Microsoft creates Secure Boot backdoor, leaks golden keys
Microsoft has created a backdoor in Secure Boot, the security feature designed to ensure that a device can only run the operating system that it is meant to. And, to make matters worse, it has just accidentally leaked the "golden keys" needed to bypass it.
The Secure Boot backdoor is there to, for instance, allow a Microsoft developer to install a new build of Windows on a device -- that has the security feature enforced -- without it having to be digitally signed beforehand. It makes their job easy, but it also makes the security system ineffective if -- when -- the golden keys that unlock it make their way into the wrong hands.
HDD Guardian 0.7.0 adds new hard drive failure warnings
Open source hard drive monitor and smartctl front-end HDD Guardian has been updated to version 0.7.0 with some welcome new features.
The program detects even more drives, but if they’re still not found it’s now possible to add them manually. If a drive is failing, or its temperature is too high, you can have the program play a sound or power off the PC (other options include displaying a popup message and sending an email).
Kaspersky 2017 brings VPN, better adware blocking and removal
Kaspersky Labs has released Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2017, Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 and Kaspersky Total Security 2017 in the US and Canada. New features include Secure Connection, a virtual private network which automatically kicks in to protect you when using wifi hotspots, web banking sites and more.
An Installation Assistance tool looks out for adware and other pests that get silently installed with some free software, and the Software Cleaner helps you decide what to remove.
Ultimate command line tool Swiss File Knife hits version 1.7.7
One-stop Windows command line tool Swiss File Knife has just been updated to version 1.7.7. A new sfk web command allows sending a web request to a server, filtering and displaying the results.
For example, you might use sfk web domain.com +xex "_<head>**</head>_" to extract an HTML Head tag, or pass sfk a file to batch process every URL it contains.
Microsoft celebrates the 20th anniversary of Windows Server
With strange serendipitous timing, just as the free upgrade period for Windows 10 is coming to an end, Microsoft is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Windows Server. Way back in 1996, the company unleashed Windows NT 4.0 Server onto an unsuspecting world. The rest, as they say, is history.
Described as the operating system that would 'knock the socks of Unix' Windows NT 4.0 Server stuck around for four years before being replaced by the enterprise-specific Windows 2000 Server. With laughably low system requirements -- 133 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM and 1 GB of disk space -- this was the start of a journey incorporating centralization and security.
Yahoo Messenger is not dead -- new Windows and Mac apps are available now
You may be surprised to read this, but, yes, Yahoo Messenger is still up and running. In fact, the longstanding service seems to be here to stay as it just received new desktop apps that should make Windows and Mac users happy.
Yahoo has launched the new clients to replace the "legacy" programs, which will no longer work after August 5. What you now get is a fresh design and a number of really nice features that add up to a user experience closer to Android, iOS, and the web.
Printers can let hackers take control of Windows PCs
Security researchers from Vectra Networks discovered a serious vulnerability in Windows which allows hackers to take control over complete computer networks through vulnerable printers.
The report didn’t say which versions of the operating system are affected, but the patch is already issued and you can find it here and here. Everyone who has a printer attached to their system is strongly advised to patch ASAP.
AOMEI Backupper Standard 3.5 adds event-driven backups, improves network support
AOMEI has released Backupper Standard 3.5, a major new version of its freeware Windows backup, imaging and cloning tool.
Version 3.5 introduces event-triggered scheduling of backups, support for mapped network drives as backup destinations and various other improvements and optimizations, including a fix that prevents the computer from going to sleep during the backup process.
Recover lost files with NirSoft’s ShadowCopyView and PreviousFilesRecovery
NirSoft has released ShadowCopyView and PreviousFilesRecovery, free tools designed to help you browse Windows’ volume shadow copies and restore whatever files you need.
ShadowCopyView lists all volume shadow copies on your PC, the hard drive snapshots created by Windows Vista and later.
IObit releases first public beta of Advanced SystemCare 10
IObit has unveiled the first public beta of IObit Advanced SystemCare 10, its hugely comprehensive do-everything PC maintenance suite.
The latest release has a new ad-blocker in IObit’s redesigned and extended Surfing Protection add-on.
Malware attack targets European energy companies
The Labs team at malware protection company SentinelOne has discovered a sophisticated malware campaign that's specifically targeting at least one European energy company.
The malware, called SFG, is the mother ship of an earlier malware sample called Furtim, which targets the industrial automation control systems with sophisticated malware and acts as dropper to deliver a payload which could be used to extract data or potentially shut down the energy grid.
Easily find genuine Windows and Office images with Windows ISO Downloader
Would you like to try out Windows 10 in a virtual machine, or maybe create a USB installer for Windows 7 or 8? Then you’ll probably have to track down an image of that particular build.
Everything you need should be on Microsoft.com, in theory, but if you’ve already wasted enough of your life there, you might prefer Windows ISO Downloader.
Windows 10 shows steady growth, but Windows 7 users remain loyal to their OS
June and July are big months for Windows 10 upgrades as this should be when users who have yet to switch to the new OS scramble to do so before the free offer comes to an end on July 29.
The last minute rush, combined with Microsoft’s aggressive push -- including, of course, tricking unwitting users into upgrading -- should have made June a particularly bumper month for Windows 10 growth, but actually it dropped off a little compared with May.
Windows 10 has 30 percent of the market and is catching up on Windows 7 -- according to Microsoft
NetMarketShare is set to release its monthly desktop operating system usage share figures for June in one week’s time, and given how aggressively Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 in the run up to the launch of the Anniversary Update, and the end of the free promotion period, it should make for interesting reading.
Microsoft has just updated its own Windows market share figures, covering April 2016, and as you might expect they show Windows 10 making big gains. Huge gains, in fact.
Abracadabra! Microsoft acquires Wand Labs to conjure up some chat bot magic
Continuing the spending spree that started with snapping up LinkedIn earlier this week, Microsoft today announces that it has acquired Wand Labs. The mobile developer has a chat-centric focus, and will help Microsoft to build on the Conversation as a Platform ideas Sayta Nadella has been championing of late.
Neither Wand Labs nor Microsoft has shared details of the amount of money that is changing hands, but the acquisition will assist Microsoft in developing its Bot Framework. Wand Labs' natural language technologies will extend the capabilities of Windows, Bing, Microsoft Azure and Office 365, particularly with intelligent agents and chat bots.
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