Archive for the ‘Software’ Category

AVG customers that unknowingly deleted the user32.dll file ended up with a PC that either wouldn’t reboot or would go into an endless reboot cycle.

The problem started on Sunday when the company released the signature that misidentified the user32.dll file, prompting the anti-virus software to ask users whether to delete the file. Those who chose to remove it ended up with a PC that either wouldn’t reboot or would go into an endless reboot cycle, according to people on AVG’s support forum. The problem appeared to only affect PCs running Windows XP.

AVG, which is best known for the free version of its anti-virus software, acknowledged the problem and quickly sent a fix of its virus signatures. The company also posted ways to fix the problem for those people unlucky enough to have deleted the file. One of the solutions was to download a utility created by the vendor, burn it to a CD and then use the disc to boot the damaged PC.
The incident was not the first time AVG, based in the Czech Republic, had released virus signatures with a false positive. The company’s software less than a month ago misidentified CheckPoint’s Zone Alarm as a Trojan, according to the U.K. tech site The Register.

Last December, the company filed subpoenas against Google (NSDQ: GOOG), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), and domain registrar GoDaddy, seeking the identities of search advertisers responsible for fraudulently promoting counterfeit AVG anti-virus products through sponsored text ads. The company also sought domain registration information associated with the advertisers in order to identify those behind the sites selling the software.

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Now that Windows 7 has launched into pre-Beta, Microsoft has joined the world in Vista-bashing as they look to differentiate their newest OS from the incumbent. Speaking to its hardware partners at WinHEC, Microsoft is promising faster shutdown and startup times and less power consumption than its beleaguered predecessor despite the two sharing the same code base. In addition to an overall reduction in the number of services launched at startup, faster booting is achieved by loading device drivers in parallel instead of sequentially.

Windows 7 also manages wireless radios better allowing them to drop below 100% power draw while managing the connection. And by tweaking the OS kernel, the CPU can sometimes run at a lower frequency and stay idle longer. This results are a minimum of 11% better battery life for Windows 7 compared to Vista — and we’re still only talking about pre-Beta Windows 7 software, mind you. Nice. Windows 7 also promises better memory management. So instead of managing all the background windows, Win7 offloads this to the GPU, for example — system memory is then free for your applications and data.

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LOS ANGELES—Microsoft is giving the public its first glimpse of Windows 7, the successor to the company’s unevenly accepted Vista client operating system.

The unveiling of Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference here Oct. 28 calls to mind the early debut of “Longhorn,” the OS that would become Vista, at the 2003 iteration of Microsoft’s developer gathering. However, the similarities between the two product introductions don’t extend much beyond venue.

Where Longhorn was arguably overambitious (a contention borne out by Vista’s scheduling setbacks, feature scalebacks and eventual market push-back), the feature additions and enhancements in Windows 7 are modest and achievable.

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LogMeIn on Tuesday introduced in beta software that provides remote control of an Internet-connected Mac or PC through an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.
To control a computer using the new Ignition software, the remote machine must also be running LogMeIn software. The company provides people and IT departments with free and premium applications for accessing computers to access files and programs or to fix problems.

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Microsoft is preparing a major update to its Vista operating system. Windows Vista Service Pack 2 will enter beta testing next week, the company has confirmed, with a public release date to follow.

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As users continue to grouse about Windows Vista nearly two years after its introduction, Microsoft appears relieved to turn its public focus on the next release of its flagship operating system. Pre-beta code (as Microsoft calls it) for Windows 7 is reportedly already in developers’ hands, and reviewers are slated to have their first peek on the eve of the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles during the last week of October. Officially, the OS itself is slated to appear in early 2010–although some industry insiders say it may arrive before the end of 2009.

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If you’ve loaded your Wii with homebrew, or even just wanted to take advantage of one of your huge SD cards in the system, you’ve butted heads with the Wii’s 2GB SD card limit. The console won’t recognize anything more than 2GB, even if you’ve got a 4GB+ card loaded. But if you format that card with SDFormatter and load it with 2GB of dummy files, the Wii will recognize a 2GB card…which can then be cleared of of its contents and used as a 4GB card. Make sense? Don’t worry, the link has a very clear tutorial. Wii Hack

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In a bid to keep competitive in the era of cloud computing, IBM (NYSE: IBM) last week released Lotus Notes Hosted Messaging, a software and service version of Lotus Notes that includes hosted mailboxes and the Lotus Notes client.

New Notes customers get licenses for clients, while existing ones can apply their on-premises licenses toward the new service, which aims at companies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. The service costs between $8 and $18 per user per month (sold on an annual basis) and comes with either a 99.5% or 99.9% service level agreement. IBM handles back-end administration including spam and virus filtering and back-up and recovery, while an administrative console allows customers to do things like manage mailboxes and check uptime.

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BEIJING, Oct 22 - Chinese Internet users have expressed fury at Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s launch of an anti-piracy tool targeting Chinese computer users to ensure they buy genuine software and not a copy.

The “Windows Genuine Advantage” program, which turns the user’s desktop black if the installed software fails a validation test, is Microsoft’s latest weapon in its war on piracy in China, where the vast majority of 200 million computer users are believed to be using fake software, unwittingly or not.

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LONDON, England (CNN) — The release of one of the most hotly awaited computer games in the past year has been delayed over concerns some of the background music may offend Muslims.

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