Does Vista already have Windows 7’s new kernel?

Long live audio! Free e-book for subscribers

Most of us have old vinyl albums and cassette tapes that we thought we’d never enjoy again. But in this helpful e-book, Converting Vinyl LPs and Cassette Tapes to CDs and MP3s by Jake Ludington, you get straight-forward solutions to preserve your memories using the playback equipment you probably already own. He rates free and low-cost software that makes it easy for you to convert your LPs and cassettes.

We’ve licensed this content so all Windows Secrets subscribers, free and paid, can get it. Simply visit your preferences page by Nov. 5, 2008, click the Save button, and you’ll see a download link. Enjoy! —Brian Livingston, editorial director

All subscribers: Set your preferences and download your bonus

Subscribers in London debate discussion forums

By Brian Livingston

Several dozen Windows Secrets subscribers in London, England, skipped a sunny Saturday morning on Sept. 27 to give me their tuppence on the idea of launching a new discussion forum for Windows sufferers.

The consensus seems to be that it’s a great idea, so long as we don’t wreck the quality of content that we now send out from our experienced columnists.

Figure 1. Early arrivers chat before the start of the London meeting. From left: Charles Moore, Pat Shirreff-Thomas, Fursey McHugh, and yours truly.

I announced last week that I’d hold a meeting in the London area to get feedback from subscribers (see Figure 1). This is the second in a series of free seminars I’m holding in the few hours between changing planes in various airports of the world. The first seminar was held on June 15 in Hong Kong (see my June 19 report).

It’s always been a dream of mine for readers to have a structured, online way to help each other and get help in return. We may be able to realize this goal as early as next year.

I asked readers to let me know about high-tech user forums that they already visit, and what they like and dislike about them. Here’s a list of some of the forums that were submitted, in case you haven’t heard of them all:

• AutoPatcher
• Experts Exchange (specifically, the forum on Microsoft products)
• Dell Support
• DigitalSpy
• Donation Coder
• Google Groups
• Infoworld
• Microsoft Software Forum Network (independent, not affiliated with Microsoft)
• Neowin Forum
• PC Pro
• The Register (comments on articles)
• Techworld (described by one reader as “now moribund”)
• Yahoo Groups
• Zone Labs User Forum

As to what readers dislike about these forums, Ray Burnley sums up many people’s experiences when he reports:

• “The biggest problem I find is that it is sometimes difficult for a ‘semi-techie’ — one who can find his way around with advice/guidance — to explain his problem so that others can understand what he’s getting at.

  “Too often, as well, I have found myself (and others) being ‘flamed’ for not being able to explain our problems in technical terms, whereas the fact is, if we had that level of knowledge/understanding, we wouldn’t need the advice!

  “Incidentally, that’s just why I subscribe to Secrets — whilst a lot is technical, it does usually explain things in simplified terms.”

Another participant in the Sept. 27 meeting emphasized that he likes the fact that Windows Secrets columnists are experts who can be trusted. Discussion forums on the Web often contain comments by people whose advice can’t be relied on. In this reader’s view, it’s important for us to keep a clear separation between experienced writers vs. contributors who have varying levels of experience.

I wholeheartedly agree. Watch this space in the months to come as we explore these ideas further.

Would you like a free seminar to come to your area? Make sure your locale is entered correctly on your preferences page. We use this information to decide where enough Windows Secrets readers live to make a meeting possible. Visit your preferences page

Thanks for your support!

Brian Livingston is editorial director of WindowsSecrets.com and co-author of Windows Vista Secrets and 10 other books.

Does Vista already have Windows 7's new kernel?

By Stuart J. Johnston

For those waiting for a faster, better-performing version of Windows, you’ll have to wait at least nine months for Windows 7.

But if you can’t wait, Vista Service Pack 1 may provide a peek into Microsoft’s plans to equip Windows 7 with a dramatically smaller, more agile operating-system kernel.

The new kernel is meant to deliver the kind of performance boost that users have been demanding ever since Vista first shipped nearly two years ago. In fact, the new kernel may already be in Vista SP1. (An operating system’s kernel is a core piece of the system that manages the computer’s resources.)

Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t saying whether Vista’s kernel has been updated.

According to an analysis performed by Australian tech publication APC Magazine, Vista’s first service pack sports the same kernel as Windows Server 2008: version 6.0.6001. The original release of the Vista kernel was version 6.0.6000, APC said.

Sharing a kernel wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, considering that Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 were released to manufacturing (RTM) on the same day.

