Turmoil at Microsoft; implications for Windows users

Turmoil at Microsoft; implications for Windows users

Microsoft in general and the Windows group in particular have gone through enormous changes within the past year. All the key Windows 8 players are out.

Most of us can only speculate on the reasons for the massive turnover, but one point remains clear: under new management, Windows is in for changes.

Reflecting on the Windows 8 disaster

As you probably know, I am not one of Windows 8’s biggest fans. And that opinion comes from long experience with the OS. I wrote a thousand-page book about Windows 8 and another thousand-page tome about Windows 8.1. I’ve used Win8 all day, every day, for almost two years.

Based on that experience, I can’t recommend Windows 8 to experienced Windows users — unless they’re springing for a new touch-capable tablet or they really want to try something quite different from classic Windows. In truth, the vast majority of mouse-and-keyboard Windows users I know are still better served with Windows 7.

I don’t think relatively inexperienced Windows users are well served by Win8, either. (Yes, of the approximately 1.4 billion Windows users on the planet, there are a few novice Windows users left.) Those who know a little bit about Windows often get hog-tied trying to figure out Metro; those who don’t know anything about Windows but are comfortable with their smartphones are usually better off with an iPad or an Android tablet — in my not-so-humble opinion.

You might not agree with my assessment of Windows, but again: I speak from long experience and many discussions with fellow Windows users. It’s clear to me that Microsoft’s board of directors is staring up at a sword of Damocles 8.0 — and unwilling to let it fall without a fight.

Microsoft’s dilemma over the direction of Windows 8 isn’t confined strictly to Windows. There are numerous emerging threats to the Windows hegemony, such as the many excellent alternatives that use a heavy helping of cloud. But the Jekyll-and-Hyde design of Windows 8 certainly didn’t help. I think Apple’s Tim Cook got it right: “You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator,” but it won’t please users.

Those factors — the tepid (to be generous) interest in Windows 8 and the myriad extraneous forces — virtually guaranteed a major shakeup in Microsoft. Nearly everybody in the Windows management chain, all the way up to the top of the company, is now gone. And though we might think of the shakeup as a deserved and needed repudiation of Windows 8 (I liken it to a rejected transplant), it also presents some exciting new possibilities. I’m actually optimistic that the next Windows will be considerably better than Win8. Why? The new Windows handlers know their stuff.

The folks who brought us Windows 8

It’s easy to forget that the same management team that built Windows 8 also made Windows 7. (I’m sure I’m far from alone in my belief that Win7 is the best Windows ever.) I use the term “management team” deliberately; for the most part, the same five people have worked together from Office 95 days to Windows 8. That’s about a century or two in Internet years.

Former Windows Division president Steve Sinofsky led the bunch. (A personal disclaimer here: I’ve had run-ins with Sinofsky since Office days, and he’s not one of my favorite characters. The feeling is probably mutual.) He’s a brilliant software guy and possibly one of the best project managers of all time. In the wake of the Vista debacle, Steve and his group turned around the growing doubt that Microsoft could produce a viable version of Windows — an astounding achievement.

And then came Windows 8. Few know exactly what happened, but in November 2012, less than a month after Win8’s general release, Sinofsky was suddenly out of Microsoft. (Steve won’t say; he’s bound, as reported in a Digital Trends story, by a U.S. $14 million retirement agreement that precludes him from making “disparaging statements” about Microsoft.)

I think that Steve tried to pull the Windows Phone effort into the Windows 8 fold and was thwarted. Back in December 2011, while the Windows 8 development effort was in full swing, Steve Ballmer removed the widely respected Andy Lees from his post as president of Windows Mobile (see InfoWorld story) and replaced him with young turk Terry Myerson.

Ultimately, Myerson never joined the Windows 8 effort. He and the Windows Phone team kept their heads down and honed Windows Phone 7, which doesn’t look or act anything like Windows 8.

For whatever reason, Sinofsky’s departure was abrupt. Some people think he jumped; others think he was pushed. As I reported in an InfoWorld story, my theory is that he expected to parlay the success of Windows 8 into a larger division that included Windows Phone — and then replace Ballmer as the next CEO of Microsoft. Unfortunately for Sinofsky, things did not go as expected.

Now, the rest of the Office 95-to-Windows 8 management crew (more or less) has scattered.

Julie Larson-Green — responsible for the infamous Office ribbon and Windows 8’s Modern UI — took over for Sinofsky briefly after his departure. She then spent seven months in charge of the Devices and Studios group, where she oversaw the Xbox, Surface, sundry additional devices, and Microsoft’s studio recording efforts.

Earlier this week, Mary Jo Foley revealed in a ZDNet article that Stephen Elop, who returns to Microsoft from Nokia later this year, will bump Larson-Green out of her seat. Larson-Green’s new position will be chief experience officer of the My Life & Work team in the Application and Services Group, where she’s in charge of unifying the experiences in Skype, Bing, and OneDrive. You could say that’s, uh, quite a change from running Windows development.

