The list of affected operating systems includes Windows 2000, Windows XP (x86 and x64), Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64), Windows Vista (x86 and x64), Windows Server 2008 (x86 and x64), Windows 7 (x86 and x64), and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86 and x64).

In terms of the Microsoft Office suites, only Office XP and Office 2003 are affected. In addition, Project 2000, Project 2002, Project 2003, Microsoft Works 8.5, and Microsoft Office Converter Pack are also vulnerable.

The exact breakdown of the bulletins is as follows:

•Bulletin 1: Critical (Remote Code Execution), Windows
•Bulletin 2: Important (Remote Code Execution), Windows, Office
•Bulletin 3: Critical (Remote Code Execution), Office
•Bulletin 4: Critical (Remote Code Execution), Windows, Internet Explorer
•Bulletin 5: Important (Denial of Service), Windows
•Bulletin 6: Important (Remote Code Execution), Windows
If you’re wondering, the Internet Explorer hole Microsoft is plugging is indeed the one we reported on last month that affects both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, but not Internet Explorer 8.

Along with these patches, Microsoft is also planning to release the following on Patch Tuesday:

•One or more nonsecurity, high-priority updates on Windows Update (WU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
•One or more nonsecurity, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update (MU) and WSUS
•An updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Microsoft Download Center
This information is subject to change by Patch Tuesday; Microsoft has been known to rush patches as well as pull them if it deems it necessary.

Here are the clips releaqsed by MS yesterday :

Microsoft enable us to buy a ready configured PC, without it resulting in this.

Last Thursday when Windows 7 officially arrived, Microsoft opened up its first store in Scottsdale, Arizona (a second store is to follow in Mission Viejo, California). As expected, the store was stocked with Windows 7 PCs from various OEMs, and Microsoft even went the extra mile by selling them at its online store, though only in the US. It didn’t become clear until recently, however, that Microsoft was doing more to these PCs than just picking them up and putting them on display.

“Trial ware is removed from the PC,” a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed with Ars. “Microsoft Signature pairs the best PC hardware with a thoughtfully tuned software and services suite, taking your typical ‘ready to assemble’ PC ownership experience to ‘ready to run.’ For customers who purchase a Signature PC in one of our stores, our knowledgeable staff will help customers set up their passwords and networks, and tailor their browser, e-mail and other applications to their personal preferences before they walk out the door, so they can immediately enjoy their PC. Microsoft Signature PCs also come with 90 days support.”

The new “Microsoft Signature PCs” initiative means the software giant is removing all preinstalled software from the computers it is selling, and loading them instead with full versions of programs of its own choosing. We decided to check for ourselves, and there are indeed Microsoft Signature PCs from every PC maker Microsoft’s stores sell: Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba. They’re all crapware-free.

For the uninitiated, “crapware” is the term used to describe bundled software, usually trial versions or unwanted programs, which other companies pay computer makers to preinstall on their PCs. This keeps PC prices competitive, but it also clogs up computers with useless… well, crap. A typical PC from an OEM can come with any number of third-party applications, many of which are a pain to remove.

Our favorite way to deal with such software is PC Decrapifier, a freeware program designed to remove or uninstall a specific list of unwanted software in an unattended fashion. It currently can remove a total of 63 applications (though this spans different versions) that it labels as crapware, eight of which are Microsoft’s own software (most are Office trials). None of those, however, are being installed on Microsoft Signature PCs.

According to the Microsoft Store, Redmond is bundling the following applications on the PCs it is reselling: Microsoft Security Essentials, Bing 3D Maps, Zune 4.0, Playready PC Runtime (for WMC), Adobe Flash Player for IE, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Windows Live Sync, and Windows Live Essentials (which includes Windows Live versions of Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, Toolbar, as well as the Office Live Add-In and Silverlight). Of that list, the first and the last are the ones most worth noting.

Microsoft announced in September 2008 that Windows Mail, Photo Gallery, and Movie Maker would be stripped away from Windows 7 and the company would instead be offering Windows Live versions of the products as part of Windows Live Essentials. The company said it would not force (but would encourage) OEMs to include the suite on new PCs, and it would be including links in Windows 7 to download it. Microsoft Security Essentials, on the other hand, does not have its own download link in Windows 7, and the company said the software was being specifically targeted at users who did not already have an antivirus. Microsoft also said it was perfectly happy with consumers choosing other security software, as long as they were protected.

While slightly different decisions were made for the two Essential suites, Microsoft’s reasoning for both has been quite clear: no deals regarding bundling in order to avoid antitrust issues at all costs. It looks like Microsoft has found a loophole for its own rule. The company’s lawyers have apparently come to the conclusion that Microsoft as a retailer won’t have to worry about antitrust issues when including its own software on PCs that it sells.

