Kortech Services » Microsoft

Whoops! Windows XP Update Causes BSOD, Here’s A Fix

okorioth — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:19:59 +0000

If you’ve been noticing that your Windows XP machine has stopped working as of last week, there is a very good chance I know why. I ran into this issue this week with a clients computer, and after much investigation into a cause it was a fairly simple fix. As per usual, Microsoft releases security patches every second Tuesday of the month, and there were several for February. One of them, KB977165 specifically, is causing some installations of Windows XP to have the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) and renders the system unbootable, even in safe mode. Channelweb has posted instructions on how to remove the update and fix the problem. I followed this procedure and it worked like a charm! Microsoft has since pulled the patch to investigate these issues.

1. Boot from your Windows XP CD or DVD and start the recovery console.

2. Once you are in the Repair Screen, type this command: CHDIR $NtUninstallKB977165$\spuninst.

3. Type this command: BATCH spuninst.txt.

4. When complete, type this command: exit.

Update: According to the Microsoft Security Response Center, they have updated information on this problem. They are currently claiming this BSOD is caused by a rootkit that is present on the system before the update is applied. So, once the procedure to remove the update is performed, it is imperative the computer is checked for this infection. The investigation is still on going.

Update #2: After some investigation the sample computer I have was in fact infected with the suspected rootkit Rootkit.Win32.TDSS . After recovering of the system outlined above, download this program TDSSKiller.zip from Kaspersky. Run it on the system and it should detect and clean it right away. Then after reboot the computer can finally be properly updated. As added bonus you can try this program as well Hitmanpro 3.5, this program found all kinds of nasties. Its free for 30 days.

Important Patch For Internet Explorer, Update Immediately!

okorioth — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:09:17 +0000

If you have not heard the news this month, theres a little spat going on between Google and China over hacking and such. Turns out one of the techniques used to hack Google and other companies was through a security exploit in all versions of Internet Explorer, known as the Aurora exploit. Microsoft has since issued an out of band patch to plug this hole, so please run a Windows update! This pretty much affects all versions of Windows and Internet Explorer. At this point I would like to encourage everyone to choose another browser, how about Firefox or Chrome? Much safer at the moment to use these.

Microsoft Releases Massive Batch of Security Updates For October

okorioth — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:32:24 +0000

Its the second Tuesday of the month, and that of course means in the Microsoft camp its patch Tuesday. And what a whopper this one is, in fact its the largest amount of patches ever released at one time. The range of patches pretty much covers almost every major product line, from Windows, Server, SQL, Office and even the yet unreleased Windows 7. So I strongly urge everyone to take the time to install these updates. More info on these flaws can be found here.

No More Internet Exploder 6

okorioth — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:47:04 +0000

I have decided enough is enough and am joining the Internet campaign to eradicate the existence of Internet Explorer 6. Its old, full of security holes and frankly just does not play nice with Internet standards. If you are browsing this site with this version you will have no doubt noticed the huge warning banner to upgrade. Seriously, what is keeping you back from doing so or choosing a superior alternative? Personally I like Firefox and Chrome. So do us all a favor, upgrade or install something else today!

Microsoft Announces Windows 7 Pricing

okorioth — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:53:10 +0000

So, the cat is finally out of the bag. As an update to my previous post, Microsoft has finally released details on what Windows 7 is going to cost. Via this blog posting;

The estimated retail prices for upgrade packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:

Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99

Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99

Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99

And the estimated retail prices for full packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:

Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99

Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99

Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99

Aww boo! Even though it less than what Vista costs today, this is still too expensive for my tastes. Two other tidibits of info, if you are a diehard first in line type Microsoft will be offering a Pre Order discount of about half off starting tomorrow (Friday June 26th 2009) at select retailers like Best Buy, Amazon etc. But only until July 11th! Fear not if you don’t want to take the early plunge, also starting tomorrow if you buy a new computer ” from a participating OEM or retailer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate on it will all receive an upgrade to the corresponding version of Windows 7 at little or no cost to customers.” This is good until January 31st 2010.

OK, that doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me.

Windows 7 gets a release date

okorioth — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:12:19 +0000

The news was flying around the intertubes yesterday, Windows 7 will be generally available on October 22nd this year, just in time for the holidays of course. So if you are thinking of upgrading your computer, it may be in your best interest to wait. Windows 7 so far has proved, via the beta program, it is far superior than Vista in many ways. Details ares till forthcoming on the Windows 7 Option Upgrade program, how much this will finally cost etc etc. Of course, Microsoft is still sticking with its more is better mantra and will be offerring another confusing multiple versions of 7. Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Thats a lot of versions, the only two consumers should care about would be Home Premium or Professional, the first two will only be sold in emerging markets for the most part. PCMag has a great article dissecting all this information on the different versions.