Jensen Harris, who worked for Larson-Green and was directly responsible for the Office ribbon and much of the Modern user interface, has moved to the Bing team — so I’m told. I haven’t heard much from him lately.

Jon DeVaan officially left Microsoft at the beginning of this year. For nearly 30 years, he built the plumbing that holds Office and Windows together. Most recently, he was in charge of the Core Operating Systems Division. DeVaan is a legendary software engineer and software-engineering manager. There are no reports on his current endeavors.

Similarly, Grant George left Microsoft at the beginning of 2014. He’s been a bug catcher almost as long as there’ve been bugs. He’s now officially retired.

Antoine Leblond stayed behind to lead the Office development team when the rest of the group left, then later became a very visible member of the Windows 8/8.1 effort, frequently posting blogs about the new software. He (or someone posting for him) has recently posted fluff pieces about Windows 8. Times have changed.

As we all know, Steve Ballmer retired as Microsoft CEO, but he keeps a foot in the door as an MS director. Opinions vary as to how much of his departure was push and how much was shove; it’s likely that the individuals involved have, uh, different perceptions.

Sturm und Drang: The crew that’s now in place

I’ve been watching Microsoft, Windows, and Office for many, many years. I’ve never seen any change as pronounced as the one that plunked Terry Myerson into the Windows hot seat.

At least organizationally — and perhaps personally — Myerson was ignored, neglected, and hung out to dry during the Sinofsky years. The Win8 team developed an entire “mobile” Windows programming interface — the WinRT API — apparently with little more than a nod to Microsoft’s official mobile team. Rumors had it that Windows 8, née Sinofsky, was going to absorb Windows Phone. It never happened — quite the contrary, in fact.

With Sinofsky’s departure, Larson-Green took charge of the Windows division. It was a short stint. In July 2013, Ballmer appointed Myerson to lead the entire Windows effort: he was the small fish that swallowed the much bigger fish. Myerson’s oversized mandate includes Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox software, and at least some parts of Internet Explorer.

Myerson and crew are currently building the next version of Windows. (We’ll call it Windows 9, for lack of a more creative name.) He has some serious engineering and management chops. He founded Intersé Corp., which he sold to Microsoft in 1997, reportedly pocketing $16.5 million in Microsoft stock in the deal. He took over the Microsoft Exchange effort in 2001 and led that group until becoming head of mobile engineering in 2008. Myerson killed Windows Mobile in late 2008, replacing it with the built-from-scratch Windows Phone. As you might imagine, he wasn’t happy when Sinofsky charged ahead with his own vision of mobile Windows.

Myerson has assembled a stellar array of managers: Joe Belfiore, now in charge of Windows for phones, tablets, and PCs, has knocked around various Microsoft departments since 1990. Xbox veteran Marc Whitten is in charge of Xbox software. Henry Sanders was on the Windows Phone team and is a former Windows Core Operating System Division (COSD) developer under DeVaan. He’s now the new OS development chief. David Treadwell, also from the Xbox team (and a COSD veteran) is in charge of product management. Two Windows team holdovers remain: performance specialist Mike Fortin takes over testing, and former Windows Live deputy Chris Jones stays on as the manager of services.

Dean Hachamovitch was in charge of Internet Explorer. He left the IE team in November 2013, and no successor has been announced. According to a Nov. 12, 2013, The Verge story, it appears that Myerson is breaking off responsibilities for IE and assigning at least some of the job to Belfiore.

In summary, the new Windows team isn’t just mobile-savvy — by and large, they’re mobile veterans. There’s a bit of old-fashioned Windows depth, but Phone and Xbox dominate. That’s a very important point to remember when you look at Windows’ future.

I also note in passing that Satya Nadella, the new Microsoft CEO, was in charge of Bing less than three years ago. So the new heavy hitters know both mobile and the cloud — arguably two of the blind spots among their predecessors.

Those are the people who are fashioning the next step for Windows. Given their history and expertise, I’m bullish on Windows 9.

What the changes mean for Windows customers

During the Sinofsky reign, most Windows pundits rarely heard a peep out of the development trenches. For whatever reason, the Windows development team was terrified of leaking anything about anything. Fortunately, that atmosphere might be changing. We’re seeing and hearing more about what the Windows team is thinking and doing.

There are no guarantees that the next version of Windows will be as successful as Windows 7. I’ve heard nothing for attribution, but the tea leaves I’ve seen leave me with some hope.

We do know that Microsoft is trying to bring two disparate programming interfaces — Metro’s WinRT API and the Windows Phone Runtime API — closer together. Late last week, a WinBeta story ran leaked screen shots that show apps capable of running under both Windows RT (and thus the Metro side of Windows 8/8.1) and the as-yet-unreleased Windows Phone 8.1. There are still many hurdles to overcome. Even if Myerson meets his goals, there will reportedly be only an “80 percent code overlap” between the two interfaces. However, that Myerson is drawing together the pieces Sinofsky pulled apart speaks volumes.

