• Making sense of Windows? irrational pricing and licensing | Ed Bott?s Microsoft Report
  Ed offers some advice on how Microsoft should change it's Windows licensing, and they all sound great to me!
  (tags: License Sales )
• 4sysops - Vista x64 contra Vista x86? Does 64-bit offer better performance than 32-bit?
  Thinking of going 64-bit? Here's a good read. I'm running 64-bit with 8GB RAM so I can support multiple VMs at the same time.
  (tags: 64-bit )

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Apple added ASLR and stack buffer safety checking to the Vista version of Quicktime to try and reduce the effectiveness of malicious exploits. Keep reading →

• Apple Adds Anti-Hacker Features to QuickTime
  Apple added ASLR and stack buffer safety checking to the Vista version of Quicktime to try and reduce the effectiveness of malicious exploits.
  (tags: Apple QuickTime ASLR Exploit Security )

• Paul Thurrott: Vista is the most compatible Windows version
  Michael shares his thoughts on Paul Thurrott’s Vista review.
  (tags: Review )
• Vista SP1: The hits just keep coming
  Mary Jo comments on the number of SP1 stories out there right now, including the accidental release of SP1 on Windows Update to some users.
  (tags: SP1 )

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As suggested yesterday, Microsoft has instructions on how to remove the most popular activation exploits. Keep reading →

Microsoft today gave more details about how various Vista activation exploits will be handled by the soon to be released SP1, and beyond. Their Windows Genuine Advantage blog gives some of the details on what will happen to machines running an exploit, and reveals that not only will SP1 be looking for these exploits, but a soon to come Windows Update as well. The notice you may get from this update borders on humorous. Keep reading →

After posting a link to the KB931768 update, a user responded that it was causing problems on their machine. Today, another user confirmed that they too are having problems. A quick Google shows that they are not alone. What’s the problem, and how do you fix it? Keep reading →

The Windows MessageBox exploit (also referred to as NtRaiseHardError was first released publicly on December 20, 2006. A proof-of-concept that works on Vista was released on December 31st, and verified to work by eEye Research, making it the first Vista exploit. The exploit, a vulnerability with the Client/Server Runtime Server Subsystem, allows a logged in user to have their privileges elevated to SYSTEM, and does not require user interaction (ie can be executed remotely). Microsoft is of course aware of the exploit, but no patch has yet been released. McAfee rates it as a Medium threat, as does eEye Research.