InsideMicrosoft

Links for April 23, 2008

Vista Feature Pack Released
Microsoft has released the first “Feature Pack” for Windows Vista, adding some wireless features that, while nothing huge, could represent a growing series of feature packs that improve the operating system over the coming months and years. Feature Pack 1 adds support for Bluetooth 2.1 to Vista, as well as a Unified Pairing user interface and updates to Windows Connect Now. Get it here.

Download Windows Live for Windows Mobile
Microsoft has released a free download of the Windows Live for Windows Mobile 6 software that comes pre-loaded on some (but not all) Windows Mobile 6 phones. Pick up the download and get Push Hotmail, synchronized Live Contacts, a Live Search bar for the Home screen and one-click photo uploading to Live Spaces.

Microsoft Fastest To Deploy Patches
A Symantec report on malware discovered in the second half of last year shows that Microsoft was the fastest to respond to discovered software vulnerabilities. On average, Microsoft deployed patches within six days, compared to Apple, which took an average of 79 days, as well as faster than HP, Red Hat or Sun. There’s a lot detail in the article about the type of security vulnerabilities (most are caused by ActiveX), and let’s see how fast you can spot the Rent reference.

Turn Webslices into Vista Sidebar Gadgets
Webslices is a new feature in Internet Explorer 8, which allows you to add specifically selected portions of webpages to the menubar of IE, and have them automatically push updates to you. Sean Lyndersay has taken the Webslice out of the browser, and has designed a Vista Sidebar Gadget that lets you add any Webslice to your desktop. It works well, and Webslices as Gadgets are actually more useful than they are in the browser.

By the by, I learned that the reason the Facebook Webslice doesn’t work is that it needs to be installed while you are running IE as an administrator. That’s really a broken feature, and needs to be fixed for final IE8 release, or developers need to design their Webslices to not work that way.

Free Ford Sync and April Fools Xbox Live Downloads
Two Ford Sync picture packs and a Ford Sync-related dashboard theme have been released free on Xbox Live in the U.S. These are kid-themed, so get ‘em for your kid (or yourself, if you’re cute enough). There are also some April Fools-related pics, available for a limited time.

Secret Confessions Vista Sidebar Gadget
This Gadget lets you leave confessions anonymously for random others to read and to read confessions from other users. It has the annoying “feature” of reading the confession out loud with Vista’s text-to-speech system, and no way to turn it off, and the confessions thus far are mostly homophobic or racist, but it’s a great idea that could become something.

April 23rd, 2008 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Vista, Apple, Live, Xbox Live, Sidebar, Hotmail, Xbox, Security, Windows, Spaces, Internet Explorer, Applications | 2 comments

News For March 18, 2008

Here’s some stuff going on today or recently:

Novell Free To Sue Over Long-Dead WordPerfect
The Supreme Court has ruled to allow Novell to go ahead and sue Microsoft for alleged antitrust infractions involving WordPerfect, which Novell sold 12 years ago. Novell is complaining that Microsoft used its Windows monopoly to depress sales of WordPerfect, resulting in the product dropiing in value from $1.2 billion in 1994 to $170 million in 1996. Novell only owned WordPerfect for two years, and much of the failures of WordPerfect that allowed Microsoft Word to trounce it in the marketplace occured before they bought the product, but the case is apparently strong enough to go trial. We’ll see if it’s strong enough to actually win.

OneCare Gets Marketing Campaign
Microsoft has a new marketing slogan for Windows Live OneCare, its all-in-one security suite. The tagline is, “Don’t Worry, We Took OneCare Of It” and the ads typically featuring some nasty virus it “took OneCare” of. You have to read it a few times before the sentence makes sense, but the ads are cute. I’m pretty sure I saw one of these ads in the Post yesterday.

Flash Coming To Windows Mobile
Microsoft has licensed Adobe Flash for Windows Mobile. Specifically, Adobe Flash Lite will be built into Internet Explorer Mobile in future versions of WinMobile as a plugin, so webpages with Flash should, for the most part, work as intended. That means full YouTube for Windows Mobile users, even as Apple complains that Flash doesn’t work on its devices. Boo hoo. I’d look forward to seeing Flash in Windows Mobile 7, but that’s pure speculation.