Sooner or later, developers will be able to build apps that run on both Windows Phone and the, er, Windows version of Windows. Imagine that.

Of greater interest to mouse-and-keyboard Windows users: It appears that Microsoft is building three different versions of Windows, with a Spring 2015 delivery. As ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports, the new Windows effort — code-named “Threshold” — consists of three parts:

A “Modern” consumer version of Windows, available only via the Windows Store, will run on hardware that we would currently identify as phones, tablets, phablets, and maybe even ultrabooks. There’s lots of speculation about whether Windows 9 “Mod” will run only on ARM-equipped devices (as is currently the case with Windows RT) or on both ARM and Intel hardware. Presumably, it’ll be touch-friendly.

A traditional consumer version will be suited more for mouse/keyboard users. It will be regularly updated through the Windows Store. Based on Foley’s description, it isn’t clear whether the traditional consumer version will include a Metro side similar to the current Windows 8/8.1. I hope Microsoft develops a technology similar to Stardock’s ModernMix (site), which lets you run Metro apps inside their own windows on the Windows desktop.

An Enterprise version will be mouse- and keyboard-dependent, but it won’t be updated every three or so days. This is the Windows 7 replacement, at least to my way of thinking. If it looks and acts like an improved version of Windows 7, that’s the version I’d recommend for just about every experienced Windows user.

Keep in mind: All this information is based on leaked and uncorroborated reports that might represent Microsoft’s current planning. There’s no assurance that any of this leaked information will come to fruition.

But given that bit of preview — and given the team that’s putting the next Windows together — I’m hopeful that Windows 9 will have one flavor that looks like a better Windows 7 and another flavor that works great on phones and tablets. And that they arrive in time to plug the whooshing sound emanating from Windows 8.

Win8.1 drops Win7-style backup option

In Windows 8.1, Microsoft dropped Win8.0’s “Windows 7 File Recovery” tool and replaced it with new options.

Plus: Pros and cons of flash drives as a backup medium, a replacement for the XP version of Norton Ghost, and a cloud backup-service recommendation.

Windows 8.1’s new, built-in image-backup tool

After upgrading from Windows 8.0 to 8.1, reader Tom hit a major snag with his routine backup procedures.

• “Fred, I used the ‘Windows 7 File Recovery’ backup option you described in ‘Understanding Windows 8’s File History’ [July 11, 2013, Top Story].

  “But when I upgraded to Win 8.1, the Windows 7 File Recovery option wasn’t there.

  “Are there any updates or new methods with the same simplicity?”

Indeed, Win8.0’s “Windows 7 File Recovery” is completely gone in Windows 8.1. It’s a change that was noted in that July 11 article:

“Important note: Win8.0’s Windows 7 File Recovery works for now, but don’t count on using this feature in the future. An MSDN article states that Win8’s Windows 7 File Recovery ‘is being deprecated and will not be updated.’ … Clearly, traditional backups are not part of Windows’ future!”

In place of Windows 7 File Recovery, Win8.1 offers a new option — System Image Backup. Here’s how to find it:

• Open the Win8.1 Charms bar and select Search.
• Enter File History as the search term.
• Click the File History icon when it appears.
• When the File History dialog box opens, click the System Image Backup link in the lower-left corner (see Figure 1).
  

  Figure 1. In Win8.1, Windows 7 File Recovery is gone, but there's a new tool — System Image Backup.

Win8.1’s System Image Backup works much like Win7’s Create a system image tool. (If you need a refresher on Win7’s system imaging, see the related Microsoft Support page.)

In fact, Win8.1’s System Image Backup is close enough to Win7’s version that Microsoft simply states on a Windows FAQ page, “You can use [Win8.1’s] System Image Backup like you did in previous versions of Windows.”

That said, I’m not overly excited about System Image Backup. Win8 offers another form of imaging that I think is much better. I prefer the Custom recovery imaging option because it works seamlessly with Win8’s built-in Refresh option. You can use a custom recovery image to do a nondestructive, no-reformat reinstall of Win8 — a much less drastic option than the classic, Win7-style, wipe-out-and-replace-everything imaging.

For information on Win8’s custom-recovery imaging, see the Oct. 10, 2013, Top Story, “Creating customized recovery images for Win8.”

Finally, because Win8’s backup options are so different from what’s gone before, let me also recommend three related articles:

• For file-by-file backups in Win8, there’s File History. It’s essentially the same in 8.0 and 8.1, and it’s covered in that same “Understanding Windows 8’s File History” article.
• For more information on Win8’s ‘no-reformat reinstall’ Refresh option, see the Aug. 15, 2013, Top Story.
• For information on Reset — a clean-slate reinstall for Windows 8 — see the Sept. 12, 2013, Top Story.

Those three stories will tell you everything you need to know about Win8’s backup options!