“We are going to build on the success and the strength of the Windows Server 2008 kernel, and that has all of this [kernel] work that you’ve been talking about,” Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Windows and Windows Live engineering, told CNET in May.

“The key there is that the kernel in Windows Server 2008 is an evolution of the kernel in Windows Vista, and then Windows 7 will be a further evolution of that kernel as well,” Sinofsky added.

Vista SP1 may already have ‘MinWin’ on board

While Vista SP1 does show some relatively small performance improvements over the original release, that’s nothing compared to what Microsoft is hoping to deliver with Windows 7 — that is, if the company follows through on its previous public statements about the OS.

A benchmark test of SP1 done last winter by PC World found small but incremental improvements over Vista RTM in specific areas of performance. For instance, compared to the original release, SP1 was 9% faster on a file-copying test. Meanwhile, results were unchanged from Vista RTM when it came to system startup and shutdown speeds.

Windows 7 — the codename for the next Windows release due by early 2010 — will contain a more evolved version of the kernel, which Microsoft has somewhat confusingly named “MinWin.” The company’s goal is to dramatically shrink the amount of the code that runs at the heart of the operating system.

“[MinWin] is running in 40MB of memory, a lot less than the 2GB that you’re used to” with the original Vista kernel, Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Eric Traut told a group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign last October.

In his presentation, Traut was adamant that Windows 7 will sport the new, much smaller kernel.

“The core of the system is really streamlined,” Traut said.

Since Traut’s address, however, Microsoft executives have been less than clear about what MinWin really is. Also, Microsoft pronouncements as to when MinWin will enter the production code base for Windows have been squishy at best.

For instance, last December, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich, who founded Winternals and is a member of the Windows Core Architecture group, told an interviewer on Microsoft’s Channel 9 developers’ site that the version of MinWin incorporated into Windows Server 2008 is not the same as the MinWin coming in Windows 7.

Making things even murkier, company officials — particularly Sinfosky — decline to discuss MinWin, choosing instead to focus on a point that is many users’ hot button: assuring them that applications and drivers will remain compatible even if the kernel changes. In fact, the new kernel may have already debuted in Vista.

“We’re very clear that drivers and software that work on Windows Vista are going to work really well on Windows 7; in fact, they’ll work the same,” Sinofsky told CNET.

Users expect Windows 7 to be faster than Vista

It may be that customers’ fears about the effect of a new kernel on the compatibility of device drivers and applications have kept Microsoft officials from being more forthcoming. Still, the confusion has left even savvy technology analysts scratching their heads.

“I have heard that there wouldn’t be major changes to the kernel in Windows 7,” Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told Windows Secrets, though he admits that the question could ultimately be a matter of semantics.

If Microsoft slips a new kernel into Windows 7, will anyone really care? Should they care?

“Issues around the kernel should be transparent to users,” King added.

Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, echoes King’s sentiments regarding both the confusion and users’ awareness. “I’m not convinced that MinWin isn’t already in SP1,” he said. “The kernel mode code is not something that the user touches or is even aware of,” Cherry added.

The confusion — as well as Microsoft’s reluctance to talk about MinWin — may be cleared up on Oct. 28, when the company kicks off its annual Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. At the event, officials will present keynote speeches and more than 20 technical sessions on Windows 7. Additionally, all attendees will receive copies of the pre-beta code for Windows 7 to try out.

Microsoft officials have not yet said when end-user beta testing of Windows 7 will start. No release date has been set for the public beta, although news reports state that Microsoft is shooting to issue a beta in mid-December and to deliver the final product in June 2009.

To date, the company has been willing to say only that Windows 7 will be released roughly three years after Vista’s consumer launch on Jan. 30, 2007.

Stuart Johnston is associate editor of WindowsSecrets.com. He has written about technology for InfoWorld, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and InternetNews.com.

DVD rippers let you watch movies anywhere

By Scott Dunn

In case the urge to watch Superbad strikes while you’re waiting for the bus, you can rip the DVD to your hard drive, copy the file to your phone or other handheld device, and press Play — no DVD drive required.

Of course, there’s another very good reason to rip your DVDs: the discs are prone to scratches, which could render your videos unwatchable and your data inaccessible.

DVD rippers let you copy the data from a DVD to your hard disk to serve as a backup or for watching on a computer. You can then burn the data to a DVD-RW disk or, depending on the product, copy it to an iPod, iPhone, or other device.

Most of the DVD rippers I looked at are easy to use, which is good, since few — if any — have what I consider to be an adequate help system.

