Microsoft has been beta testing version 4.0 of their security software, Security Essentials, for several months and now they have finally released the final version to the general public.  Security Essentials is Microsoft’s free answer to large, expensive, bloated security suites like Norton and McAfee.  Many experts think that Microsoft should include the software in Windows to protect unsuspecting users, but that would likely results in an Internet Explorer-type legal storm from the competitors.

Yesterday Microsoft sent an email out to all beta testers alerting them that the beta version of the software will soon lose support and users will automatically be ungraded to version 4.0 final release.  If you aren’t currently a Security Essentials customer you can visit this site to download it.

Dear Beta User,

Thank you for joining the Microsoft® Security Essentials Beta. We hope you have enjoyed using the Security Essentials Beta and found it easy to install and use.

The final release of the latest version of Microsoft Security Essentials has recently been released and the beta program will end on April 26th2012.

During the next days, participants who installed the Security Essentials Beta and are subscribed to automatic updates will be upgraded to the final release of the latest version of Microsoft Security Essentials after they agree to a new license agreement. If you would like to upgrade manually, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/automaticupdate.mspx [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/automaticupdate.mspx].

Please note that in order to continue receiving technical support, you will need to upgrade or install the final version of Microsoft Security Essentials.

Thanks again for participating in the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta.

Best regards,

The Microsoft Security Essentials Team

You can check out a few screenshots of the new version below.

About screen

Home screen

Update screen

Settings screen

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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With the roll out of Windows 8 and it’s touch-friendly interface, Microsoft has introduced a new way to unlock your device – the picture password.  The new picture password allows users to simply draw a pattern or tap the image in specific locations to unlock the screen.  This obviously is made for touchscreen devices, but Windows 8 is expected to be on many tablets by the end of 2012.

To get started you will need to access the Windows 8 Charms Menu and click the “Settings” option.

Once you’ve selected settings you’ll want to click on “More PC Settings”.  Now click “Users” and and you should see an option to create a new picture password on the right hand side.

Now enter you current password and click past the “Welcome” screen, then browse to find the picture you want to use.  You can choose one from your computer, or one that is stored on Facebook, Flickr, or SkyDrive.

Once you’ve selected your picture you can begin to draw your pattern. You will be asked to draw it 3 times so the system learns it accurately. You can draw pretty much any pattern you want as long as it includes 3 gestures. It does make a difference which direction you draw lines and circles, as well as the order that you do them in. You can also tap on specific locations on the picture if you so wish.  After the third time Windows 8 will save the pattern as your new password.

This feature is geared towards touchscreens, but you can use it with a mouse as well.  Windows doesn’t require the drawing to be exact, since exact replication could prove difficult.  No doubt the feature will be improved with time as well.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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If you haven’t heard yet, it was recently revealed that Google has been tracking users through cookies placed into Apple’s Safari web browser which runs, not only on PC’s and Mac’s, but also on all iOS devices.  Microsoft is taking advantage of this unfortunate news to both strike out at Apple and Google, as well as push their own web browser, Internet Explorer.

In an overnight blog post, Microsoft’s Ryan Gavin, General Manager of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, laid out the recent news and called it “alarming”.  He also pointed out other instances of Google’s misbehavior, such as the recent Privacy Policy changes.  He then goes on to let everyone know that if you “want to protect your confidential information and privacy while you’re online, there are alternatives for you.  Windows Internet Explorer is the browser that respects your privacy.”

This game has become a favorite tactic of Microsoft recently as they have learned to point out, and take advantage of, their rival’s missteps.  We saw it recently when Microsoft offered free Windows Phone handsets to Android user’s worried about malware on their devices.  Now they are using it push Internet Explorer on users worried about Safari privacy problems.  Microsoft is playing tough these days.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Websites are beginning to report that the Microsoft online store in India has been hacked.  This is breaking news now, so there isn’t much information available as of yet, but the web site The Windows Club, based in India, has posted the above picture from the Microsoft Store homepage, along with the this brief report:

“The credit for the hack has been taken by the EvilShadow, apparently a Chinese group, and the defaced home page displayed links to the hackers blogs as well as their email ID’s.”

Meanwhile The Verge is reporting that user names and passwords were stolen as part of the hack, and that ” it looks like the site kept its users’ passwords stored in plain text, making it very easy for the hackers to get at the sensitive information.”

So far there has been no official word from Microsoft, but we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Windows Defender is a cool security tool from Microsoft that has been available for some time now, but it will also be coming out for Windows 8, the next-generation Microsoft operating system that is coming soon.  The public Beta, or Consumer Preview as it will apparently be known, of Windows 8 will be coming out later this month and the final version will likely come this fall.

Today the Chinese web site, PC Beta released a screenshot of Windows Defender running in the latest release of Windows 8.  It doesn’t specify the version or Build number, but we will assume this is Build 8220, which has been popping up around the web, including on that site, for several days now.  The new Windows Defender looks as if it functions the same, but it now has a slightly cooler, Metro-like interface.

You can view the screenshot posted below.  It was the only one published today, so there isn’t really mush to see here, but it adds more to the countless screeshots of Windows 8 Build 8220 that have been pouring out over the past few days.  To see others, you can visit this post or this one.

Source: Windows 8 Update

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Flash from Adobe has become a liability for all computer users with their laundry list of security flaws, but they are working to fix these problems (as they always are).  A while back Adobe announced the sandboxing of Flash with Google Chrome, but now they are finally bringing this technology to Firefox, the popular web browser from Mozilla.  Sandboxing allows an app to work alone without interacting with anything on the PC.