Most Windows PCs will of course not be purchased from Microsoft stores, so the initiative will only really be successful if users see real value in the software Redmond is preinstalling. We personally prefer the software that is being offered on Microsoft Signature PCs compared to the usual crapware, as there are no trial versions and most of it we install on the Windows PCs we encounter anyway. That said, we would still end up uninstalling some of the applications Microsoft is listing.

In March 2008, Sony decided to offer consumers the opportunity to pay $50 to get a PC without all the useless software installed. The test didn’t get very far though; the company killed it after the move raised the question as to whether or not crapware is acceptable at all. Microsoft has been angered by crapware on machines for ages, but it particularly got annoyed in January 2007, at the start of the Vista age.

The company made a lot of changes in the development of Windows 7 and marketing of Windows 7; now it appears the company is trying to change the software that comes with Windows 7. It’s a shame that OEMs are unlikely follow suit.

The Adware/TotalSecurity2009 rogueware attack doesn’t just send fake popup security warnings — it takes over the machine and renders all of its applications useless, except for Internet Explorer, which it uses to receive payment from the victim for the fake antivirus. “The system is completely crippled,” says Sean-Paul Correll, threat researcher and security evangelist for PandaLabs, which found the new attack. Correll says when the rogueware detects any application on the machine starting to execute, it then shuts down the application. “This happens for every file you try to open except IE.

The only reason IE works is because that’s what’s used to allow victims to pay the cybercriminals,” he says. Bad guys have used ransom threats in phishing attacks and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, but Correll says this is the first time it has been used to force users to buy rogueware. Rogueware distributors typically prompt the victim with pop-up messages, but the user can bypass the purchasing process by ignoring them or clicking through them.

http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability_management/security/antivirus/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=FIWCQFEV0MTMDQE1GHRSKHWATMY32JVN?articleID=220601022

This figure comes from The Apple Time Capsule Memorial Register, which is a new site at which Time Capsule users log the serial number of their device, the date of purchase and the date at which the device ceased to function.

The site has currently logged over 260 dead Time Capsules since its launch less than 10 days ago.

Disgruntled Time Capsule user, “zmippie” created the register in response to the number of complaints he read in Apple’s own support forum. “In the end, hopefully, by getting a better view on the size of this premature TC [Time Capsule] failure, we can poke Apple to take action”, “zmippie” wrote in one forum post. He continues, “I don’t think this problem ends after the first batch of TCs have all died, because apparently the design hasn’t been changed since the initial release in early 2008″.

There are presently two main complaint threads on the Apple support forums about the Time Capsule failures that hold more than 600 messages from users. Most speculate that the Capsule’s power supply has failed, or an internal connection to the supply has failed.

In a credit to Apple, however, users have reported that Apple has been replacing dead devices under the standard 12 month warranty issued on purchase of a Time Capsule, as well as under the AppleCare replacement warranty, if the user has purchased it.

Apple’s latest Time Capsules include a 1TB model and a 2TB model. The failing models are largely being reported as the older generation 1TB and 500GB models.

Open Wifi is very common in domestic area's

British ISP TalkTalk has staged a stunt aimed at proving to Lord Mandelson that his plans to cut-off file-sharers without due process is “naive”. The company’s stunt demonstrates how innocent parties could easily be disconnected for file-sharing done without their knowledge through a wireless Internet connection.

The company, which has long been a critic of government plans to cut off file-sharers, sent a security expert to an ordinary street in Middlesex. The expert then obtained access to 23 unsecured wireless connections on the street and downloaded music from two of the connections.

Residents had given prior permission to be hacked and the downloads were legal, but with so many unsecured wireless connections it demonstrates just how easily a wireless connection could be hijacked for illegal file-sharing. TalkTalk plans to offer advice to all of the residents on how to make their wi-fi networks secure.

TalkTalks director of strategy and regulation, Andrew Heaney, believes that due process of law must be maintained.

“The Mandelson scheme is every bit as wrong-headed as it is naive,” he said, “The lack of presumption of innocence and the absence of judicial process combined with the prevalence of wi-fi hacking will result in innocent people being disconnected.”

According to the BBC, several cases of users being wrongly accused of illegally sharing video games have been highlighted by magazine, Which? Computing.

However, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is confident that innocent people would not be caught out, due to its “robust” evidence gathering.

BPI spokesman Adam Liversage said, “The account holder would receive a notification in the first instance, which would represent an opportunity to discuss filesharing with others in the household and which would provide the account holder with the information and tools to help ensure that the account is not used illegally again.”

“This information would extend to explaining to the account holder how they can secure their wireless router to ensure that it isn’t accessed by unknown third parties,” he added.

A statement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that it would be important to ensure that there is an “independent and easy route of appeal at all stages in the process” and that they are currently envisaging a “tribunal system to which people would have recourse before any action was taken against them.”

The government’s decision on Lord Mandelson’s controversial plan is due in November.