Become a Windows Mobile Fan on Facebook
Facebook has a feature that lets you become a fan of entertainers, celebrities or politicians, but apparently you can be a fan of a product as well. You can now become a fan of Windows Mobile and show your love for the platform. I’m in. Just head here while signed in to Facebook and click “Become a Fan”.

Live Spaces Loses 15% Of Visitors
Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft’s once high-flying social network/blogging platform, slipped badly in the last year. It’s still technically the biggest blogging platform around, but it failed to keep up with MySpace and Facebook, its real competitors, losing 15% of its unique visitors in the U.S. in the last 12 months. Live Spaces lost 1.4 million unique visitors, coming half a million of LinkedIn, which rose 271% last year. Guess the buzz on Live Spaces is over, and Microsoft has some work to do to keep the rest from leaving.

Bill Gates on Running A Good Startup
A student at the University of Waterloo stood up and asked a question of Bill Gates during a roundtable breakfast at the University (no, it was not a Q&A session, she just really wanted to ask), wondering how he had the courage to start Microsoft at 17. Gates answer says a lot about how he values his employees, and could be a good lesson for startups.

At 17 I didn’t have much to lose. I promised my parents that I would go back to university if things didn’t pan out. But I did worry about all those people who had spouses and children. They depended on the business succeeding. That’s what worried me at night. So I made sure that I had enough money in the bank to pay everyone’s salary for a year if none of my customers came through. That’s how I got through it. Eventually there came a time, though, when we needed to hire 30 people, and that was a real crisis. I really didn’t want to expand without a financial safety net in place. Ultimately, I compromised and said yes, go ahead and hire. But I want to know immediately when the increased revenues offset the costs of paying everyone a year’s salary … that way I could sleep again.

March 18th, 2008 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Windows Mobile, OneCare, Adobe, Mobile, Bill Gates, Live, Corporate, Security, Law, Windows, Spaces, Word, Applications | one comment

Windows Live OneCare For Servers Coming

Joe Wilcox is discussing the planned release of a version of Windows Live OneCare for servers. OneCare, Microsoft’s all-in-one security suite, will handle similar tasks similar to the desktop version, including server anti-virus, and will be bundled with Small Business Server and Essential Server 2008, along with a one-year subscription to Forefront for Exchange. As Joe points out, Microsoft would like to give OneCare for free with Windows, as well as Windows Server, but it can’t, because your politicians “protected” you from free software bundling with their antitrust legislation.

February 24th, 2008 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Server, OneCare, Windows, Security | 2 comments

Windows Live OneCare: Free (or less than free!) at Amazon

Face it, as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one security suite worth putting on a Windows XP or Vista PC, and it’s Windows Live OneCare. Norton and all the others have consistently delivered awful suites that slow down your PC, while Microsoft’s respects your productivity while protecting you from viruses, backing up your date, firewalling your network, and in the latest version, managing your home network and backing up your photos to the internet.

Another reason I like to recommend OneCare? Often, it’s free after rebate, almost weekly at Staples. This time, none other than Amazon.com will give you OneCare for the price of nothing after a brief delay. In fact, Amazon has the suite for just $28.99, which means that the rebate check of $30 will actually net you a $1.01 profit!

Now, the software isn’t currently in stock at Amazon, but if you buy it now and Amazon ships it to you before March 8 (and most likely, it will be in stock within a few days), you still get your check in the mail. Just make sure to mail in the rebate within 45 days, and you’re golden.

Make sure you order OneCare through Amazon, and not one of its third-party retailers. To make sure, on the right side, above the “Add to Shopping Cart” button, it will say “In Stock. Ships from and sold by NameofRetailer”, if it isn’t from Amazon.com. If you’re the impatient sort, TheFactoryDepot is selling it for $17.59 right now and in stock.
(via SlickDeals)

January 28th, 2008 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Security | 3 comments

Windows Live OneCare 2.0 Launches

The beta of version 2.0 of Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft’s all-in-one PC care service, should be over, with the final version of 2.0 released to all subscribers. The new version adds some really good improvements, like wireless connection security, a startup optimizer to turn off programs that start with your PC that you never use, automatic printer sharing on your network and monthly service reports.

The biggest change, though, is that OneCare is now set up to allow you to designate one of your PCs as a hub PC and connect the others to it (a OneCare subscription is good, at the normal price, for multiple PCs). You can manage the care of the other PCs from the hub, changing settings, scheduling backups and tuneups, and other things.

