MS-DEFCON 2: Lock Windows down

Another bunch of patches is due any moment.

Make sure you have Automatic Updates turned off, and let’s see what transpires.

Terrific software and support…

… for criminal botnet builders.

Want to see how an excellent tech support company is run? Look no farther than the infrastructure around the Citadel Trojan.

InfoWord Tech Watch.

MS-DEFCON 4: Get patched

The January crop of Microsoft Security Bulletins have been through the wringer and seem to be stable at this point.

MS12-005 unexpectedly changed the behavior of Office applications when opening an embedded OLE package, but it’s just an inconvenience, not a killer. MS12-012 can cause problems with web browsing, but only if you’ve changed a very obscure setting that involves the default encoder for ASP.NET WebForms.

All in all, it isn’t enough to hold you back. Get all of your Microsoft patches applied now, and make sure Automatic Update is turned off.

Ultrabook prices come tumbling down

Aren’t you glad you didn’t buy one?

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Microsoft: Keep the Start menus in Windows 8, please!

Let’s see how the Consumer Preview shapes up.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Is Windows Phone really under Sinofsky?

Microsoft says “no” but I wonder who they think they’re fooling.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Internet Explorer takes unexpected jump in market share

But do you know why?

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Windows 8 on ARM: Not so vaporous after all?

Some interesting speculation about Win8 on ARM.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Windows 8 Metro: Now with mouse support!

But the oddities show that Metro’s designed for fingers, not mice, and trying to use a mouse is going to get dicey.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

IE 8 and IE 9 now getting pushed

Ready or not, you’re getting IE 8 or IE 9, if you have automatic updates turned on.

Susan Bradley’s Top Story for Windows Secrets Newsletter.

I certainly hope all of you folks upgraded to IE 8 (for XP) or IE 9 (for Vista, Win7,) or IE 10 (Win8) months ago.

I, personally, use Chrome most of the time, Firefox to get to secure sites, and IE on occasion. They’re all excellent. Really.

If you use pcAnywhere, you should disable it NOW

On Tuesday night, Symantec put up a red flag saying that anyone who’s using pcAnywhere should not only stop using it, they should turn it off.

Seems that one of the Anonymous folks stole a copy of the 2006 version of pcAnywhere, and they are probably looking for security holes right now.

From the Ars Technica article:

“Although Symantec says the theft actually occurred in 2006, the issue did not come to light until this month when hackers related to Anonymous said they had the source code and would release it publicly. Users of the Norton products in question are not at any increased risk of attack because of the age of the source code and security improvements made in the years since the breach, but the vendor acknowledged on Tuesday night that “Customers of Symantec’s pcAnywhere have increased risk as a result of this incident.”

ARM based Windows 8 tablets: where are they?

Completely Missing in Action.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.