Posted 11/18/09 at 04:09:38 PM by Bart Salisbury

Microsoft is doing some chest-thumping over the advantages of it’s 64-bit operating systems. According to Joe Faulhaber, who works at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, the 64-bit versions of Windows and Vista are less likely than their 32-bit counterparts to be infected with malware.

According to Faulhaber, who relied on information gathered by Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRC), during the first half of 2009 64-bit XP was 48 percent less likely to be infected, while 64-bit Vista was 35% less likely to be infected. No information was available for Windows 7 for the obvious reason it hadn’t yet been released, but it is expected the same would hold true for it. Faulhaber suggests the reason 64-bit versions are more secure is that malware, written mostly for the 32-bit world, is confused by 64-bit.

Not so fast, chicken Marengo! Alfred Hunger, vice president of engineering at the security firm Immunet, and formerly of Symantec, says there’s plenty of 64-bit malware out there. In fact, its a pretty easy thing for malware creates to whip up 64-bit versions if and when they desire. The low levels of 64-bit infection, he says, is more due to the low levels of 64-bit penetration in the market. If there aren’t all that many people using it there’s no incentive for malware makers to pay attention.

Microsoft’s own bi-annual Security Intelligence Report offers up another possibility: 64-bit users are smarter than 32-bit users. Being technologically more savvy they are less likely to bring malware onto their machines. The report concludes that as 64-bit spreads from the provenance of techno-geeks the current difference in infection rates between 32-bit and 64-bit will evaporate.

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Posted 11/13/09 at 08:30:07 AM by Paul Lilly

Right from the very beginning, Windows XP has dominated the netbook scene. Vista is just too demanding for a low-power PC, and Linux hasn't been able to win over the mainstream. But even though Windows XP played an important role in the popularizing ultraportable netbooks, Microsoft appears ready to move on.

"We will continue to make Windows XP available for those devices [netbooks], but it doesn't make sense to put marketing effort behind those devices. As much as we make Windows XP available for a year, we won't see it last in the market that long. We will get through the holidays. My gut is we will walk away from the holidays and see that it's not worth keeping on the market," said Don Paterson, director of netbook PCs in Microsoft's Windows client group.

Moving on is something Microsoft probably would have liked to have done with Vista, but it just sucked up too many resources to be a viable alternative to XP. That changes with Windows 7, which looks to become the new standard.

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Posted 10/20/09 at 10:00:00 AM by Paul Lilly

In just a few days, Microsoft at long last will officially release Windows 7 to an eager public ready to put the Vista saga behind them. It's a been a long wait, particularly for those who opted to stick with XP until something better came along, but no matter how you feel about Vista, it's been an even longer ride getting to this point.

With the release of Windows 1.0 way back in 1987, Microsoft set in motion a series of events that would ultimately change the way the entire world uses their computers. It's pretty amazing when you stop and think about just how many businesses around the globe rely on Windows.

Of course, Windows' storied history isn't without its many bumps and bruises along the way, from record setting fines for anti-competitive practices to controversies surrounding Microsoft's WGA scheme. As Microsoft gears up to release its greatest OS to date, we celebrate the occasion by taking a trip down memory lane to where it all began, and how we got to this point. We cover the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

So sit back, hit the jump, and enjoy the ride!

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Posted 10/17/09 at 01:30:02 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I am getting an HP TouchSmart tx2z Tablet PC in the next couple of weeks for college. However, I need to install Windows XP on it, as it’s a requirement for the engineering software I will be using. Is it possible to repartition the hard drive and still keep the copy of Vista that comes preinstalled? If so, how would I do it? I don’t want to pay for a laptop with Vista on it, just to lose it for XP. Especially with Windows 7 right around the corner.

Read the answer to Andrew's question after the jump.

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Posted 08/31/09 at 11:41:03 AM by Mark Edward Soper

AutoRun was originally intended to help automatically start programs stored on optical media. However, once USB drives became popular, AutoRun also became a popular way to launch programs from hard disks and thumb drives by working with Windows' built-in AutoPlay functionality. Unfortunately, AutoRun's ability to provide instant launching for programs has also been widely exploited by malware such as the notorious Conficker/Downadup worm and others. Microsoft changed how AutoRun works in Windows 7 RC, but until now, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003 have been wide open to USB-based AutoRun attacks. To find out how Redmond's reining in AutoRun, join us after the jump.

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Posted 08/17/09 at 01:10:04 PM by Paul Lilly

Perception is a funny thing. If you listen to Microsoft, Vista, despite its acknowledged shortcomings, has been a success story and the company has the sales numbers to prove it. But talk to the end users and you'll hear a very different opinion. The negative perception towards Vista remains so strong that thousands of XP users have continued to make do with a nearly decade old OS.

The good news for Microsoft is that those same users don't hold the same disdain for Windows 7 as they do for Vista, according to a survey conducted by PC World and Technologizer.com. The survey pinged nearly 5,000 Windows XP users to find out how they feel about their current OS, why they haven't moved to Vista, and what their thoughts are regarding Windows 7.

Over 25 percent of the respondents said they continue to use XP because Vista doesn't justify an upgrade, and out of those who have used Vista, over half indicated somewhat negative or very negative feelings towards it. Of those who have never touched Vista, about 80 percent said they have somewhat negative or very negative feelings towards the OS.

Those opinions haven't soured the perception of Windows 7. Out of those who have had a chance to play with a beta or RC of the upcoming OS, over 65 percent said they felt very positive or somewhat positive with their experience, and only about 10 percent reported feeling negative.

More survey results here.

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Posted 08/10/09 at 04:33:19 PM by Andy Salisbury

For those of you that are looking to get a Windows 7 Vaio from Sony, don’t plan on using the Windows XP mode to run applications, because it won’t be included with the systems.

According to Sony’s Xavier Lauwaert Windows 7’s XP mode will be disabled due to security reasons. According to one of Sony’s engineers, they’re “very concerned that enabling VT would expose our systems to malicious code that could go very deep in the Operating System structure of the PC and completely disable the latter.”

Apparently Sony still plans to enable XP mode on some machines, but as to which models they choose or when it’ll be available, nobody knows.

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Posted 07/01/09 at 04:22:28 PM by Andy Salisbury

Looking to pave the way for Windows 7, many netbook vendors are hoping to clear out all of their Windows XP-based stock.

When Microsoft announced their Windows 7 upgrade program, they didn’t include Windows XP devices, causing some vendors to believe that their customers aren’t willing to pay a premium for the new OS. There are others that believe that many consumers would prefer to stick with the lower-cost Windows XP for their lightweight netbooks.

Currently, an OEM version of XP runs $25-30, while quotes form Microsoft show that Windows 7 for a netbook would run around $45-55. It’s expected that this confusion may cause some negative publicity for Microsoft in the netbook market.

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