OneCare 2.0 also adds online photo backup, although for an added price. You get 10 gigabytes of space in Windows Live Folders, automatically synced from your computer, in order to keep your precious digital photos safe in case anything ever happens to your computer. I still don’t see any information on how much this added feature costs, and will look into it.

November 20th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Live, Windows, Security | one comment

Internet Explorer 7 Loses’s WGA Anti-Piracy Tool

Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP has been released with some minor updates, and missing one major thing: A Windows Genuine Advantage Check. Microsoft has removed the anti-piracy tool, so that users running non-Genuine versions of Windows can still install IE7.

Microsoft decided that it was more important for pirates to have the heightened security of IE7 than to discourage pirates by sticking them with the old software. Many of Microsoft’s software updates require a WGA check so that pirates can’t use them, but the threat of botnets of zombie computers infected because of an insecure IE6 was so serious, Microsoft removed the piracy check. Good for them, and good for everyone, since IE7 is a pretty good upgrade.

October 12th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Internet Explorer, Security, Applications | 2 comments

Windows Live Suite Launches

Microsoft finally delivered the first Windows Live Suite, a single installer that allows you to install a number of Windows Live programs as a single download that updates regularly. Go to this site and configure your 1.8 megabyte download, picking from these products:

• Windows Live Mail - the ad-supported desktop email client that integrates well with Windows Live Hotmail, but lets you add any regular email account, plus RSS feeds, spell checking, PhotoMail and Windows Live Contacts. Replaces Outlook Express in Windows XP and Windows Mail in Windows Vista.
• Windows Live Photo Gallery - software for managing, finding, sharing, tagging and editing photos. Replaces Windows Photo Gallery in Vista and is a completely new feature for XP.
• Windows Live Writer - blog posting tool, supporting almost all popular blogging software. Considered one of the best products in its category.
• Windows Live Messenger - instant messaging, compatible with Yahoo Messenger. By getting it as part of the Suite, you don’t have to worry as much about installing new versions.
• Windows Live Sign-In assistant - required install, helps you sign in to Windows Live ID. When you visit a Windows Live ID site in your browser, the sign-in assistant can help out by displaying large buttons for various Live IDs and, in some cases, letting you just click on the account you want to sign in.
• Windows Live OneCare Family Safety - parental control software, allows parents to monitor and restrict a child’s internet access
• Windows Live Toolbar - Internet Explorer toolbar, very powerful toolbar for accessing Windows Live sites and services.

All the software included features newer updated versions. Live Messenger has some bugs fixed. Live Mail has a new List View for contacts, contacts import/export improvements, toolbar customization, Quick Views, improved Layout Dialog options, changing your sign in account, Photo E-Mail updates and Newsgroup updates.

Live Writer is hugely improved. The new version has video insertion (from Soapbox, including your own account, and other video websites), image uploading to Blogger/PicasaWeb, the ability to publish XHTML-style markup, 28 new languages, printing blog posts, justifying and aligning post text, and better image handling, including a fix for the blurry images problem, in addition to bug fixes and installation issues.

Live Photo Gallery gets improved color adjustment and cropping capabilities, image sharpening, shadow and highlight levels, image resizing, batch image resizing, a picture import tool that grabs pictures from your camera in a much better way than Vista or XP do, publishing photos to Windows Live Spaces and videos to MSN Soapbox. This is the first public beta of this software, also.

One complaint: The Suite is not yet available for 64-bit systems.

Curiously, the Suite offers to set your homepage to MSN.com, not Live.com, which probably indicates the change in strategy away from the personalized homepage.

September 6th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Mail, Writer, OneCare, Live, Spaces, Messenger, Windows | one comment

Microsoft Starts Hacker Blog

MSDN has a new blog: Hackers @ Microsoft. The new blog is written by and about the white hat hackers employed by Microsoft, who work on improving security in Microsoft’s products (as well as research, development, testing and even management). The first post explains the kind of hackers who work at Microsoft:

We employ “white hat hackers” who spend their time pentesting and code reviewing applications and software looking for weaknesses and vulnerabilities so that others don’t once we’ve released that code into the wild. We employ many many smart testers who know more about some of our software then perhaps the architects who designed it. We also employ some of the top researchers in their industry, dedicated people working on the bleeding edge of whats going to be common place in the next 5 or 10 years of computing.