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 now available

okorioth — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:27:11 +0000

For those of you who can’t wait to dive into new releases from Microsoft, Vista users can now download service pack 2 directly from Microsoft ahead of the scheduled Updates rollout (happening sometime next month).

32 bit is here

64 bit is here

So what does this do? Upgrade to Windows 7? Uhm..not quite sorry. This is primarily a bug fix release, and most of the improved items are happening under the hood. Some notable changes in this Service Pack are:

SP2 includes ability to record data to Blu-Ray Disc media.
SP2 integrates the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless, which contains support for Bluetooth v2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration. Bluetooth v2.1 is the most recent specification for Bluetooth wireless technology.
SP2 improves performance for Wi-Fi connections after resuming from sleep mode.
SP2 includes Windows Search 4.0

The full list of changes can be found here. Happy downloading!

Countdown to Conficker

okorioth — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:14:44 +0000

Hopefully, many of you know already about the Conficker worm which has been in the news as of late. There are many millions of infected machines out there today, and the clock is ticking on an April 1st deadline. What happens on April 1st 2009 is anybodys guess, but it more than likely won’t be a visible change, some even say that nothing will happen. I’ll do my part to sound the alarm as well, even if its just going to fizzle out next week.

This is an interesting little worm we’ve got on our hands, it has the ability to attack on multiple fronts and mutate from different vectors. Go out and make sure your machines are up to date with the latest patches people, this one is based on a vulnerability discovered in September 20008 affecting all Windows products from 2000 on up. Security blogger Byron Acohido has a great write up on how to see if your machine is infected and what to do about it. So if you can’t seem to get to websites such as Microsoft.com, Symantec.com, or McAfee.com you most likely could have the infection. Not to worry, there are plenty of free tools out there that remove the worm.

More information about this worm can be found here, here and here.

Microsoft’s Next Operating System will be called..7?

okorioth — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:43:13 +0000

Yep, you heard that right. Just announced yesterday the folks in Redmond are steaming full ahead for the next iteration of Windows which will simply be called..Windows 7. After all these crazy naming schemes, could they not have done this since the beginning (kinda like the Mac OS series names)? I have a feeling this move has something to do with getting away from the Windows Vista name as quickly as possible, as they seem to not be able to get out from the constant negative attention this OS is getting. Although from leaked screen shots this looks a lot like Vista, the code base will be the same with some tweaks. I’ll bet the marketing team will be ramping up the idea that this isn’t even related to its predecessor and is a completely new OS, although under the hood it isn’t.

Other sites are also reporting that this may be released even sooner than 2010, which is only speculation at this point on that date, possibly even in June 2009. Yeah right, thats a good one. Since when has Microsoft been on time for any major release? The betas for Windows 7 will be released shortly during some upcoming developer conferences so I’m curious to see what things have changed. Call me skeptical unless I’m convinced otherwise. I knew there was a reason to wait just a little while longer with Windows XP!

Microsoft’s Mojave Experiment

okorioth — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:52:38 +0000

Microsoft has finally come around to the idea that it needs to do something about the poor perceptions in the marketplace about the crappiness of Vista. Sure, the original release was plagued with stability issues and other annoyances which were mostly fixed with the release of Service Pack 1. But that didn’t seem to change peoples minds about it. As a result Apple has taken advantage of this with the Mac Vs. PC ad campaign which has been making a mockery of Microsoft for quite some time now.

Redmond’s first volley back is the “Mojave Experiment“. Basically they played the Folgers Crystals card and took a bunch of people in a room, with low perceptions of Vista, were told to rate a new operating system code named ‘Mojave’. The after a wiz bang demonstration impressing the hell out of them, and having them answer a bunch of leading questions they are told that it was Vista the entire time! Shock and amazement! Wow! I had no idea! The hidden cameras of course have recorded everything and now its been neatly packaged into a nice infomercial.

Whose idea was this? Mircosoft you think showing a bunch of people (and not actually using it by the way) a demonstration of the OS will change people’s minds? People don’t use the OS they use the applications that run on top of it! A plain jane fresh install is not a real life experience with this thing. How about letting them take it home, using it with actual applications for a month then come back and rate the experience. I would bet the results would be different then.

I am all for Windows Vista, I think it has some great new features but the negatives still out weigh the positives. Heck, I just had to remove it from my father in laws computer and put XP back on just so he can use some music software he is using in class. I’d like to root for you Microsoft really I do, but this is just too damn embarassing. Its bad enough out there already and this is the crap you come up with? Good luck with this one guys.