Tag: Microsoft Update
Microsoft is pushing forward with the availability process of Internet Explorer 8, with a new wave of downloads scheduled to hit today, August 25th, 2009. The Redmond company announced since the end of June 2009 that it would start serving IE8 RTW to business users by the end of August, and the bits come right on schedule. The gold build of Internet Explorer 8 will be offered to all companies leveraging the software giant’s update server distribution solution designed to help administrators manage Microsoft Update releases across corporate networks.
“Starting Tuesday August 25, 2009, Internet Explorer 8 will be made available as “update rollups” via WSUS (Windows Server Update Services). This is critical for customers who manage their desktops via WSUS; they need to be aware of these updates and make necessary preparation to insure there are no unintended upgrades to Internet Explorer 8 on their desktops,” revealed Kevin Dean, Microsoft technology specialist, Education.
Ahead of August 25, WSUS admins had the option to disable auto-approve for “Update rollup” packages in Windows Server Update Services. In such scenarios, IE8 would only be offered to machines across a network after the updates were manually approved by the administrator. Business users and admins should be aware that even in the context in which Auto-Approve for “Update rollup” is enabled, the IE8 EULA still has to receive manual approval before the browser is installed on all downstream clients. Read More»
Posted in Internet | No Comments »
Microsoft never sends out updates by email so you should instantly bin this latest threat, which has been doing the rounds over the last 24 hours, I’ve already had about 50 of them sent to me. It’s really easy to spot, the Subject line says ‘Critical Update for Microsoft Outlook and if you open it, it says: Update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express (KB910721). Obviously it’s nothing of the sort though it looks very plausible and has none of the usual clumsy spelling and grammatical errors. If you click on the link you will be taken to a spoof website and instantly download a nasty Trojan, though there are some reports suggesting that the payload may have changed in the past 12 hours. Either way don’t open it and do not on any account click on the link, and at the risk of repeating myself, remember that, Microsoft never sends out updates for Windows by email.
Posted in Computer, Office | No Comments »
With the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft is making sure that it will keep Windows XP available for an additional 18 months after October 22, 2009, the official launch deadline for the operating system. Through the Windows 7 downgrade rights, customers with select licenses and SKUs of the next iteration of the Windows client will be able to downgrade and run older releases of the platform. In this regard, Microsoft explained that Windows XP would be given priority over Windows Vista. What this means is that the option to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows Vista goes live only after XP downgrades are discontinued, namely after the 18-month period that will kick in on October 22 will come to an end.
Starting with the launch of Vista’s successor on October 22, 2009, customers with OEM/Software Assurance/Volume Licensing will immediately be able to buy Windows 7 but downgrade, deploy and use XP. According to the software giant, companies will need one of the following licenses to access downgrade rights: Select License and Open License; Licenses Enrolled in Software Assurance or OEM End User License Agreement (LICENSE TERMS). It is important to note that the licenses referred to by the software giant as the Full Packaged Product (FPP) End User License Agreements for the retail boxed versions of Windows 7 do not come with downgrade rights. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RTM is just around the corner. Microsoft won’t say just when the SP2 downloads will go live, but the Redmond company is providing an early notification to users to gear up for the general availability of the second service pack for Vista. It looks like the wait is almost over for both Vista SP2 RTM and for Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM, with just a few weeks separating customers from the bits. “Just a heads up to prepare for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. It will be available in the coming weeks on the Download Center (DLC) and also through Windows Update and WSUS,” revealed a member of the Microsoft Update team.
Just as was the case with the first service pack for Windows Vista, the RTM and GA dates failed to coincide for SP2 as well. Microsoft released Vista SP2 to manufacturing at the end of April 2009, but it looks like general availability will come by the end of May. “On April 28th, we announced the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 includes all updates that were released since SP1. It also includes support for new types of hardware and other technology improvements,” the MU team representative added. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
February 01, 2009 by
Jason
Microsoft released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturing in the first half of 2008, and subsequently made the service packs available both as standalone downloads and via Windows Update, Microsoft Update and Automatic Updates. Soon enough, there will be nowhere to hide from the final wave of Vista SP1 and XP SP3 that the Redmond company released through its update infrastructure. This because the software giant is gearing up for the expiration of the last barrier standing in the way of automatic downloads and upgrades to SP1 for Windows Vista and to SP3 for Windows XP, namely the Service Pack Blocker Tool.