(via Amit Agarwal)

August 30th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Corporate, Security | 5 comments

Windows Live OneCare 2.0 Beta Launches

Participants in the beta of Windows Live OneCare 2.0 had their software updated to the new beta over the last day or so. Take a look at some of the interface changes:

So, what’s different?

Well, you’re supposed to install OneCare on all your computers, then manage it centrally here. You manage everything on your network, including backing up to a central location. If you have Windows Home Server, it’ll take advantage of that as well. There’s also an online photo backup feature, with free storage for your photos, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the beta to use it, unless you get an email instructing you to test it right now.

The Firewall has a new setting that turns off certain activities automatically if you are in a public place. These activities will be suspended until you change zones. Take a look:

The Configure Firewall dialog is WAY streamlined, with everything on a single page instead of a growing number of tabs, with the more advanced options hidden under a second dialog. This means there is an interface for less advanced users to fix firewall problems, while there are still tons of options for tweaking your firewall if you know how to.

There is a new feature under Tune-up for tweaking what happens at the startup of your system. It lists some programs that run at startup, with stats for how often and how recently you use those programs, and a simple click to disable that program. Goodbye, Adobe Acrobat Speed Launcher! So long, Google Toolbar Notifier!

Virus protection has an option to “look for virus-like behavior”, or just check for viruses and spyware. You get to choose how proactive it it.

There’s printer sharing, which automatically shares any printer connected to any computer in your OneCare “circle” with all the other computers. This should take the guesswork out of printer sharing in most cases.

There’s detailed support logging, including a Monthly Report you can have displayed automatically so you know if anything happened in the last month.

Read more at Bink (including a link to get the beta).
See screenshots at Paul Thurrot.

July 12th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Live, Windows, Security, General | no comments

Windows Live OneCare 2.0 Beta Starting

Microsoft sent out an email inviting closed beta testers to test out Windows Live OneCare 2.0, according to LiveSide. I am in the 2.0 beta, which is supposed to be confidential, but this website decided to leak anyway, including a link to the installer. They say that 2.0 includes these features:

• Multi PC management - designate a hub PC and then add additional PCs to your OneCare circle using a common Windows Live ID. You can then see the status of the other PCs within the group.
• Printer Sharing - share your printer with all the PCs in your OneCare circle
• OneCare Online Photo Backup - paid storage is available online for photo backups (we’re hearing 10GB but that could change by the end of the beta)
• Securing wireless networks - if your router is supported OneCare 2.0 will allow you to secure your wireless network.
• X64 support.

This blog has a screenshot of the email, but kept things confidential, as they are supposed to be. The OneCare beta is free and not recommended for subscribers. For some reason, members of the “perpetual beta” (which I am also) have to uninstall, then install the 2.0 beta.

The beta 2.0 installer actuall installs OneCare 1.6, but the version you install is “special”, and will turn into a 2.0 install in a few days.

July 5th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Live, Windows, Security | no comments

Microsoft Security: Worst Job In Computer Science

Popular Science came out with its list of the 10 worst jobs in all of science, and Microsoft Security Response Center wound up grabbing sixth place, the only computer science job on the list. Describing it “Like wearing a big sign that reads ‘Hack Me’”, it says they get 100,000 emails a year, working on multiple versions in multiple languages of software products totalling billions of lines of code, and every screwup reflects enormously bad on your company and puts pressure on your job.

It’s a job I wouldn’t want to have, but the good workers doing security for the world’s operating system, they’re my heroes. Well, them and Superman. And if I was in trouble, it’s just Superman. Sorry guys.

The top 10:

1. Hazmat Diver
2. Oceanographer
3. Elephant Vasectomist
4. Garbologist
5. Coursework Carcass Preparer
6. Microsoft Security Grunt
7. Gravity Research Subject
8. Olympic Drug Tester
9. Forensic Entomologist (maggot study)
10. Whale-Feces Researcher

Who knew there were Garbologists!?
(via InfoWorld > Neowin))

June 27th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Corporate, Security | no comments

Vista Security Tabulated At The 6-Month Mark

Microsoft security strategy director Jeff Jones has tabulated the number of bugs in Windows Vista reported after 180 days of availability (from the November business release through the end of May). He shows that Vista has had 27 security vulnerabilities, 12 of which have been patched, compared with (in their first six month), 36/33 for Windows XP, 273/214 for Red Hat Linux, 85/74 for Ubuntu Linux, 143/123 for Novell SUSE Linux, and 76/60 for Mac OS 10.4.