Although most of these products can output in a variety of formats (CloneDVD being the exception), all of them require that the source files be a DVD or a DVD ISO or IFO file. If you need a product that can convert between various video file formats, see my review of video converters from Sept. 25.

For each of these products, I tried copying a single episode of a TV show from a commercial DVD to a format that could be played on my phone.

#1: XILISOFT DVD RIPPER ULTIMATE

The best mix of ripping options and ease of use

Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate is the best-looking of this bunch of apps. The program’s attractive interface is coupled with helpful quick-start instructions in the main screen to get you off on the right foot. Select your source (DVD input) and output (file format and location), and away you go.

If you’re not ripping an entire DVD, Xilisoft shows you a detailed list of the DVD’s contents, complete with checkboxes you can use to select the sections you want to copy. Unfortunately, the list doesn’t tell you anything about the content, though you can use the product’s preview pane to check out a selected title before you rip it.

While most of the DVD rippers I tested let you split a DVD into multiple files, DVD Ripper Ultimate includes easy-to-use features for merging multiple source files into one, cropping and trimming, customizing subtitles, adding watermarks, and even applying special effects. I’m not sure why you would want your video to look like an oil painting, but at least this option is available to you in this product.

The program supports a variety of output formats (or “profiles”) and even lets you tweak the settings of each.

Figure 1. DVD Ripper Ultimate’s interface simplifies the recording process.

Bottom line: DVD Ripper Ultimate combines features you won’t find elsewhere without sacrificing attractiveness or ease of use.

#2: CUCUSOFT ULTIMATE DVD CONVERTER

User-friendly ripper lacks advanced features

Cucusoft Ultimate DVD Converter is easier to use than any other DVD ripper I looked at, but the program lacks some of its competitors’ more-sophisticated features.

Like Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate, Cucusoft Ultimate DVD Converter lists some quick-start instructions in bold type when you first launch it. But unlike the Xilisoft ripper, Ultimate DVD Converter lets you select the chapter or program you want via a preview screen, which you can navigate to from the DVD menu just as if you were watching it on your TV. Too bad none of the other products I tested had this capability.

If you prefer to work with a checklist of your disc’s contents (as in Xilisoft’s tool), you can go that route simply by clicking the “batch mode” button.

The Cucusoft site promises a “1-Click Mode” to help “dummies” (their word) open and operate the program in one fell swoop. However, I was unable to locate this new feature; perhaps it hasn’t made it to the trial version yet.

Ultimate DVD Converter provides a variety of output format options. The program even lets you rename items directly in the menu of format choices. Some limited cropping and resizing tools are available to help you work with widescreen vs. traditional television aspect ratios.

Although not as sophisticated as the Xilisoft product, Ultimate DVD Converter has most of the features the average PC user will need for backing up and copying DVDs, and for preparing the discs’ content for playback on another device.

#3: MAGIC DVD RIPPER

Low-cost ripper focuses on the basics

Magic DVD Ripper did as good a job as any of the tools I tested in converting a TV episode on DVD into a QuickTime-compatible movie. Like the other DVD rippers, the program was able to deal with region restrictions and overcome commercial copy protections. Magic DVD Ripper is easy to use and supports a handful of file-format options.

Like most of the rippers I tried, Magic DVD Ripper lets you tweak the settings of output profiles. You can manually preview a title before you output it, but you can’t use the DVD’s own menus to find your desired episode the way Cucusoft’s Ultimate DVD Converter lets you do.

One handy feature in Magic DVD Ripper is the Backup tab in the main interface. The choices here make it one-click easy to back up an entire disk or the main movie only. You can also split a DVD-9 into two DVD-5 discs, and you’re given the option to compress the output to fit on a single-layer disc.

Magic DVD Ripper lacks any cropping or resizing features but does a good job of ripping DVDs just the same.

#4: REALNETWORKS REALDVD

Real’s DVD ripper is a one-trick pony

Real Networks recently jumped into this category with RealDVD; I tested a pre-release beta version of the program. Although RealDVD is capable of ripping copy-protected DVDs to your hard drive, it attempts to avoid legal entanglements by transferring the copy protection along with the video data. In addition, a message on the main screen warns you to use the product only for DVDs you own.

RealDVD sports a simple but attractive interface that shows the box cover of the DVDs you’ve ripped and links to sites where you can read reviews and rate the discs yourself.

Unlike other rippers, RealDVD gives you very little control over the process. You can copy only the entire DVD to your hard drive (not individual episodes for a disc with a TV series, for example). Nor does the program offer controls for cropping, resizing, changing the file format, and other operations. The app’s three main controls are Play, Save, and Play & Save.

