The New Internet Games in Windows 7
If you’re running the Windows 7 Beta you might have already noticed 3 new Windows Games for Windows 7.
Internet Backgammon: 
Internet Checkers: 
Internet Spades: 
These games were well liked in Windows XP. Due to the amount of requests we received, we are bringing them back!
The new versions of these games have been completely redesigned and improved over their old-school predecessors. With each game, you can:
- Play online against human opponents (up to 4 players at the same time with Internet Spades).
- Select from 3 skill levels to be matched with similarly skilled players from all around the world.
- If your opponent drops out, a computer opponent takes over to finish the game.
- Choose from cool different backgrounds and piece/card designs.
Source- Windows Team Blog
Windows Sysinternals Updates: Process Monitor v2.03, Autoruns v9.36, Disk Usage v1.33, Process Explorer v11.31
Process Monitor v2.03: This update to Process Monitor, a real-time file, registry, process and network monitor, adds the ability to import and export configuration settings, shows an icon in the operations column depicting the event class of the operation, and fixes a symbol configuration bug on Windows XP.
Autoruns v9.36: Autoruns changes the Hide Microsoft Entries to only hide Windows entries, fixes a bug in the Find behavior, allows enabling and disabling entries using the space bar, and fixes a number of minor bugs.
Disk Usage v1.33: Du adds a new option, -u, that has it exclude duplicate hard-linked files from its summary.
Process Explorer v11.31: This update works around a bug in the latest Debugging Tools for Windows debug engine DLL and fixes a bug that could cause objects to show up as <unknown type> when Process Explorer was run without administrative rights.
Source- Windows Sysinternals Blog
December 2008 Monthly Bulletin Release
The new bulletins for this month are:
· MS08-070: Vulnerabilities in Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime Extended Files (ActiveX Controls) Could Allow Remote Code Execution (932349) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-071: Vulnerabilities in GDI Could Allow Remote Code Execution (956802) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-072: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (957173) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-073: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (958215) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-074: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (959070) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-075: Vulnerabilities in Windows Search Could Allow Remote Code Execution (959349) which is rated “Critical”
· MS08-076: Vulnerabilities in Windows Media Components Could Allow Remote Code Execution (959807) which is rated “Important”
· MS08-077: Vulnerability in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Could Cause Elevation of Privilege (957175) which is rated “Important”
In addition, today we’ve published Microsoft Security Advisory 960906 regarding new reports of a vulnerability in the Wordpad Converter for Word 97 files affecting Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SP2. We are aware of very limited and targeted attacks seeking to exploit this vulnerability. The advisory details workarounds that you can evaluate while we develop a security update for this issue.
Source- Technet Blog
IE December Security Update Now Available
The IE Cumulative Security Update for December 2008 is now available via Windows Update. Alternatively, you can receive this and all other Microsoft updates via the new Microsoft Update. I encourage you to upgrade to Microsoft Update if you haven’t already to ensure that you receive the latest updates for all Microsoft products.
This update addresses four remote code execution vulnerabilities. The security update addresses these vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer validates parameters, handles the error resulting in the exploitable condition, and handles extra data when embedding objects in Web pages. For detailed information on the contents of this update, please see the following documentation:
This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 5.01 and Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, running on Microsoft Windows 2000; Internet Explorer 6 running on Windows XP; and Internet Explorer 7. For Internet Explorer 6 running on Windows Server 2003, this security update is rated Moderate. Beta versions of Internet Explorer are not vulnerable.
IE security updates are cumulative and contain all previously released updates for each version of Internet Explorer.
Source- IE Blog
Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830)
The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. The tool creates a log file named mrt.log in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.
To download the x64 version of Malicious Software Removal Tool, click here.
Download the x32 bit version here
Compatibility View Improvements to come in IE8
The next public update of IE8 (for Windows Vista- and Windows XP-based operating systems as well as the Windows 7 Beta) includes improvements to Compatibility View that help end-users when they visit web sites that are not yet ready for IE8’s new, more standards-compliant defaults. This blog post describes the technical background and how this new functionality works.
A Brief History of Standards, Interoperability, Compatibility, and IE8
As we improve the interoperability of Internet Explorer by delivering better implementations of web standards, some users may face compatibility issues with sites that rely on the behavior of previous versions of Internet Explorer.
With IE8’s Beta 1 release, Microsoft demonstrated its commitment to interoperability by making the most standards-compliant default view for web pages IE’s default. This is a good thing for the next billion web pages. We think that developers will have an easier time building interoperable sites on top of IE8’s strong platform work (like CSS 2.1, a better Document Object Model, ARIA, and cross-domain requests (XDR) and cross document messaging (XDM) and our start on HTML5 support).
Source- IE Blog
Download MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 3 Beta
The MSXML Team is pleased to announce that MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 3 (SP3) Beta is available for public testing. This new service pack includes a number of security bug fixes as well as reliability improvements.
MSXML4 SP3 is a complete replacement of previous service packs. The new service pack includes:
² A number of security bug fixes which provides a safer browsing experience.
² Reliability improvements.
MSXML 4 SP3 is a Download Center only release and is applicable to the following Windows Operation Systems:
- Windows 2000 SP4
- · Windows XP SP2
- · Windows XP SP3
- · Windows Server 2003 SP1
- · Windows Server 2003 SP2
- · Windows Vista RTM
- · Windows Vista SP1
- · Windows 2008
We want to know what you think! Please:
² Run your existing application against MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 3 (SP3) Beta to ensure the new service pack is compatible with your application with no behavior change.
² Send your feedback or file bugs to our product team through Microsoft Connect site. If you have not signed up yet, please do so - we are listed as "MSXML4 SP3 Beta" under the "Data Platform Development” site.
What you think is important for us. If you have any questions or comments or require any further information regarding the new service pack, please feel free to provide any feedback that you have.
Source- MSDN Blog
Microsoft Web Platform Installer (Release Candidate)
The Web Platform Installer (Web PI) is a simple tool that installs Microsoft’s entire Web Platform, including IIS7, Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition, SQL Server 2008 Express Edition and the .NET Framework. Using the Web Platform Installer’s user interface, you can choose to install either specific products or the entire Microsoft Web Platform onto your computer. The Web PI also helps keep your products up to date by always offering the latest additions to the Web Platform.
New Updates! Now supporting Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, Web PI makes it easy to install and stay up-to-date with the Microsoft Web Platform. This updated release lets you install ASP.NET MVC, Visual Studio Tools for Silverlight, and much more!