Using flash drives for system and data backups

After reading the Feb. 13 Top Story, “Sorting out the revolution in PC backups: Part 1,” reader Miles Abernathy had some observations.

• “Fred says: ‘Some other forms of backup don’t warrant coverage here. For example, USB flash drives might be fine for backing up selected files and folders, but most commonly used flash drives are too small to hold a complete, whole-PC backup.’

  “Well, maybe so and maybe not. My wife’s documents total less than 2GB, so she could back them up on a U.S. $5 flash drive.

  “A person having less than 128GB of files can store them on a flash drive (or SDHC card) that costs less than $100 and occupies only about one cubic centimeter.”

It’s true that some people who use their PCs very, very lightly might fit all their files on a low-cost flash drive — those who create few documents and/or have almost no photos, videos, music, and so forth.

Heck, some people could probably fit everything onto a floppy disk!

But backing up a handful of user files isn’t the same as backing up the entire system. Malware, a hard-drive crash, or a similar calamity could wipe out not just user files but also the operating system files and installed applications. You could also lose the hours invested in setting things up the way you want. That latter item is a mostly invisible cost that can exceed the value of your software itself! Only whole-system backups such as system images will protect you from that kind of loss.

As to your second point: Yes, $100 or so can buy you a 128GB external flash drive or media card that might hold one or more whole-system backups.

But consider this: While writing this article, I found a number of conventional, 3TB, external drives selling online for around $50! Compared to that $100 128GB flash drive, those hard drives offer over 20 times the space for half the price!

To my mind, the relatively high cost per GB for large flash drives is another compelling reason why flash drives aren’t a great choice for whole-system backups.

You might have different criteria, of course — and that’s perfectly fine. As long as you’re making some kind of backups — regardless of the medium you choose — you’re in better shape than the vast majority of PC users who make no backups at all!

Moving from XP; needs Ghost replacement

Jay O’Brien worked out a reliable method for backing up his XP systems via Norton Ghost. Now he’s moving to Win7 and needs an alternative.

• “I am a long-time user of Ghost, even going back to a time before Symantec owned it. (It was first offered by Binary Research in New Zealand.)

  “I have all personal data files, including our email client, on a D: drive. I save an image of my C: drives every month or so using Ghost. It backs up all the production files on the C: drive but not our personal stuff on D:. Ghost also backs up all files in C:\Users, such as those on the desktop or recently opened in a browser.

  “For a restore, I use the last Ghost backup; I then add back all updates from the past month. Next, I have Ghost ‘restore’ the current C:\Users files so that my browsers remember recent accesses and my music player — MediaMonkey — remembers what was last played.

  “This system has worked fine for me for years. But now Symantec/Norton has discontinued Ghost.

  “I maintain five computers at home; I’d like to continue my backup method — with a different imaging program if necessary.

  “My computers run XP and Win7. Soon I’ll update the three XP computers to Win7. What should I use to replace Ghost?”

Jay, you might have the answer already at hand. Windows 7 has a complete set of excellent built-in backup tools. Why not try the tools you’ve already paid for? If they prove inadequate, there are numerous commercial options to try — for example, EaseUS’s Todo Backup (free and paid; site).

But why jump to Plan B, if you haven’t tried Plan A?

For full Win7-backup details, see the May 12, 2011, Top Story, “Build a complete Windows 7 safety net.”

A cloud-based backup product recommendation

After reading “Sorting out the revolution in PC backups: Part 1” [Feb. 13 Top Story], Atle Bjanes wanted to expand the discussion with his own cloud backup experiences.

• “Just a quick note on cloud backup systems. Please take a look at CrashPlan. This brilliant piece of software lets you back up to a secondary hard disk, to another computer running CrashPlan (anywhere), and to CrashPlan’s cloud servers. The first two options are free; the latter costs a modest $3 per month!

  “I first tried Carbonite. Among other things, I liked how its user interface integrates with Windows Explorer. However, the company severely curtails upload speed once your backup size exceeds 200GB. Carbonite could never complete backups for my small company and family because there was a constant backlog of changed files needing uploading. (To the company’s credit, I received a refund.)

  UPDATE: Since this story was published, several sources have reported that Carbonite no longer imposes the mentioned backup-size limitation.

  “I now have a CrashPlan subscription for our small-office/home-office server. I use SyncToy to copy all data files from my ThinkPad to the local server, ensuring that all files are also in the cloud. In addition, CrashPlan backs up files to a hard disk in the laptop’s removable-drive bay. (The laptop has internal, mSATA, and caddy-based hard disks.) Finally, for good measure, I back up the laptop nightly to a DiskStation network-attached storage device using SyncToy.

  “For a fee, CrashPlan will send you a blank hard disk to speed your initial backup. Otherwise, uploading my then-1TB of data would have taken a long time. A year or two later, there is now 1.3TB of data in CrashPlan’s cloud (including some 160,000 photos).

  “Should my server catastrophically fail, CrashPlan will (again, for a fee) send me a hard disk with all the backed-up files. (My server is configured with RAID, so a complete failure is unlikely.)

