Microsoft to Windows XP users: your operating system is a major security risk

Microsoft isn't kidding when it says that people need to ditch Windows XP and has released alarming security numbers to prove its point. XP systems are indeed markedly more likely to fall prey to malware than later versions of Windows.

According to the firm's SIR (Security Intelligence Report) for the first half of 2013, Windows XP SP3 32-bit suffered a malware infection rate of 9.1 systems per 1,000 computers, which sounds modest until you read that the equivalent number of Windows 7 32-bit was 5.0 and for Windows 8 64-bit it was 1.4.

[ Windows 8 left you blue? Then check out Windows Red, InfoWorld's plan to fix Microsoft's contested OS. | Microsoft's new direction, the touch interface for tablet and desktop apps, the transition from Windows 7 -- InfoWorld covers all this and more in the Windows 8 Deep Dive PDF special report. | Stay atop key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]

To eliminate the possibility that this difference was caused by the behaviour of XP users, the firm correlated the number of infections to the encounter rate, in other words the number of systems in each OS version that met malware requiring intervention by Microsoft's security products.

Here, the different incarnations recorded roughly similar encounter rates, with XP at 16.3 percent, Vista at 16.5, Windows 7 at 19.1 percent, and Windows 8 RTM at 12.4 percent. Apart from underlining that Windows 7 is now probably the most targeted OS, it is clear that with Windows XP the ratio of encounters to infections is unflattering.

As the report's authors admit, that XP should be more vulnerable 12 years after its release than newer Windows versions is hardly surprising; malware creators have had longer to craft attacks, spot software flaws, and exploit the weaker security protection in the OS. But the point, Microsoft argues, is that the XP hardcore are taking a risk using the operating system in 2013, something that will only increase as an issue after the end of support in April 2014.

"Computers running Windows XP in 1H13 encountered about 31 percent more malware worldwide than computers running Windows 8, but their infection rate was more than 5 times as high," is the dry but accurate summary from the report authors.

Of course, all of this fits with Microsoft's earnest wish to see the back of XP and shift seats on to Windows 8. The other perspective is that Microsoft has drawn these numbers from its vast global database of systems running Windows operating systems and for this reason the numbers deserve to be taken seriously. Anyone who wants to be frightened some more might want to read a summary of the above points by Microsoft's director of trustworthy computing, Tim Rains.

For firms not able to abandon XP in 2014 for technical reasons (i.e. the need to support inhouse applications), the options are to use XP in a desktop virtualisation environment, adopt a policy of OS isolation (locking down applications, disconnecting USB ports, limiting Internet connectivity) or even buy a probably very expensive third-party support agreement.

One other interesting snippet from the report is the apparently shockfinding that running real-time antivirus software seems to be a good idea, or at least greatly reduces infection rates; malware infection rate is 7.1 times higher for those systems running real-time antivirus compared to those that don't.

This doesn't mean that when antivirus fails, it doesn't fail spectacularly -- and often enough to cause major concern about its effectiveness against targeted attacks -- but does underline that rumours of its imminent death are exaggerated.

View the original article here

New Windows 8.1 requirements strand some users on Windows 8

Windows 8.1 fixes many of Windows 8's most glaring flaws, but not everyone is able to bask in the bountiful new features. Owners of some older PCs have found themselves stranded on Windows 8, trapped by a subtle tweak in Windows 8.1's hardware requirements. And beyond the irritation factor, the issue could have troubling support implications for affected users, as Microsoft has told Windows 8 users they'll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 by 2015 to continue receiving critical system updates.

"I'm rather frustrated, because I see no need for Microsoft to have produced a point release OS update -- or rather, a service pack -- with significantly different system requirements that would leave my PC 'marooned' on Windows 8," says Chip Sudderth, a PCWorld reader affected by the issue.

