1. Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation
3. DirectX 11 Resources for Windows 7 and Vista
4. Windows 7 Upgrade Performance
5. Windows 7 Windows XP Mode RC Hotfix for Shared Folder Performance
6. Automatic Windows 7 Installs
7. Office 2010 Build 14.0.4417.1000
9. DirectX with Windows 7 Support
10. Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 Up Next
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The latest updates to DirectX resources from Microsoft have been tailored to the most recent iteration of the Windows client. In this regard, the Redmond company revealed that both DirectX End-User Runtimes (August 2009) and the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer come with support for Windows 7. Earlier this month, the software giant made available an update for the DirectX Software Development Kit (SDK) bringing to the table Direct3D 11, DXGI 1.1, Direct2D, and DirectWrite. The August 2009 (even though it was released in mid-September) DirectX SDK enables developers to build and distribute Direct3D 11 programs designed to play nice with DirectX 11 not only in Windows 7 but also in Windows Vista.
DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer – “provides updates to 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX — the core Windows technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC. Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs,” Microsoft noted. Read More»
Microsoft has made available for download updated DirectX 11 resources tailored to Windows 7 and Windows Vista, but also additional Windows client and server operating systems. According to the Redmond-based company, the refreshed DirectX 11 release brings to the table the RTM version of Direct3D. Essentially, what it is offering is an update for the DirectX software development kit. Developers are free to grab the SDK via the Microsoft Download Center since September 8, 2009.
“The August 2009 DirectX SDK contains the first official release of the DirectX developer resources for Direct3D 11, DXGI 1.1, Direct2D, and DirectWrite. Developers can now publish and distribute Direct3D 11 applications and games that leverage all of the software and hardware features of DirectX 11 in Windows 7 and Windows Vista,” Microsoft noted. “ll headers, import libraries, and symbol files (.pdb files) are no longer marked as beta with the ‘_beta’ suffix and now link to the RTM versions of the runtimes. In addition, the HLSL compiler features for Direct3D 11 are now of release quality. The beta DLLs are no longer available in the DirectX SDK.”
With the August 2009 DirectX Software Development Kit update, Microsoft is offering developers the new Effects runtime for Direct3D 11. Read More»
Microsoft’s latest operating system was built with the PC gamer in mind.
Every copy of Windows Vista includes DirectX 10, a set of software instructions that make photorealistic visuals run incredibly smoothly. And for the first time, PC gamers can engage in online matches against Xbox 360 players.
- Sign up for a Games for Windows Live Gold account and create a Live ID for playing online. (If you already have an Xbox Live Gold account and Gamertag, then skip this step. You can use the same account on your PC.)
- Start your Live-enabled game.
- Sign in using your Live ID when prompted.
- Access the game’s multiplayer mode to find a match to join or invite friends to play.
You can also find and launch your games more easily with the Games Explorer, which is accessible from the Start menu. Games Explorer lets you organize your collection, view box cover art and check your system’s technical specifications to ensure it can handle new games. Click Start > All Programs > Games > Games Explorer. Read More»
The July 2009 Security Release ISO Image is now available for download from Microsoft, having been offered concomitantly with the company’s monthly patch cycle releases. In addition to serving each month’s security bulletins through Windows Update, the software giant is also packaging the patches aimed for the supported Windows client and server operating system as an ISO image. In this context, customers can now access Windows-related security updates, including for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows XP SP3 that went live on July 14, 2009, through the DVD5 ISO image package.
“This month we are releasing six bulletins. Three of those affect Windows and are rated Critical. All three of those also have an Exploitability Index rating of ‘1’ which means that we believe that consistent exploit code in the wild is highly likely within the first 30 days,” revealed Jerry Bryant, Microsoft security program manager. “The remaining three bulletins are all rated Important and affect Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft ISA Server, and both Virtual PC and Virtual Server. The first two also have Exploitability Index ratings of ‘1’ so please consider this while doing your risk assessment. In total, we are addressing nine vulnerabilities this month.” Read More»
It is nothing short of ironic that game password stealing malware is being associated with an exploit designed to target a vulnerability in DirectX. But Microsoft officially confirmed that malicious code designed to harvest account credentials for online games had been detected bundled with exploits targeting the DirectShow vulnerability impacting Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.