In a blog post yesterday, Adobe representative Peleus Uhley announced the new Firefox app for Flash.  “Today, Adobe has launched a public beta of our new Flash Player sandbox (aka “Protected Mode”) for the Firefox browser.”  The app is available for immediate download from Adobe Labs.  In addition, Uhley will be speaking about this at the upcoming CanSecWest security conference.

“Sandboxing technology has proven very effective in protecting users by increasing the cost and complexity of authoring effective exploits. For example, since its launch in November 2010, we have not seen a single successful exploit in the wild against Adobe Reader X. We hope to see similar results with the Flash Player sandbox for Firefox once the final version is released later this year.”

This is all very good news for Firefox users.  While the Flash Sandbox is currently in Beta, it is stable enough to use now, and a final version will be coming later this year.  Adobe also plans to bring this technology to other web browsers in the future.

Source: Adobe Blog

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks and months about mobile security, especially surrounding the Android operating system made by Google.  Much of the hype, which comes largely from the sellers of security products, is unfounded, playing off of the fears of mobile users to sell their wares.  Avast!, who make free anti-virus software for computers, are now doing the same for mobile.

While malware in the mobile arena still is a rarity, it’s always best to play it safe.  Since avast!, by issuing free security software, isn’t just taking advantage of scared users of mobile devices, and the growing market of mobile devices is creating an ever-growing target, it’s probably a safe bet that security is something worth looking at for your mobile handset or tablet.

avast! for mobile is currently available only for Android, but it will likely be bringing its security wares to other mobile platforms in the future.  It’s a lightweight app that won’t hog up your mobile device and a little security never hurt anyone, so it may be worth a look for anyone carrying around an Android, and for those on other mobile operating systems, you may want to keep an eye on your app app store.  After all, security, no matter what you are doing, is worth having.

To install avast! head over to the Android Market.  For a full review, I recommend visiting AndroidAndMe who did a great job breaking everything down.  You can watch a video below that also gives you an overview of the app.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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One thing that has been lacking from the latest version of Windows Home Server is anti-virus protection.  The first version of the Windows Home Server operating system from Microsoft has several anti-virus apps available from different security firms, but the 2011 OS has had nothing so far.  That has been a source of some frustration from the enthusiast community who were anxious for the latest version of the server OS.

Now, finally, a company has stepped up to create the first, and only, anti-virus, software for the latest Windows Home Server version.  Security firm G Data has entered the picture with their G Data IS for Home Server, which is available now for $99.  Anti-virus was one of the first apps requested by Windows Homer Server users after the 2011 version was  released.

It’s funny, but none of the vendors who released anti-virus apps for the original Windows Home Server have issued updates to support the latest version of the server operating system.  That’s a shame, but thankfully G Data has come up big for all of us.  The price is a bit steep, but when you own the market, as G Data currently does, you can name your price. However, before you fret over the cost, the $99 buys you anti-virus protection for not just your Windows Home Server, but also up to five computers on your network.  You can check them out at G Data Software.  Perhaps soon Microsoft will step up with a version of their Microsoft Security Essentials for the Windows Home Server.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Although 100 is a nice round number, that’s probably not the reason Microsoft pushed out a patch for Windows right in the middle of a holiday week.  When a fix suddenly appears, and it’s not “Patch Tuesday”, it usually means something very bad has been found somewhere in Windows, and in this case it’s in the .NET Framework.  A hole was discovered within .NET that has been rated as “Critical” because of a Denial of Service vulnerability.

The patch, MS11-100, also address 3 other security holes that had been found in the software.  The release of the patch was announced last night via a post at the Microsoft security blog.  The announcement reads, in part:

“Yesterday evening, we published an Advanced Notification alerting customers to a new out-of-band security update planned to be released today. The notification listed the update as addressing a Critical Elevation-of-Privilege vulnerability, leading to several questions from customers who expected the bulletin addressing a Denial-of-Service vulnerability to be rated Important.

Before hearing about this vulnerability, we had planned to release a .NET security update addressing three vulnerabilities, one of which was a Critical elevation-of-privilege vulnerability. When this vulnerability notification arrived a few weeks ago, the ASP.NET team included the fix into the update already being developed and tested. So the bulletin today addresses four vulnerabilities, one of which is the ASP.NET Denial-of-Service vulnerability presented yesterday. You can read more about the other vulnerabilities in the Security Bulletin and we also invite you to join us for a webcast at 1:00 p.m. PST today (Dec 29) where we will describe the vulnerabilities and answer your questions live “on the air.” You can sign up for the webcast here.”

The update was was pushed out today to all machines with Windows update enabled.  The fix is for virtually all active versions of Windows, which consists of Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Everyone today is concerned with the security of their computer.  With hacks, viruses, and spyware at an all-time high, we all need to be vigilant about everything we do online – every email, website, and download.  For a couple of years now, Microsoft has offered their free security suite, Microsoft Security Essentials.  Some people may remember that before MSE, Microsoft issued Windows Defender, which is essentially an all-purpose malware detector and remover, which is now a part of Windows 7.  This week Microsoft quietly released a new, albeit beta, version of that app called Windows Defender Offline.

Why would you want an “offline” version?  Because many of today’s malware apps have become so sophisticated that they are almost impossible to detect, let alone remove, from a PC that is booted up and running.  They integrate themselves into the Windows operating system to keep them from being detected and removed.  According to Paul Thurrott, of the Windows Super Site, ” This tool can help final and remove malicious software, much like the version built into Windows. But because it can be installed to CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, it can be run in offline mode, when the Windows OS isn’t running. And that makes it more effective, since many exploits, like rootkits, are hard to remove when Windows is running.”

You will need a blank CD, DVD, or USB Drive to download and install Windows Defender Offline Beta onto.  If you are using a USB Drive then be aware that you will need to format the drive, so don’t use one that contains files you don’t want to lose.  You can get the app, in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, from this Microsoft site.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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