“The Service Pack Blocker Tool temporarily prevents the installation of a service pack through Windows Update, typically for one year after general availability of the service pack. We are announcing the upcoming expiration dates for the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3: Windows Vista SP1: April 28, 2009 – Windows XP SP3: May 19, 2009. After April 28th, Windows Vista SP1 will be delivered via Windows Update. And after May 19th, Windows XP SP3 will also be delivered via Windows Update,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
November 04, 2008 by
Jason Announced as early a July 2008, a new update for the Windows Update Agent will be rolled out today, Monday, November 3. At the end of October, Microsoft offered a heads up for customers to prepare for the start of this week when the standalone WUA update was scheduled to become available. The Redmond company updates not only its software products, but also its updating infrastructure, part of which is represented by the Windows Update Agent. However, the software giant indicated that not all customers would be able to benefit from the WU Agent update immediately.
“Over the next couple of months we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code). This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time,” a member of the Microsoft Update team revealed. “We need to periodically update the client code to provide improvements in reliability and service quality.” Read More»
Posted in Computer | No Comments »
An update version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is now available for download and it’s a perfect fit for the latest service packs for Windows Vista and Windows XP. The Redmond company releases new versions of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on the second Tuesday of each month, accompanying the availability of the Security Bulletins dropped as part of the monthly patch cycle. The updated version of MSRT is distributed via Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and is also up for grabs on the Download Center.
Microsoft has failed to emphasize the fact that MSRT integrates seamless with both Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. However, tests reveal that the tool plays well with the latest releases of the two operating systems. Vista SP1, RTM’d on February 4, 2008, was released to the general public on March 18, and XP SP3 is accessible to end users since May 6, having been released to manufacturing on April 21. Read More»
Posted in Software, Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
Like busses you wait ages for a Windows Service Pack, then two come along at once. Hard on the heels of Vista SP1, which mostly went without a hitch, we can now look forward to XP Service Pack 3, the last for the operating system, which is now heading towards retirement, probably next year.
If you were around when MS unleashed SP2 you are forgiven for a brief shudder of trepidation, but I think this one should go quite smoothly. Unlike XP SP2, which re-wrote a lot of the operating system’s code, this one focuses on rolling up all previous security updates since the release of SP2, and a reported 1074 fixes and upgrades. Most of them are anonymous behind the scenes things that you’ll be happier not knowing about (because they are mostly deathly dull…), but there are a few interesting bits and bobs. Read More»
Posted in Office, Windows XP | 2 Comments »
Although it was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, the third and last service pack for Windows XP has yet to make it to end users. Despite this, Microsoft has already made available the first update tailored on XP SP3. Update for Windows XP (KB942763) is designed to integrate with both Windows XP SP2 and SP3, and to tweak the Daylight Saving Time settings on the operating systems. Microsoft released KB942763 on the same day it RTM’d XP SP3, in an effort to correlate automatically the computer clock with the correct date in 2008, following the changes introduced via Daylight Saving Time laws in markets around the world.
“The update changes the time zone data to accommodate daylight saving time (DST) changes in several countries. This update also includes other DST-related changes, time zone-related changes, and settings-related changes. This is a cumulative update rollup that includes all the changes that were previously released in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles 928388, 929120, and 933360,” Microsoft revealed. Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | No Comments »
Microsoft is gearing up for the next stage in the delivery of its first service pack for Windows Vista. The Redmond company has confirmed officially that the automatic distribution of Vista SP1 is just around the corner. Still, at this point in time, the deadline for the debut of Vista SP1’s serving through Automatic Updates has not been made public. Microsoft has stated all along that it plans to start the distribution of Vista SP1 through AU by mid-April, but offered no additional information to pinpoint the release.
Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, concomitantly with the gold version of Windows Server 2008. Only on March 18 did Microsoft manage to make the service pack available to end users via Windows Update and the Download Center. At that time, the Redmond company only released the English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese language versions of Vista SP1. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
Loading ...