  “There’s even an iOS app that allows remote access to all my files in the cloud!”

Thanks, Atle. CrashPlan (site) is a flexible and well-regarded cloud backup product. The idea of jump-starting your initial backups with a whole-disk image is smart; it avoids the bottleneck of sending that initially huge amount of data through your Internet connection.

But because that initial by-disk exchange goes through a physical delivery service, you’d want to ensure that all sensitive files are thoroughly encrypted before you ship the disk back!

And, just to be clear: Please note that my two-part series on backups was not a product review. Rather, it examined the underlying technologies of today’s five mainstream backup options — internal drives, optical discs (typically DVDs and CDs), USB-connected external drives, networked drives (such as in another PC or a standalone, network-attached storage device), and cloud-based data-storage services.

Once you’ve selected the right type and mix of backup technologies, you can then shop for the products that fit your needs.

But I agree: If cloud backups make sense for a given reader’s circumstances, and the size of the anticipated backups exceeds what’s available on the free cloud services (e.g., Google Drive’s free 15GB base plan; site), then a commercial service such as CrashPlan deserves a close look!

A more extreme version of Olympic speed skating?

If you caught any of the speed-skating events at Sochi, you know that the sport is extremely unpredictable and has a high potential for serious injury. But you probably never imagined these races enhanced with Pac-Man sorts of obstacles. Check out this whimsical vision of fast-paced reality pushed to its illogical, digital conclusion. It might make you never want to strap on skates and take to the ice. Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Phone calls from knowledgeable strangers

Imagine Lounge member Cmptrgy’s frustration: A friend turned her computer over to phone scammers less than a week after he’d restored her troubled system to a good-as-new state.

She wasted $200 and four hours, all because strangers told her they were from Microsoft Technical Support. She was “warned” that she had 30,120 infections — which they could fix.

Cmptrgy brought the story to the Security & Scams forum, where fellow Lounge members pondered the psychology of social engineering.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	Migrating from Office 2003 to 2010
Word Processing	Tables, borders, and photos don’t fit perfectly
Spreadsheets	Hiding balance in unused rows
Databases	Trigger event when next/previous record is clicked on form?
Visual Basic for Apps	Excel worksheets: How to know whether password is needed?
Microsoft Outlook	Removing junk emails
Non-Outlook E-mail	Windows Essentials 2012 updated
Other MS Apps	OneNote 2010: Adding highlighter to Quick Access Toolbar
Windows
General Windows	Network is busy; please try again
Windows 8	Don’t want SkyDrive or OneDrive
Windows 7	Windows XP to Windows 7
Windows Vista	Accessing Vista Start menu folder
Windows XP	Font-size issue after reinstall
Windows Servers	Urgent! Changing Exchange Server domains
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer	MS tools to protect IE 9 and 10 until 3/11 Patch Tuesday
Third-Party Browsers	Firefox freezes only when viewing HuffPost
Application Servers	Trouble changing SharePoint homepage
Networking	Preventing home-network intrusions
Software Development
Windows Programming	Recently modified files script
Other Technologies
Security & Scams	Fake Microsoft “saves” day
Maintenance	Recommend system-image software?
Hardware	CD/DVD drive vanishes after sleep
Graphics/Multimedia	View and copy video files from Sony camcorder?
Other Applications	RoboForm won’t access Windows Secrets

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right in to today’s discussions in the Lounge.

Services for managing online storage

Cloud storage has become so popular, it’s now common for personal computer users to have multiple online-storage accounts.

But like managing multiple email accounts, keeping track of your Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and other accounts can be difficult. Here are three services that can help.

Like chips, you can’t have just one

There are many good reasons for using cloud storage. Services such as Amazon, Dropbox, Google, and Microsoft provide a safe place for storing important documents and files. And cloud storage lets you — and anyone to whom you give permission — access those files from anywhere. You need only a connection to the Internet. Most online-storage services also make synching files between your various digital devices completely automatic.

There are various reasons many of us end up with more than one cloud-storage account. In some cases, online storage is deeply integrated into the applications we use. For example, Microsoft’s OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is the default document location for Office 2013. And Google Docs lives exclusively in Google Drive.

But another reason we might have multiple accounts is because each cloud-storage provider provides a limited amount of free storage space — generally 2GB (Dropbox) to 15GB (Google Drive). Getting more storage space on any one service requires a paid subscription. But having several online accounts means remembering where you put your data.

To make that management task easier, cloud-storage managers offer a single interface and sign-in for accessing all your online-storage accounts. Some managers also offer additional features, such as collaboration tools and the ability to move files between accounts.

For this article, I took a look at three of the more popular cloud-storage managers: CloudFuze, Otixo, and Primadesk. All three are primarily paid subscriptions, though the first two offer free trials and Primadesk has a limited, free edition. If there are worthy managers that are completely free, I didn’t find them.