When it comes to parental controls, however, RealDVD provides a feature the other rippers lack. The program lets you choose a content level (based on the moving rating system of G, PG, PG-13, and so on) for playback of saved DVDs. Only someone with the parental-control password can change the show’s rating.

RealDVD debuted on Sept. 30 with an introductory price of $30, but $50 is expected to be the standard price going forward. If you want to view videos on more than one PC, you can use RealDVD on up to four more computers for an additional $20.

#5: SLYSOFT CLONEDVD 2

CloneDVD 2 is not for commercial DVDs

This program is in some ways the easiest to use of all the rippers I tested. CloneDVD’s wizards step you through the process of opening a DVD and selecting a title. The tool’s preview pane is fast and responsive, and you can output the content you rip as DVD files, an ISO image, or a writable DVD disk.

In addition, the program’s help system is far better than the equivalents in the other rippers I tested.

However, CloneDVD’s interface is sometimes too friendly to actually be helpful. For example, the program’s Web page promises a chapter on splitting and trimming videos, but I couldn’t figure out how to do this.

Moreover, CloneDVD supports only DVD and ISO formats, so forget about using this tool to play your videos on a portable device (unless they can accommodate DVD files).

In addition, CloneDVD cannot get past common copy protection schemes such as the Content Scrambling System (CSS). Unless you have another program that can do this, don’t expect to use this product with many commercial DVDs.

For 30 euros (U.S. $42), you can find a product that is just as easy to use but does a lot more.

Is all this legal? At least one of these products, Cucusoft Ultimate DVD Converter, addresses that issue head-on in its license agreement. Customers are asked to agree that they are the owner of the DVDs they rip and that they will not distribute the output files in any way.

Such disclaimers by themselves, however, are not likely to satisfy the Hollywood studios, which on Sept. 30 filed suit against Real Networks over its RealDVD product. According to a New York Times story by Brad Stone, Real has also filed its own suit, asking for a judgment that users are entitled to rip their own lawfully owned DVDs to their computers. It may take a court decision to settle the issue.

Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been a contributing editor of PC World since 1992 and currently writes for the Here’s How section of that magazine.

Just how much RAM does 32-bit Windows support?

By Dennis O’Reilly

In his Sept. 25 lead story, associate editor Stuart Johnston reported that the 32-bit version of Windows Vista provides users with “only 3GB of memory, a limitation that the 64-bit edition doesn’t have.”

Other 32-bit operating systems have similar memory constraints, but Stuart pointed out that 64-bit versions of Vista can address 8GB to 128GB of RAM, depending on the edition (Home Basic, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate).

Several subscribers commented that the total amount of addressable RAM on 32-bit systems is 4GB, not 3GB. Reader K. Boriskin explains it this way:

• “The various versions [of Windows] reported 3GB because that’s all that was available to the user. The rest is used internally for housekeeping, which certainly makes it supported. That has been fixed with [32-bit] Vista SP1, which now reports all installed memory up to 4GB.

  “See, for a start, [Microsoft Knowledge Base] article 946003.”

Stuart’s story was referring to the practical RAM limit — the amount of memory that’s available for applications after the OS claims 1GB. But it’s always a good idea to clarify the difference between this usable memory and the total memory that may be installed on a motherboard.

Password-cracking utility sets off false alarms

Contributing editor Ryan Russell’s Sept. 25 column in our paid content reviewed the free Cain & Abel utility. This program is designed to find and reveal all the passwords that are stored on a PC’s hard disk, which can be useful to legitimate admins as well as nefarious intruders.

It’s understandable that such a program would trigger alerts from your antivirus application. Unfortunately, several readers begged off downloading the program as a result of such antivirus alerts. Brett Shand writes:

• “FYI, Cain & Abel is producing a hit with Avast AV for [the] Win32:Oliga Trojan. It’s probably a false positive, and the forums have a reassuring reply from the coders that the program can be whitelisted. But I’m not game, especially for this type of software.”

Few programs are indispensable. If your suspicions are raised about any application, leave it be. However, we’re confident that the program Ryan recommended is safe to use and malware-free. In fact, that goes for all the products we review.

In a future Perimeter Scan column, Ryan will examine in greater detail the issue of antivirus false positives. Stay tuned!

The Known Issues column brings you readers’ comments on our recent articles. Dennis O’Reilly is technical editor of WindowsSecrets.com.