While counting security holes is an imprecise method, at best, and a pretty bad barometer at worst, it should help dispell anyone who insists Microsoft operating systems have all the security problems. Competing operating systems have plenty of security problems, as admitted by their makers when they are corrected, and acting like Microsoft is the worst is just ignoring the reality of the situation.

Read the full PDF report here.
(via Bink)

Joe Wilcox has significant criticism of the report.

Slashdot takes the pessimistic view that Microsoft has fixed less than half of the small number of problems.

June 27th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Apple, Vista, Linux, Windows, Security, General | no comments

Windows SteadyState Released For XP

Microsoft has released something called Windows SteadyState, software designed for places with public computers. SteadyState keeps computers in shared public locations, like libraries and internet cafés, safe from the actions of the many users who might be accessing it on a daily basis. SteadyState makes managing the system easier, prevent users from installing software, infecting it with viruses, changing system settings, and changing the desktop appearance.

SteadyState replaces the Shared Computer Toolkit, and is free, but it only works on Genuine Windows XP Home/Pro/Tablet. It comes with an improved UI over the Toolkit, plus easier controls, simplified system-wide user restriction levels, the ability to copy user accounts from computers, more restrictions, Windows Disk Protection (which rolls back changes the second the user logs out), a User Account Manager, and a central control for security and privacy settings.

You can download it here.

June 21st, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | XP, Windows, Security, General | no comments

Windows Live OneCare 1.6 Released

Microsoft released to subscribers version 1.6 of Windows Live OneCare. You won’t notice many differences, but the slider that turns off the firewall has a fourth setting, one that turns it off for a set period of time, as well as an option to turn off the OneCare firewall for ever. To find that click “Chang OneCare settings”, select the Firewall tab, click “Advanced settings”, select the “Managing and Sharing” tab, and turn on “Turn off the firewall”. At least it isn’t complicated. There’s also a firewall activity report available from the dashboard.

June 11th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Live, Windows, Security | no comments

Microsoft Starting Affiliate Network

I talk about Microsoft products here daily, and occasionally I link to them on Amazon.com so that if a reader chooses to buy them, I can get a small commission on the sale. Now, Microsoft is offering its own affiliate program, the Microsoft Affiliate Network, for websites to use to get some extra cash when they mention Microsoft products. Signing up is easy, just head here, and it’s fast (I signed up half a day ago, and I’m already accepted).

Currently, the program only has referrals for Windows Live OneCare, but the account rep I spoke to assured me that more will be added shortly. You get $1.50 for every user who signs up for a free trial of OneCare, and can link to it with an image or text. Here are examples of the images (these are live affiliate ad images, so don’t click them unless you want to install OneCare now):

One thing I absolutly love: The ads are just GIF images with a standard HTML link. That means they’ll work anywhere, even forums and emails, and on mobile phones, and certainly they’ll work in my blog posts, something Google AdSense referral ads don’t. Google uses SCRIPT tags, very annoying, and Microsoft has gone a simpler, and thus more compatible route.

There are also six text links. These consist of blocks of regular text with the referral link included, as well as an invisible image acting as a tracking bug (for ad statistics). I’m not a big fan of the text, especially since at least one of them is gramattically incorrect, and I hope you are allowed to edit it, at least in small ways, without breaking program policies.

Observe:

• Help get peace of mind knowing that everything is managed for you with Windows Live OneCare—virus and spyware scanning, firewalls, tune-ups, file backups, the whole nine yards. And it’s all delivered to you in a smooth, hassle-free package. Download the 90 day free trial
• Help keep your PC trouble-free with Windows Live OneCare
• Try Windows Live OneCare free for 90 days to see how easy caring for your computer can be. Download the free trial.
• Get continuous protection for your PC with Windows Live OneCare Download the free trial.
• Download Windows Live OneCare, the new comprehensive, automatic, and self-updating PC care service that helps protect and maintain your PC.
• Windows Live OneCare works quietly in the background on your computer, so you don’t have to worry about nasty interruptions from viruses, spyware, hackers, and other unwanted intruders. It also goes beyond security, regularly backing up all your important files and cleaning up and tuning up your computer to help keep it running at top speed. Because you have better things to do with your PC. Download the free trial.