CloudFuze: Quick and easy, but limited

CloudFuze (site) has two strengths that set it apart. It has a clean and simple interface, and it offers nearly identical browser and desktop-app versions.

However, CloudFuze’s svelte interface (shown in Figure 1) provides a relatively limited set of tools. Using this interface, you can open files, delete files, rename files, and create folders within each connected online-storage service. You can also use it to drag-and-drop files between your local hard drive and cloud services. CloudFuze lets you sync files and folders across your various cloud services, though I’m not sure why one would want to.

You can’t, however, drag files from one cloud service to another within the CloudFuze interface.

Figure 1. CloudFuze offers both a desktop application and a website with similar interfaces. The service's clean UI is due in part to limited features.

Clicking All Cloud Accounts should let you search and view all files in your connected accounts at one time. However, in my tests, it didn’t display files in one of my Google Drive folders. I also found it curious that CloudFuze identifies each online service by your sign-in credentials — not by the service’s name. That might make it difficult to know whether you’re viewing files in Dropbox, Google Drive, or another service.

My attempts to use the CloudFuze desktop app’s help system were unsettling — all I got was an error message. But CloudFuze’s most serious drawback is the limited number of supported cloud-storage services: Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, SugarSync, and FTP.

CloudFuze costs U.S. $5 per month or $50 per year. There’s a 30-day free trial, and the service offers free Android and iOS apps.

Otixo: Comprehensive cloud-service support

Web-based Otixo (site) offers easy cloud-service management and a workable set of collaboration tools.

Otixo supports most online-storage services; to add one, you simply click the plus sign in the lower-left area of the home page and select from the list of 27 services. The only storage service notably absent is Amazon Cloud Drive, apparently because Amazon has not provided connecting APIs. (Otixo does, however, support Amazon S3.)

When you select a service, you’ll be prompted to enter your sign-in information; that service will then appear in Otixo’s left-hand navigation panel (see Figure 2). From that point on, you can explore your cloud data just as if you were in Windows Explorer — including the ability to search across all cloud-based drives and folders. Also, a simple drag-and-drop lets you easily copy files from one service to another.

Figure 2. Otixo makes searching and copying files across cloud services easy; its My Spaces feature is handy for collaboration and sharing.

One minor inconvenience: If you want to move a file between cloud accounts, you’ll have to copy it and then delete the original. Or you can use the cut-and-paste icons in Otixo’s toolbar.

Otixo lets you preview and launch files plus upload/download files between your computer and cloud services. The My Spaces tool lets you easily share files with others and track their collaboration activities.

Otixo offers a one-time, lifetime subscription for a reasonable $39.99. You can try out the service for free for 14 days. Otixo also offers apps ($10 each) for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Windows 8 RT.

Primadesk: Good management, poor collaboration

If managing the files you’ve stored on multiple cloud services is all you’re looking for, Primadesk (site; Figure 3) is probably your best bet. A free version supports up to 10 accounts, provides some online storage space, and limits the number of files shared with others.

Primadesk supports 37 storage, e-mail, and other online-content services, including Google Drive and Gmail, OneDrive and Hotmail, FTP, Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo.

Copying files from one cloud service to another is a snap. But as with Otixo, Primadesk offers no one-step move operation. I also found it a little irritating to have to sign back in after a session had expired. Primadesk informed me that I needed to sign in again but provided no accompanying link to do so. I had to start from scratch.

Figure 3. If all you want is simple search and file operations across cloud services — including emails — you probably won't find an easier-to-use manager than Primadesk.

Primadesk’s weakest feature appears to be collaboration: it lets you share files with others but not in the managed way that Otixo does. With Primadesk, you simply select a file and click the Share button in the toolbar. You’ll then be asked to enter the email address of the recipient, who will receive a message with the file attached. Unfortunately, I also encountered occasional errors when trying to open shared files.

Unlike CloudFuze and Otixo, Primadesk offers storage space for backing up your data. The free account gives you just 1GB of space; the Pro account ($50 per year) includes 10GB, and the Premium account ($100 per year) gives you 30GB.

Time to do the online-storage/management math

With more and more competition, cloud-storage prices are falling. So, is it more cost-effective to pay for a cloud storage–management service or simply put those dollars into more gigabytes on one service?

In other words, if you can get 100GB of online storage space for $60, do you really want to spend $50 on a cloud-storage manager, just so you can access all your “free” storage in one place? Probably not.

That said, storage-service managers can be cost-effective if the applications you regularly use — such as Google Docs and Office 2013 — essentially force you to have more than one cloud-storage account. They might also be worth the price if you want one or more of the additional tools they offer — such as integrating your cloud-based email or FTP.

But if you’re looking for robust collaboration or project management, there are far better applications available.

A rough week for both Apple and Microsoft

Attacks on a veterans’ website expose an Adobe Flash/Internet Explorer zero-day exploit, prompting out-of-cycle fixes from both software companies.

Meanwhile, a much-publicized security flaw in Apple’s iPads and iPhones points out risks of using public wireless networks.