A parody that's as American as apple pie

By Katy Abby In the U.S., campaigns are heating up in the month preceding the presidential election. As the candidates dust off their “A” games for the final debates, there are about as many different opinions as there are voters. This hilarious political satire pokes fun at all of ’em! Put down the newspaper, take your eye off the stock ticker, and de-stress with some good old-fashioned campaign humor from JibJab (the makers of the famous Bush/Kerry satire video four years ago). After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself, laugh at some politicians! Play the video

Locate the important files hidden on your PC

By Ian “Gizmo” Richards Your documents, images, and other data and system files are strewn throughout the far corners of your hard drive. Here’s a cheat sheet to help you find lost e-mail, shrouded Windows system files, and every other type of file you may need.

Make sure you’re seeing all there is to see

In my Sept. 11 column on backup options, I mentioned that one of the difficulties of backing up your data is finding exactly where your e-mail, browser bookmarks, and other important files are located.

In an ideal world, these files would all be situated in your My Documents folder (Documents in Vista). Backing up would then be easy: simply copy that folder to another storage device and you’re done.

Alas! With Windows, we are a long way from this ideal. Windows scatters vital files across many different locations. Worse still, the file locations vary, depending on which version of Windows you’re using.

If this sounds like a mess, it’s because it is a mess, and you can thank Microsoft for creating it. However, it’s not so bad a mess that we can’t work our way through it.

First, ensure that when you look for your vital files, you can actually see them. Some of them are system files that are hidden from view in Windows’ default setup.

To make these files visible, open Windows Explorer and click Tools, Folder Options, View. (To see the Tools option in Vista, press the Alt key.) Check Show hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide extensions for known file types and Hide protected operating system files. Click OK to apply the settings.

Now you’re ready to locate your mystery files.

Root out your hard-to-find e-mail

The location of your e-mail files depends on the e-mail program you use. It’s not possible in this short article to cover all e-mail clients, so I’ll concentrate on the four most common.

• Microsoft Outlook Express: This program stores all your e-mail, IMAP, newsgroup, and Hotmail files in the store folder, which by default is at this location:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Application Data  Identities  GUID  Microsoft  Outlook Express

Username is your Windows account and GUID is a random folder name that looks something like this:

{ACEE249B-0C16-491C-B19E-348F8295C81C}

This is the location in most versions of Windows, but your setup may be different. You can locate the folder by opening Outlook Express and clicking Tools, Options, Maintenance, Store Folder. This will show you the exact location of the store folder on your PC.

• Microsoft Outlook: All of your e-mail, contacts, calendar, and other Outlook data are stored in a single huge .pst file that’s usually called outlook.pst. By default, the Windows XP version places this file here:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Local  Settings  Application Data  Microsoft  Outlook

In Vista, the default location is:

C: Users  Username  AppData  Local  Microsoft  Outlook

If you can’t find your .pst file at either of these locations, click Start, Search, Files and Folders; enter .pst in the box labeled All or part of the file name; and press Enter.

Once Windows locates the file, you’ll see its location. Note that you can’t back up Outlook personal store files while Outlook is open, because the program opens the file in “Exclusive Open” mode, which means all other programs are denied access. The answer is simple: close Outlook before you back up this file.

• Windows Mail: This app’s store folder is similar to that of Outlook Express, but the store is kept in a different location:

C: Users  Username  AppData  Local  Microsoft  Windows Mail  Local Folders

If you can’t locate it there, open Windows Mail and click Tools, Options, Advanced, Maintenance. You’ll see the file’s location listed in the dialog box.

• Mozilla Thunderbird: You’ll find this program’s stored mail, passwords, and other personal information in your profile folder. The location of your profile folder depends on your version of Windows. For Windows 2000 and XP, it’s usually here:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Application Data  Thunderbird  Profiles  xxxxxxxx.default

In Vista, the file is in this location:

C: Users  Username  AppData  Roaming  Thunderbird  Profiles  xxxxxxxx.default

In both cases, the xxxxxxxx represents a random string of eight characters.

If your profile is not stored in either of these places, check out the Thunderbird profile documentation at the Mozilla Foundation’s site.

Home in on your browser bookmarks and favorites

Windows stores the sites on IE’s Favorites list in a folder called Favorites. In Windows XP and 2000, the folder’s default location is this:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Favorites

In Vista, they’re probably at:

C: Users  Username  Favorites

Firefox bookmarks are stored in a file named bookmarks.html, which is stored in your Firefox profile. The exact location of your profile folder depends on your version of Windows. For Windows 2000 and XP, it’s likely this:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Application Data  Firefox  Profiles  xxxxxxxx.default

For Vista, it’s this:

C: Users  Username  AppData  Roaming  Firefox  Profiles  xxxxxxxx.default

The xxxxxxxx represents a random string of eight characters.