[ Windows 8 left you blue? Then check out Windows Red, InfoWorld's plan to fix Microsoft's contested OS. | Microsoft's new direction, the touch interface for tablet and desktop apps, the transition from Windows 7 -- InfoWorld covers all this and more in the Windows 8 Deep Dive PDF special report. | Stay atop key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]

Atomic changes
That issue is Windows 8.1's sudden need for CMPXCHG16b support in the 64-bit version. CMPXCHG16b allows for atomic memory exchanges. While modern 64-bit processors support CMPXCHG16b, some older hardware does not -- but the requirement wasn't a must-have for the 64-bit version of Windows 8. Trying to upgrade to Windows 8.1 on newly non-compatible hardware results in a message that your "CPU does not support CompareExchange 128."

While we were investigating the issue, Microsoft confirmed to Neowin that some older AMD processors, such as the Athlon 64 X2 and Opteron 185, lack CMPXCHG16b compatibility and won't work with Windows 8.1.
Now, Microsoft can't support previous-gen processors in perpetuity, but a service pack seems like an odd place to pull the rug out from underneath owners of older machines. And the issue isn't limited to AMD processors; Sudderth's rig runs on an Intel Core 2 Quad, a chip that was a beast when it was released in 2008 and one still capable of playing today's games. Core 2 processors are still the fourth most popular processor found in PCs, according to CPU-World's user data.

Sudderth's compatibility issues don't stem from the chip itself, however.

After running into the CompareExchange 128 error with his original Q300 Core 2 CPU, Sudderth tried swapping in another Core 2 Quad chip, the Q9550S, which explicitly supports CMPXCHG16b. No dice.

View the original article here

Windows XP infection rate may jump 66% after patches end in April

Computerworld - Microsoft yesterday again but the scare into Windows XP users, telling them that after April 8, 2014, the chance that malware will infect their PCs could jump by two-thirds.

The claim, made by Tim Rains, director of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, came on the heels of the release of the company's twice-annual Security Intelligence Report (download PDF).

Following up on comments he made in August, Rains again warned Windows XP stragglers to expect an increase in attacks when the aged operating system exits support in five months.

"After end of support, attackers will have an advantage over defenders who continue to run Windows XP," Rains asserted in a Tuesday post to a company blog. "After April next year, when we release monthly security updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will try and reverse engineer them to identify any vulnerabilities that also exist in Windows XP. If they succeed, attackers will have the capability to develop exploit code to take advantage of them."

Rains then went a step further, and cited statistics from Microsoft's own telemetry-gathering efforts to give customers an idea of the increased threat after support ends.

"We have already had a glimpse into what happens when a Windows XP-based platform goes out of support," Rains added. "In the two years after Windows XP Service Pack 2 went out of support, its malware infection rate was 66% higher than Windows XP Service Pack 3 -- the last supported version of Windows XP."

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) ended in July 2010, a little over two years after the release of XP SP3.

In a chart accompanying his comments, Rains showed the higher infection rate of Windows XP SP2 when compared to SP3. The two started out with similar infection rates, but began to diverge in the first quarter of 2011, with the largest gap in Q4 of that year. Since then, the difference between the two has narrowed: In the fourth quarter of 2012, the latest shown in the chart, the gap appeared to be approximately four computers per thousand -- 12 for SP3 versus 16 for SP2 -- representing a 33% increase in the latter's infection rate.

While there could be other reasons for the different infection rates, including lack of up-to-date security software, Rains' implied assumption was that it was because XP SP2 had not been patched -- because it could not be -- while XP SP3 had been.

Microsoft has been extremely blunt about the danger customers will face next year after Windows XP support vanishes, belittling the creaky OS's security prowess, even attacking it at times. That's unusual. Microsoft's usual tactic is to simply ignore an older operating system, as it does Windows Vista, the flop that now accounts for just 4% of all Windows PCs.

"You never heard Microsoft tell Windows Millennium users that they had to upgrade," said Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, referring to a September 2000 edition that quickly vanished after XP's appearance a year later.