A new version of Flash Player and a fixit for IE

This past week brought out-of-cycle updates from both Microsoft and Adobe. Two vulnerabilities in Flash Player and Internet Explorer were used to attack visitors to the Veterans of Foreign Wars website, as noted in a Feb. 19 MS Security Research & Defense posting. On Feb. 20, Adobe released Flash Player 12.0.0.70, detailed in the related Adobe Security bulletin.

The Internet Explorer vulnerability — limited to IE 9 and 10 — is still unpatched at this time. However, the Feb. 19 SRD post notes three ways to protect yourself in the meantime: upgrade to IE 11, use Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Toolkit, or install the fixit included in the post.

As Katherine Murray pointed out in the Feb. 20 Best Software article, it might be time to give IE 11 a try. Once it’s installed, check whether the websites you frequent display as they should. If they don’t, you can go back to IE 10.

As always when updating Adobe Flash, pay close attention to the installation process and uncheck any unwanted software offerings. Windows 8/8.1 users will get the latest Flash Player via Windows Update.

What to do: Check that you’re on Flash 12.0.0.70 by going to the Adobe Flash Player information page. Next, choose to update to IE 11, install the fixit in MS Support article 2934088 , or use EMET (site) for better protection from future zero-day attacks.

iPhone security update, but some older phones might not be protected

Some Apple software engineer is probably keeping his or her head down these days. As described in an ImperialViolet post, a bit too much copied-and-pasted code has forced iPhone and iPad users to update their devices. A miscoded goto fail line could lead to man-in-the-middle attacks. That in turn could let a hacker decrypt SSL-protected data traveling over wireless networks.

Apple posted the update — iOS 7.0.6 — on Feb. 21 and released Safari and OS X updates on Feb. 25.

This might be a bit of a black eye for Apple, but it is an excellent example of the steps everyone should take to protect themselves — on any computing platform. To summarize a Forbes blog post:

• Unless otherwise instructed, patch your systems when prompted. The update for Apple’s iOS 6 and 7 is already out. Those using devices running older iPhones and Generation 1 iPads are generally not at risk. But you can check your device’s vulnerability by visiting gotofail.com, shown in Figure 1. (Note: This is a test only for Apple devices — iPhones, iPads, and older OS X systems. It’s irrelevant for Windows- and Android-based machines.)

  

  Figure 1. The gotofail.com test shows that this particular device is safe.

• Be extremely wary of joining open and free public wireless networks. Stick to networks you trust.
• If you must use a public network, set up a VPN to encrypt your traffic. VPN was once used mostly to connect back to a business network. But personal versions are now common; use VPN as one of your standard security tools when off your private network. I’ll discuss these more in an upcoming article.
• Use Web-filtering services such as opendns.com to block malicious websites.

What to do: Accept any security updates for iPhones, iPads, and Macs as soon as offered.

Office 2013 SP1 now available for download

For many Office and Windows users, the release of a service pack is the sign that a platform is ready for prime time. Office 2013 SP1 is here, but it’s not all I hoped it would be. For example, I wish Microsoft had visited the local hardware store’s paint department and thought about another color scheme — or better yet, let me pick colors with a bit more contrast and brightness. (And don’t get me started on the all-caps tab labels.)

Another small surprise: Microsoft still recommends running the 32-bit version of Office on 64-bit Windows.

Some of the changes in Service Pack 1 include improved compatibility with Windows 8.1, IE 11, and modern hardware such as high-resolution devices and precision touchpads. SP1 also provides new apps for Office and new APIs for third-party developers.

The service pack is currently available as a download from Microsoft in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. MS Support article 2817430 summarizes the changes in Office 2013 SP1 and also includes links to the specific download pages. In approximately 30 days, Microsoft will push SP1 via Windows/Microsoft Update, as noted in an Office Sustained Engineering post. Anyone using the Click-2-Run edition of Office will also see it in the coming weeks.

What to do: Office 2013 SP1 should show up in Windows Update soon. See MS Support article 2850036 for more info on SP1. You’ll also find download links for additional service packs, such as MS Project 2013 and Visio 2013. And look for my upcoming article on what to expect from this first Office 2013 service pack.

MS14-009 (2916607)

February’s .NET Framework updates are a go

After two weeks of testing and use, I’ve not seen any show-stopping issues with the most recent batch of .NET fixes. A few patches failed to install on the first attempt — but they succeeded the second time around. The best practice when installing any .NET update is to do so separately from the other security fixes.

You might even consider taking the extra time to install each type of .NET update separately. For example, install all .NET 3.5 updates together, then .NET 4 updates, and so on. I don’t recommend installing the newest .NET versions — for instance, Version 4.5.1 — until you have an application that demands it.