If you don’t find your profile in one of these two places, check out the Firefox profile help page on the Mozilla Foundation’s site.

Find your way through the Registry morass

Windows XP and Vista place important Registry entries in eight or more different files. Six of these — Software, System, SAM, Security, Default, and UserDiff — have no extension and are normally located here:

C: Windows  System32  Config

For each user, there are two additional Registry files. The first is named NTuser.dat, which XP places here:

C: Documents and Settings  Username

In Vista, it’s located here:

C: Users  Username

The second user file is Usrclass.dat. In Windows XP, it can be found here:

C: Documents and Settings  Username  Local Settings  Application Data  Microsoft  Windows

Vista puts it in this location:

C: Users  Username  AppData  Microsoft  Windows

If you think this is more complex than it should be, you’re right. That’s why I recommend you back up your Registry using a specialist program. My favorite is the free Erunt utility, which will not only back up your Registry but will restore it as well. Erunt works well for all versions of Windows from NT through XP. Vista users can back up using a procedure documented by a site entitled Instant Registry Fixes.

Other files in mysterious locations

The three file types I’ve covered here encompass the most important obscurely located files you may wish to back up. Other files worth backing up include your browser history, browser forms, e-mail account customizations, password-manager files, and Microsoft Office settings. Some of these values are not even stored in files but rather in the Registry itself!

Now you understand why I said at the outset that Windows’ file storage is a mess. Unfortunately, this propensity to strew important files all over your hard drive transforms backup from what should be a relatively simple task to a difficult one. Now that you know the location of your most important files, your backups should go faster and smoother.

For less-experienced users, it’s easiest simply to back up everything on your PC using a drive-imaging program such as Acronis True Image (U.S. $50; free trial available). You could also buy a commercial backup program such as Genie-soft’s $50 Genie Backup Manager, which allows you to back up hard-to-find files such as e-mail, browser bookmarks, and application settings simply by checking a series of boxes in the program’s setup wizard.

Ian “Gizmo” Richards is senior editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He was formerly editor of the Support Alert Newsletter, which merged with Windows Secrets in July 2008. Gizmo alternates the Best Software column each week with contributing editor Scott Spanbauer.

Improve security by running apps in isolation

By Mark Joseph Edwards Your most important programs run in the same environment as your operating system — which means if they pick up malware, Windows does, too. A free utility lets you run each app in its own virtual environment to prevent any interaction with your vital system files.

Stay safe by siloing your running applications

Maintaining your PC’s security requires a multilayered approach. You probably use a firewall, antivirus software, spyware catchers, and spam filters. But there’s one security layer that’s probably missing from your system: virtualization.

The technology works by running one or more of your programs in a virtual PC environment, or virtual machine, that’s isolated from the rest of your system. That way, a malware infection can get no further than that virtual environment.

The Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) from Altris works a lot like a virtual machine at the application level. (Note that Altris was acquired by Symantec in January 2007.)

For example, if something goes wrong with a browser that’s running inside an SVS wrapper, you can simply reset the program back to its defaults and be rid of the problem.

Altris provides a full-blown commercial virtualization solution, complete with server-based tools for managing and deploying virtualized applications. The good news is that SVS is free for personal use. Even better, if you head over to the SVS Downloads site, not only will you find the SVS client software that you need in order to virtualize your applications, you’ll also discover some virtualized applications and configuration tools that are ready to drop right into SVS.

Granted, most of the virtualized programs offered are outdated: Firefox 1.5 and Thunderbird 1.5, for example. But if you’re looking to test SVS before going full-tilt into virtualizing your own applications, these ready-made apps make the task faster and simpler.

You’ll also find an SVS version of the instant-messaging client Miranda, which supports MSN, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, and other IM networks. The roster of pre-fab virtualized apps includes a BitTorrent client, OpenOffice.org, multimedia tools, and graphics packages.

Site helps you find public Wi-Fi hotspots

It’s usually easy to find a wireless hotspot you can use to get online. A lot of libraries, coffee shops, and hotels offer free wireless access. Unfortunately, the times you most need a public hotspot are the times you can’t find one. Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply print out beforehand a map showing the location of the open hotspots where you’ll be?

Head over to the Wireless Geographic Logging Engine (WiGLE), where you’ll find an interactive hotspot map that lists access points all over Europe and the U.S. The map lets you zoom right down to street level. Just print a view of the place you’ll be visiting, tuck the hard copy into your laptop case, and off you go.

