PCTips Box

Being the loyal adept of a business model based on proprietary software, a free operating system is not exactly something that Microsoft customers can expect from the company. But of course that there are always exceptions to confirm the rule. And the free copy of Windows Vista up for grabs via Microsoft Download is an illustrative example in this context. That’s right, a completely free copy of the latest Windows client, time-bombed of course, but free nonetheless.

Microsoft continues a tradition debuted after the launch of Internet Explorer 7. Because two different versions of Internet Explorer cannot coexist under normal circumstances on the same Windows machine, let alone be used simultaneously, the Redmond giant turned to an alternative solution to make the lives of web content developers and designers a tad easier. The company released Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images. (more…)

You invested in dead bolts and alarm systems to protect your business from theft of merchandise and equipment. But a cyber thief does not need access through the front door to steal the information you store on your PCs. Client credit card and bank account numbers, employee data and other confidential files are all at risk in a cyber attack.

Implementing sound security measures can greatly reduce your vulnerability to phishing (a type of Internet-based scam designed to steal your identity), spyware, and other malicious software used to steal or otherwise compromise business data. The good news is that built-in security features in Windows Vista Ultimate make it much easier to safeguard your PCs. Here are three you should know about: (more…)

Application incompatibility is one of the aspects that have managed to deliver extensive damage to the adoption rate of Windows Vista. However, as Vista matured throughout 2007 and with Service Pack 1 in 2008, so did the ecosystem of software solutions orbiting around the operating system. Despite this, the actual perception of application incompatibility managed to survive, especially in corporate environments. If one end user can deal with a program that is incompatible with Vista rather easy, the same cannot be said about an enterprise dependent on a specific business application with tens of thousands of machines.

“Part of this is perception based on fact - Windows Vista is built on a new architecture that promises tightened security and reliability. Consequently, the applications that ride on top of Windows Vista need to communicate with the kernel in different ways. So what has helped fuel current perception around application compatibility? Why did many applications ‘break’ in the migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista?” Microsoft asked rhetorically. (more…)

1. Optimize your computer for peak performance
2. January 2008 Popular Tips for PcTipsBox - TOP10
3. How to downgrade from Vista to XP
4. Force windows to load the kernel in memory
5. Speed up Internet Explorer 7 by Increasing the Connections Limit
6. How to create ultra hidden system folder in windows xp and vista
7. Make your computer dual-boot Vista and XP
8. Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate RC2
9. Removing Vista… and Installing XP Back
10. Microsoft Evolves Its Windows Update Infrastructure
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This guide shows you how to increase Internet Explorer 7’s connection limit from 2 to 16 which increases the speed of many web pages.

What Are Connections?

When you connect to a website your computer establishes connections with the web server(s). One connection might be a graphics server, another connection may be an ad server and so on. Once the connection has received what it asked for it is disconnected and used for something else.

By default IE7 is set to only be able to open 2 or 4 connections at a time. If you have broadband and you use tabs in IE7 or you visit sites that use lots of connections this tweak will increase the speed of IE7 a little. (more…)

Microsoft KB article 929868 describes a problem which will cause you to experience very slow browsing on certain websites when using Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista, and eventually the website might even drop the data completely. The cause is that by default, Windows Vista Enterprise fully supports RFC 1323 and supports a Windows Scaling factor of 8. This issue occurs when a Web site does not fully support RFC 1323 or when a Web site does not support the default scaling factor.

THE QUICK FIX

To work around the slow browsing issue change the Windows Scaling to a factor of 2. First open and Administrator command line prompt. Click Start –> All Programs –> Accessories, right click Command Prompt, then left click Run as administrator. As an alternative you can click Start then type into the Start Search box, or the Run box, cmd, then use the shortcut keys Ctrl-Shift-Enter. (NOTE: After you set a new autotuninglevel you will need to reboot in order for the changes to take effect.) (more…)

The beginning of 2008 has not been kind to Windows Vista. Microsoft’s latest operating system, applauded as the most secure version of Windows available on the market, needs to start licking its many wounds. The Redmond company has been performing a vulnerability counting game throughout 2007,comparing Vista with XP, as well as with direct competitors Linux and Mac OS X, in terms of the volume of security vulnerabilities affecting each platform. And as it looks that Microsoft transformed the vulnerabilities comparison in somewhat of a tradition over the course of the past year, the company is bound to a recount.

“As part of our regularly scheduled bulletin release, we’re currently planning to release 12 Microsoft Security Bulletins– seven Critical and five Important. These updates will require a restart and will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan Tool. As we do each month, the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool will be updated. Finally, we are planning to release seven high-priority, non-security updates on Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) as well as two high-priority, non-security updates on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS),” stated Bill Sisk, Microsoft Security Response Center Communications Manager. (more…)