This month’s .NET updates include:

Windows XP SP3:

• 2898855 – .NET 4
• 2898856 – .NET 2.0 SP2
• 2901111 – .NET 2.0 SP2
• 2901110 – .NET 4
• 2904878 – .NET 1.0 SP3 (Media Center Edition 2005 SP3 and Tablet PC Edition 2005 SP3 only)
• 2909213 – .NET 4

Windows 7 x64 SP1:

• 2898855 – .NET 4
• 2898857 – .NET 3.5.1
• 2898864 – .NET 4.5
• 2898869 – .NET 4.5.1
• 2901110 – .NET 4
• 2901112 – .NET 3.5.1
• 2901118 – .NET 4.5
• 2901126 – .NET 4.5.
• 2911501 – .NET 3.5.1

The .NET updates for all other operating systems are listed in the related Microsoft Support article, MS14-009.

What to do: Install these .NET updates as noted. See MS14-009 for the complete list of patches.

Time to install February’s nonsecurity updates

Of the many nonsecurity updates released on February’s Patch Tuesday, one in particular has caused problems with XP Mode in Windows 7. As reported by Windows Secrets reader Bruce Weiskopf, installing KB 2830477 resulted in drive-mapping issues in XP Mode. When Bruce uninstalled the update, all mapped drives in Windows XP worked fine. The update adds new capabilities for Windows Remote Desktop Connection.

All other February nonsecurity updates have had no reported side effects. They include:

• 2687567 – Outlook
• 2760601 – SharePoint Workspace
• 2775360 – PowerPoint
• 2817369 – InfoPath
• 2817396 – InfoPath
• 2837583 – Office
• 2837595 – OneNote

Plus the following:

• 2843630 – Helps unmanaged Office 2010 users work with Microsoft RMS in Windows
• 2908816 – A fix for the CopyFile() function in nonbuffered SMB environments (Windows RT 8.1, Win8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2)
• 2913751 – Smart-card remote sessions fail in a Win7 SP1 RDP 8.1 client
• 2913760 – Drivers and firmware update failures on Win8.1
• 2917929 – Compatibility update for Windows RT 8.1, Win8.1, and Server 2012 R2
• 2917931 – Another compatibility update for Windows RT 8.1, Win8.1, and Server 2012 R2
• 2917932 – Compatibility update for the Web, Store, and Media-Upgrade experience in Win8.1 and Server 2012 R2
• 2919393 – Rollup update for Windows RT, Win8, and Server 2012
• 2919394 – Another Rollup update for Windows RT, Win8, and Server 2012
• 2919469 – Incorrect Canada country code in Win7 SP1 and Server 2008 R2 SP1
• 2919907 – GUI elements freeze after disconnecting a Bluetooth adapter in Win8.1
• 2922474 – Unexpected resolution appears when a Win8.1-based device with iSCT enabled resumes from sleep
• 2923300 – After pressing the Windows key + Period (.) keyboard shortcut three times in Win8.1, can access only the Start screen.
• 2923528 – Application can’t start after Win8.1 upgrade
• 2923768 – Improves OneDrive in Windows RT 8.1, Win8.1, and Server 2012 R2

What to do: Most of these nonsecurity updates are for Windows 8/8.1 users. They’re all good to install, with the exception of KB 2830477. Skip this update if you use XP Mode in Windows 7; otherwise, install it with caution. Also skip KB 2923545, another optional RDP update for Win7 you might see offered.

MS13-081 (2862330)

Keep this troublesome kernel update on hold

KB 2862330 is turning out to be more of a problem than most kernel updates. Continuing issues include BSoDs and other patches not installing. The root cause could be a corrupted system component in Windows. But another cause could be that odd or old USB devices simply don’t like this update.

So far, I’ve seen no reports of attacks that have used the vulnerability patched by KB 2862330. This is possibly a case where the cure is worse than the disease. My hope is that the recently updated System Update Readiness tool (KB 947821) will be a better fix for these broken systems.

What to do: I’ll keep an eye on this problematic update and report any changes in its status. If you have not installed KB 2862330, hide it for now. If it is installed and your USB devices work as they should, leave the update in place.

Take time to review all installed browsers

Internet Explorer isn’t the only browser that needs to be kept up to date. It’s important that all installed browsers are current. Firefox and Google Chrome typically update themselves automatically. But it’s good to occasionally check that you’re actually running the newest versions.

For example, on the day this Patch Watch was published, the current release of Chrome was Version 33.0.1750.117. It includes various security updates, as noted in a Chrome Releases post. To check your current Chrome version, click About Google Chrome in the settings menu (the three-bar icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window).

Firefox should be on Version 27.0.1 (more info), which includes new features, code changes, and — as noted in a security advisory — numerous security fixes.

What to do: Because browsers such as Chrome and Firefox update only when they’re running, it’s good practice to open them on a regular basis. (It’s not unusual to have a particular browser installed but to use it rarely.) Internet Explorer is deeply integrated into Windows, making it especially important to keep Microsoft’s browser up to date.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page.

See our “Windows Secrets master Patch Watch chart” post for a more extensive list of recent updates.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.