As of late September, WiGLE listed over 16.1 million wireless networks, of which at least 5.8 million don’t use encryption, so they’re wide open. Over 7.6 million of the wireless networks listed are encrypted; the security status of about 2.6 million others is unknown.

While the vast majority of these wireless networks changed their SSID from the factory default, at least 2.5 million of them still use their default SSID. This makes me wonder whether the owners bothered to change their access point’s default password. I sure hope so.

You can avoid using printouts by visiting the WiGLE download page. It offers a Java client called JiGLE and a native Windows client called DiGLE that you can install on your laptop to add map packs for a given city. This lets you find wireless hotspots while you’re offline, solving the Catch-22 of needing an Internet connection in order to find an Internet connection.

Firefox 3.0.3 has a vulnerability built in

Mozilla recently released Firefox 3.0.2, which fixes 11 bugs. Unfortunately, you already need to upgrade this version of the browser.

Shortly after the release of 3.0.2, a glitch was discovered that prevents a lot of international users from accessing the passwords stored in the browser. Just a few days ago, Mozilla released Firefox 3.0.3, which fixes that problem.

As soon as Firefox 3.0.3 hit the streets, Aditya K. Sood discovered a Denial of Service (DoS) problem in the new version. A bad guy could use JavaScript to crash the browser. The glitch might indicate a more serious bug that would allow someone to run arbitrary code, although this hasn’t been demonstrated yet. What has been demonstrated is the DoS problem; code exploiting that hole is already out there.

At present, your only defense is to disable JavaScript. Since that’s an extreme fix, I fully expect the Mozilla Foundation to fix the problem quickly, which means we’ll be seeing Firefox 3.0.4 in short order.

A .zip file can crash Windows Explorer

Firefox isn’t the only tool with a DoS problem. An anonymous researcher posted example code for a corrupted .zip file that can bring down Windows Explorer. In my tests, I found that the corrupted .zip makes it appear that a couple of strange, extra bytes are at the beginning of the file. As a result, my third-party command-line .zip extractor simply complains that it can’t open the file.

However, if you right-click the corrupted .zip file in Explorer, it may cause the file manager to crash. Whether that problem could be used to create a more serious exploit remains to be seen.

The problem reportedly affects Windows XP systems with Service Pack 3 installed. Microsoft hasn’t yet said what it plans to do about the bug. Your best defense at the moment is to avoid downloading or opening .zip files from unknown sources. Alternately, use a third-party program such as WinZip Computing’s $30 WinZip (45-day free trial), which — as far as I can determine — is not affected by the problem.

Avira patches the free Antivir Rescue System

In my Aug. 14 column, I provided an overview of the best bootable rescue CDs. My top pick is Avira’s AntiVir Rescue System, which I believe is the best anti-malware rescue CD you can get today. AntiVir’s malware scanner has the highest virus-detection score of all the products I examined.

Some readers who tried the tool report that AntiVir doesn’t scan their systems properly. I have since discovered that Avira is aware of the issue and pledges that the Sept. 30 release of the program, available from the company’s downloads page, fixes the glitch.

Mark Joseph Edwards is a senior contributing editor of Windows IT Pro Magazine and regularly writes for its Security Matters blog. He’s a network engineer, freelance writer, and the author of Internet Security with Windows NT.

Tips for taking the 64-bit Vista plunge

By Susan Bradley The move from 32-bit Vista to its 64-bit counterpart can be rocky, so be sure to check for device drivers beforehand. I’ve got some other early-implementer advice on how to keep the migration to 64-bit computing a smooth ride.

Disable UAC before you upgrade Vista to 64-bit

My office recently deployed its first 64-bit Vista system. Last week, associate editor Stuart Johnston’s Top Story recommended that XP users who wish to upgrade to Vista do so only to the 64-bit version — rather than 32-bit — to get advanced features such as better memory utilization.

On our inaugural 64-bit Vista machine, our line-of-business applications and printers were deployed without a hitch. The trick for us was to open the System Configuration utility (msconfig.exe) to the Tools tab and disable User Account Control (UAC) prior to installing the software. Once the installation was complete, we re-enabled UAC and everything ran perfectly.

By contrast, when we had previously installed the same apps and drivers on 32-bit Vista systems, we merely had to choose Run as Administrator rather than disable UAC altogether.

Before we started the migration, we made sure our printers had 64-bit drivers. Multifunction devices — which combine printing, scanning, copying, and other features — are the most likely to encounter driver conflicts. Before you purchase 64-bit Vista, ensure that 64-bit drivers are available for all your peripherals.