That last one is practically a full review! Maybe Microsoft wants to do my job for me!

Anyway, this program seems exciting and is definitely doing a few things smarter. I’ll keep you updated on the progress of the program as they add new products.

And if you are a regular reader of the blog, you already know how much I love OneCare, so don’t worry about bias here. If you haven’t tried it out yet, here’s your opportunity. There are only about twenty links to choose from
(via Digg)

June 6th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Advertising, Live, Windows, Security, General | 5 comments

How To Stop Your Kid From Deleting His Search History

Disable search history deletion Hosted on Zooomr

Are you a paranoid parent? Do you want to keep tabs on your kids, instead of talking to them and parenting? Well, you may have noticed that your kid is pretty smart, and knows how to cover his tracks by deleting the browser’s search history before you can see where he’s been.

Luckily, this MSDN forum thread explains how you can disable the ability to access the options page which allows deleting of the search history. Here’s how:

• Open the Start Menu and Click “Run” (in Windows Vista, just open the Start Menu and start typing. Alternatively, you can hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press “R”)
• Type “gpedit.msc” and hit Enter
• Browse through the folders in the left pane to: Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel
• Double-click “Disable the General page”
• Click “Enabled” and click OK

That should do it. Now you can read your kid’s search history and find out that your kid isn’t looking up porn, he just hates you, because you’re too invasive. Whoops.

No, seriously, this is pretty useful. I don’t believe parents should snoop on their kids, but the kids shouldn’t have full access to cover their tracks on the family computer. With that in mind, if you make your kid an administrator, you really are an idiot.

March 30th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Internet Explorer, Windows, Security, Applications | 6 comments

Got OneCare? Why You Can’t Sync Your Windows Mobile Device

I’ve been going crazy for months, unable to sync my Windows Mobile device (the T-Mobile MDA) with my computer, or even connect it via USB to move files over (thank god for MiniSD). Turns out there’s a known reason for it: Windows Live OneCare.

If you have OneCare, there is a good chance you can’t connect your device to your computer. The reason: OneCare’s firewall blocks a lot of things, including the sync, leaving you high and dry. Unless…

Just disable the firewall. That should get rid of almost every problem. When you want to connect your device, open OneCare, click “Change OneCare Settings” (you need administrator privileges to do this), click on the “Firewall” tab, then drag the slider down to the bottom (”Off”) and click Apply.

OneCare will ask you if you want to run the Firewall Connection Tool. There’s good news: This might fix it. Run the tool, put a check in the checkbox for “ActiveSync/Windows Mobile Device Center” and click OK. If that works (see if it worked by opening Windows Mobile Device Center/ActiveSync) then smile and move on. If it doesn’t (and for me, it only works half the time), turn off the firewall as described above. You will now be able to sync your device.

Once you are done syncing, activate your firewall again. If you clicked Apply when turning it off, the dialog should still be open, and you just have to drag the slider back up again and click OK. Otherwise, go through the steps again, and drag the slider up instead of down.

I hope to god the OneCare team figures out how to ensure that this stops being a problem in the future. They need to fix the Connection Tool so that if I select the ActiveSync option, it actually works. And Windows Mobile Device Center needs to be able to launch OneCare if it sees that there is a problem, because I spent months before I found this solution. Get on it, boys!

Also, a OneCare 2.0 beta is starting in April (maybe it won’t have this problem?), and you can sign up for it now by filling out a survey.

According to Paul Thurrott, the new version will feature “the new version will include wireless connection setup and security features, a boot time optimizer, monthly reports, online photo backup functionality (at extra cost), unified monitoring and maintenance of networked PCs, printer sharing, and automated tune-ups.” That sounds so cool, I just can’t wait to try it. The boot time optimizer (which I hope will optimize hibernation as well) alone is worth the effort.

March 14th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Live, Vista, Windows, Security | one comment

Windows Live OneCare: Just $20

(via LiveSide)

February 1st, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | OneCare, Security, General | no comments