulky a solution, too complex, and so you’d probably opt for something more conventional: setting up a network, using a file sharing service, whatever it might be.
With the right software, though, setting up a web server can be much more straightforward than you think. And the open source HFS (Http File Server) is a particularly good example of this, because even if you’re a networking novice, it could have you sharing your files locally within minutes.
LG, wake up! The Optimus G arrives too late in Europe
There's a great saying that applies to new products -- get it while it's hot. Or shall I say, give it while it's hot. LG, sadly, is not familiar with either expression as the South Korean manufacturer has only now finally released the Optimus G on European soil. That's a whopping six months (well, nearly) after the smartphone's unveiling in late August, last year.
LG is its own worst enemy right now. The main problem with the late Optimus G release, apart from the obvious waning of initial interest, is the smartphone's bigger brother -- the Optimus G Pro -- and the plethora of new devices that were released after the Optimus G, with better specs and time advantage on their side. And we haven't yet reached MWC (Mobile World Congress) frenzy yet, where manufacturers are known to release or announce even more products.
Back up all types of USB drive with USB Image Tool
Alexander Beug has released USB Image Tool 1.60, the latest version of his compact, portable and free backup tool for USB devices.
And a very welcome addition this time is support for non-removable USB devices. So on launch, the program won’t only list any mobile USB devices you might have connected (keys, cameras, MP3 players and so on), but it’ll also display regular USB drives, memory card readers and so on, and allow you to back them up.
Overhauling a home network, Part 2 -- back to FreeNAS afterall
Let us get a bit geeky. This was not my original intention, but it is how things turned out in the end. First, I believe I misspoke twice in part one of this series -- one time was unintentional, the other was apparently my wishful thinking. The first was when I called my recent used server purchase a Dell Optiplex. It is actually a Dell Poweredge. The second involved my new operating system and I'll get to that in a second.
To begin with, the server was running Windows Server 2003 and the small business I purchased it from had failed to wipe the data, but did leave it password protected -- something a tool like Ophcrack may have been able to breach, though I had no desire to try. The server also contained a CD-ROM drive which I needed to replace with a DVD drive in order to install Windows Server 2012 Essentials. Fortunately I had one laying around -- yes, I know that is not normal. You should see our storage room. There are boxes of computer parts and a stack of old towers filling a corner. At least this time the "it will be useful someday" statement worked out for me.
However, the 32-bit server architecture did not support 2012, meaning I moved on to Home Server -- that required 512 MB of RAM, and the server, woefully older than I had thought, only had 256 -- an easy upgrade, but expenses and wife-acceptance-factor for this project were mounting up.
Edit and convert videos to any format with Video to Video
If you’re looking for a free video converter then there are now plenty of great free programs around, which is plainly very good news for the end user.
Software developers, though, are having to cram in ever more features to help their converter stand out from the crowd and Video to Video is a particularly strong example.
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