All in all, I’ve been very pleased with our deployment of 64-bit Vista. We’ve had no glitches moving from the 32-bit platform. While our line-of-business apps were not built for 64-bit systems and exhibited no increase in performance, we found that Internet browsing is speedier on a 64-bit machine.

Vista Ultimate gets a playful update

If you use Vista Ultimate, you may have received an update last week that included some Ultimate Extras. The major addition is the game Microsoft Tinker, which is accompanied by a sound pack for the Tinker games and several Dreamscene bundles.

Figure 1. Vista Ultimate offers to download a new game as part of its updates.

I tinkered with Tinker while waiting for a plane to Seattle, where I’m attending this year’s SMBNation Conference. If you have Vista Ultimate, look for the game in your Vista Ultimate box.

Don’t postpone your upgrade to Firefox 3

If you’re running Firefox 2, you should have been offered an update to 2.0.0.17, which includes crash fixes and security patches. More importantly, your browser will be supported only through this December. Starting next year, the Mozilla Foundation will no longer offer bug fixes for Firefox 2 and will supply patches only for version 3.

If you haven’t yet downloaded and installed the new version of Firefox, I urge you to do so soon. Unless you have a compelling reason to stay on Version 2, use the next three months to test Version 3, so you’ll be ready to upgrade before your browser turns into a pumpkin.

Time to plug a hole in Mozilla Thunderbird

My favorite e-mail and newsreader program has been updated to version 2.0.0.17, which includes crash fixes and various security patches. (See Mozilla’s security advisory page for details.)

After updating one computer, I found that I had to reboot the system a second time to deploy the patch.

Apple releases Java updates for the Mac OS

Two versions of the Mac OS — Tiger 10.4.11 and Leopard 10.5.4 and later — received updates to patch security holes in Apple’s implementation of Java. The updates patch bugs that would allow malicious Web addresses to launch malware via a Java applet.

The problem is unique to Apple’s Mac platform. See the Apple knowledge base articles HT3178 and HT3179, respectively, for details.

Google’s Chrome browser gets its first patch

If you’re wondering when I’m going to start reporting on patches for Chrome, Google’s new browser, I’m holding off because the program is still a beta release.

Even with the beta label, Chrome has already racked up a few security concerns and had its share of zero-day issues. One bug involving Denial of Service (DoS) attacks has been reported by ZDNet and other security venues.

For now, be cautious with Chrome, because more of these security issues will arise. Chrome may be a promising browser, but at present it appears to be a bit insecure.

A new look for Windows Genuine Advantage

You may have noticed a new Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) update. Many of you have asked me whether you need this update if you’ve kept your systems up-to-date all along.

WGA’s changes are mostly under the hood. The WGA blog provides some details on the update.

The bottom line is that (a) if you’re a legal customer of Microsoft, (b) have always been a legal customer of Microsoft, and (c) plan to remain a legal customer of Microsoft, the WGA update is unnecessary. All this situation does is make legitimate users question what value they receive from WGA in the first place.

In a nutshell, legal customers won’t be affected by this update, so it’s nothing more than an inconvenience. Annoying, yes. Advantageous, no.

One very good reason to install XP SP3

First, let me apologize. In a previous column, I urged you not to use the official Microsoft Update site to download and install SP3, but rather another site that offered the full download. In my zeal, I managed to link to the wrong page. The correct download is found at the Network install page. I prefer to use the executable file that’s downloadable from this page, rather than install the update using an ISO file.

Many XP users wonder why they need SP3, since there are very few security updates in the service pack and all of them have likely been received via regular automatic updates.

While there are few new features in XP SP3, the pack does offer one major “fix.”

SP3 ensures that your PC’s software is located on the General Distribution Release (GDR) branch of patches rather than the Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) branch.

Typically, GDR patches are tested more thoroughly than QFE patches. To check if you’re on the QFE branch of a patch, look at the patch’s version information. If it has the initials “QFE,” it’s on that branch.

It doesn’t harm a system to be on a QFE branch rather than the GDR branch. But there can be side effects, such as the Internet Explorer problems discusssed in a forum posting at TwinHelix.com.

Installing XP SP3 will ensure that you’re off the QFE branch and on the GDR one.

The Patch Watch column reveals problems with patches for Windows and major Windows applications. Susan Bradley recently received an MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award from Microsoft for her knowledge in the areas of Small Business Server and network security. She’s also a partner in a California CPA firm.