Windows

Security firm Trustwave has discovered a zero-day exploit for Windows for sale on an underground Russian hacking forum. A user going by the name BuggiCorp says the vulnerability affects all versions of Microsoft's operating system, from Windows XP and 2000 upwards, including both 32- and 64-bit versions.

The source code for the exploit is offered for upwards of $90,000, and the seller explains that it can be used to elevate the privileges of any software process to SYSTEM level -- the highest there is. Payment is requested in Bitcoin, but while the exploit is considered serious, experts suggest that the asking price is a little high.

When Windows 10 was first offered to users of Windows 7 and 8.1 it was via a pleasant upgrade tool that allowed users to 'reserve' their copy of the new OS. However, as time has gone by, Microsoft has employed more and more insidious methods to get people to upgrade, including tricking them into doing so.

The sneaky behavior has gotten so bad, that growing numbers of users of the older operating systems have taken to disabling critical updates in order to completely avoid Windows 10.

While Microsoft is desperate to get as many users as possible on to Windows 10 before the free period expires at the end of July, it hasn’t entirely forgotten about its previous operating systems.

The software giant today announces it has created a convenience rollup package for Windows 7 that will bring that operating system up to the newest patched version without users having to install all previous updates one by one. It’s also making monthly update rollups available for that OS and Windows 8.1 (as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2).

No matter if we are talking about Windows PCs or MacBooks running OS X, the browser that you use can have a major impact on your laptop's battery life. Tests suggest that if you want the best results you should stick to the default browser, Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge on Windows, and Safari on OS X.

But, with Opera 39 soon to be released, Opera Software is basically claiming that the new version of its browser is far superior to any of its rivals. The trick is to activate the new power saving mode, which is available when you run on battery power.

A new survey, from the real-time IT management company ManageEngine, has revealed that 70 percent of global IT administrators believe that their Windows environments are at risk of malicious attacks.

The survey, titled "Global Active Directory and Windows Server Security -- Trends and Practices Survey, 2016", gathered the opinions of over 325 IT administrators from organizations around the world.

This past year hasn't been kind to Lenovo. The company has had quite a few security problems on its hands, most affecting its Windows software. The PC maker has issued patch after patch to address them, but it now looks like the saga is far from over.

A security researcher has uncovered a new vulnerability in the Lenovo Solution Center software, which comes preloaded on the company's desktops and laptops to help users monitor things like battery life and driver updates.

The so-called God Mode hack for Windows is rather less grand than it might first sound. Rather than granting users deity-like abilities, it simply provides one-folder access to an absolute butt-load of Control Panel options and settings. But security researchers have discovered that the technique used to create this special folder can also be exploited by malware.

McAfee says that while the Easter Egg is great for power users, it is also being used by attackers for "evil ends". By placing files within the God Mode shortcut folder, malware such as Dynamer is able to run undetected on a victim's computer.

Microsoft has made a change to an update for Windows 7 that can prevent certain systems from booting. While you might expect me to say, "good news, the software giant has fixed the problem", in fact what Microsoft has done is switch the update from "optional", to "recommended". So, on some systems, it will now install, and break Windows 7 automatically.

There is good news though, and that’s you can solve the problem and get your computer working again by (can you guess?) upgrading to Windows 10. Hooray!

UK’s citizens are getting more diligent when it comes to patching and updating their Windows-operated computers, new survey by Flexera Software’s Secunia Reports team says. QuickTime users, on the other hand, aren't as vigilant.

According to the team’s Country Reports, the number of unpatched Microsoft Windows operating systems is on the decline. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the number sits at 6.1 percent, where last year at this same time, it was at 11.5 percent.

If you play PC games, you surely know of Steam. If you aren't such a gamer, please know that it is a video game delivery and management platform for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is a great way to purchase games, and unlike using Microsoft's Windows Store, games can take full advantage of your hardware.

Valve is not satisfied with Steam only being for games, you see, and the company is focusing on other media too. Today, Valve announces that Lionsgate movies will be distributed through its delivery solution. More than 100 films, including the wildly popular Hunger Games series, will be available on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

A security researcher has discovered a way to get around Windows' AppLocker security system. Casey Smith found that it was possible to use Regsvr32 to call up a remotely hosted file that could be used to run any application -- malicious or otherwise -- of your choice.

This is something that will be a concern to companies, many of whom rely on AppLocker as it restricts what users are able to run on their computers. What is particularly concerning is the fact that the exploit does not require administrator privileges, and doesn't make any changes to the registry which makes it difficult to detect.

NVIDIA Inspector is a versatile tool for checking, monitoring and overclocking NVIDIA graphics cards.

This can be a complex area, but smart design ensures the program has something to offer every level of user.

PowerShell, a scripting language inherent to Microsoft operating systems, is largely used to launch cyber-attacks, a new report suggests.

The Unified Threat Research report, released by next-generation endpoint security (NGES) firm Carbon Black, says that 38 percent of incidents reported by Carbon Black partners used PowerShell.

Computers make life easier, right? Computers are fun, valuable tools, yeah? True, but they can also be such utterly infuriately pieces of tech that they seem to serve no purpose other than to raise our blood pressure and drive us mad.

I'm not talking about when Windows crashes, when an app hangs, or the internet slows to a crawl. I'm talking about those 'ARGH!' moments we've all experienced where there's no one to blame but ourselves. When things go wrong because of 'user error' it doesn't make them any less infuriating; in fact, the opposite is often the case. Here are ten of the most frustrating scenarios that just about every computer user has encountered at some point.

Migrating to a new PC can be a lengthy and tedious business, especially if you have to manually find, download and install all the programs you had on your old system. RuckZuck is an open source package manager which helps you manage the process in a few clicks.

The program is portable, and surprisingly small -- a single 176KB executable -- although that’s partly because it uses PowerShell 4 to do most of the work.