The flaw is Critical, the company warned in May 2009, when it revealed that users executing malicious QuickTime media files were at risk of remote code execution.
“Users, upon visiting a specially constructed web page that invokes the vulnerable media plug-in, will encounter exploit shellcode, which further execute and download additional malware to the infected machines. Intending to bypass antimalware protection, malware binaries are encrypted in the download data stream. New dog, same old tricks. To wrap up the attack scene, under the cover of the new exploits are the old long-lived online-game password stealers: PWS:Win32/Wowsteal.AP (drops PWS:Win32/Wowsteal.AP.dll); TrojanDropper:Win32/Dozmot.C (drops PWS:Win32/Dozmot.C and VirTool:WinNT/Dozmot.A); and TrojanSpy:Win32/Lydra.AE,” revealed Microsoft’s Lena Lin, Cristian Craioveanu, Josh Phillips and Patrick Nolan. Read More»
Windows 7 RC, as well as its precursor, Windows Vista, and the R2 and RTM/SP1 releases of Windows Server 2008 are immune to a zero-day vulnerability affecting DirectX on older versions of Windows. The security hole makes Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows XP (including SP2 and SP3), and Windows Server 2003 vulnerable to exploits but not the later versions of the Windows client and server operating systems, since the code containing the flaw was removed in Vista.
Christopher Budd, security response communications lead for Microsoft, confirmed that the company was “aware of limited, active attacks that exploit this vulnerability.” Budd explained that the vulnerable code was contained in the QuickTime parser in Microsoft DirectShow. DirectX 7.0, DirectX 8.1 and DirectX 9.0 are impacted.
“An attacker would try and exploit the vulnerability by crafting a specially formed video file and then posting it on a website or sending it as an attachment in e-mail. While this isn’t a browser vulnerability, because the vulnerability is in DirectShow, a browser-based vector is potentially accessible through any browser using media plug-ins that use DirectShow. Also, we’ve verified that it is possible to direct calls to DirectShow specifically, even if Apple’s QuickTime (which is not vulnerable) is installed,” Budd stated. Read More»
Microsoft has refreshed its lineup of DirectX offerings at the start of this week, and the company is by no means shy of focusing the spotlight on the evolution of the graphics technology as Windows 7 is contouring. The software giant is offering fresh Technical Previews of Direct2D, DirectWrite, and DXGI 1.1, but also a new TP release of Windows 7/Direct3D 11. The components are available for download as an integral part of the March 2009 iteration of the DirectX Software Development Kit, which is accompanied by the DirectX End-User Runtimes (March 2009) and the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer. Microsoft delivered the first taste of Windows 7 DirectX 11 through the SDK back in November 2008.
Obviously the releases are aimed at a professional audience. Developers will be able to leverage the latest release of the SDK, combining the DirectX Runtime and additional software designed to permit the building of DirectX compliant solutions. With the March 2009 DirectX update, Microsoft has refreshed the tools and utilities included with the software development kit, but also the code samples, documentation, and the 32-bit and 64-bit runtime debug files. Read More»
Update Vista’s DirectX9 files for better game compatibility
One of the fixes for getting games to run in Vista that do not normally (such as FEAR and 3Dmark06 as two examples) is relatively simple. These games require the latest version of Directx 9. Vista does not actually contain a full installation of Directx 9, just some elements for compatibility purposes. So, install Directx 9.
To install Directx 9c on Windows Vista:
step 1: Download the latest DirectX 9 redistributable file from Microsoft.com here.
step 2: Unzip the file into a folder on your desktop or in your documents.
step 3: Run the DXSETUP file.
step 4: You can delete the folder after the install has finished.
Read More»
November 2008 Popular Tips for Pctipsbox.com – TOP 10
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