But things are different this time around.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here

Microsoft Windows 8.1

Pros Fastest startup of any Windows version. Loads of included apps and utilities. More windowing options for new-style apps. Improved stock included apps, especially Mail. Much better help for getting started. More harmony between tiled Start screen and desktop. Boot to desktop. Start button always displays. Better browser with IE11.

Cons Dual nature of OS may still confuse some. Windows app store lacks some big titles. Bottom Line Windows 8.1 sticks to Microsoft's strategy of delivering an operating system that's equally at home on tablets and full-power desktop PCs, but many of the flaws of Windows 8 have been fixed.

By Michael Muchmore

Increased tablet sales and declining desktop and laptop sales make one thing clear: People want tablets. But they still need computers capable of multitasking high-power applications. With both Mac and PC sales down, Microsoft took this problem on with a completely reimagined new operating system concept in Windows 8, a system designed to be at home with both casual home use on tablets and serious business and digital media creation scenarios on desktops and laptops. Windows 8.1 doesn't abandon this strategy—far from it—but addresses a lot of shortcomings in Microsoft's first hybrid OS attempt.

Coming just about a year after Windows 8's release, Windows 8.1 is a free upgrade through the Windows app store for existing Windows 8 users. It will be available to anyone else from the Microsoft Web Store, as a packaged DVD and on new PCs, laptops, and tablets, starting October 18. As with Windows 8, there's a standard and a Pro version, priced at $119.99 and 199.99 respectively. The Pro version adds business capabilities like disk encryption and network domain joining, and is required for those who want Windows Media home theater capability.

Birthing an entirely new class of product that looks like nothing that came before is not always the smoothest of endeavors, and it's no secret that Windows 8 has met with a good deal of resistance. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has moved faster than ever before to address concerns with a new OS release. And the device convergence may be taking a step farther, with reports that Microsoft is expected to combine the app stores for Windows Phone and Windows 8. This will be a boon to Windows 8, which, though it already boasts over 120,000 apps of its own, according to the MetroStore Scanner site, still trails Android and iTunes app stores by six figures and lacks some big names. An official Facebook app only appeared simultaneously with the 8.1 release.

Most of the major new features in Windows 8.1 have been widely available in the Preview version of the OS, though there have been some tweaks. The updated Mail app was not yet available at Preview time, and it adds much-needed things like drag-and-drop to folders. The Help+Tips app is also new in the released Windows 8.1, as are improvements to the Camera app for tablets, such as the very cool 360 panorama.

Improvements include a more consistent look between the desktop and mobile app interfaces, lock screen slideshow and notifications, better help to get people going with the new interface, the ability to boot to the desktop, a Start button, more windowing options for new-style mobile apps, and more settings in the new-style interface. The Windows app store gets a much-needed face-lift, and the default apps like Mail, Internet Explorer, Skype, Xbox Music and Video, and search also benefit from updates.

Help+Tips
The new Help+Tips app that debuts in Windows 8.1 addresses the top criticism of Windows 8—that it's confusing to use. Actually, Windows 8 could not be simpler to use for a lot of things—what's so hard about clicking a big tile with the name of an app on it to run it? But some essential activities of the OS are less obvious. Things like using the Charms (an always-accessible menu button bar along the right side of the screen), switching apps, and moving between desktop and new-style interface are all covered in the Help+Tips app.

Help+Tips' simple six panel interface offers help options titled Start and apps, Get around, Basic actions, Your account and files, Settings, and What's new. Going through the whole batch is not a major undertaking either, with its simple animated images showing frequently needed gestures. The new app does a lot to allay Window 8 fears and uncertainties of new users. Even if they don't visit this help app, Windows 8.1 adds pointers right in the interface showing how to use it.

Start Button and Boot to Desktop
Two features that longtime Windows users cried out for after Windows 8's original release have made their way into Windows 8.1—the Start button and the ability to boot to the desktop, where standard Windows programs can run just as they have for the last few versions of the OS. The Start button Microsoft has included, however, isn't quite what the longtime users were hoping for, since it opens the new-style Start screen.

But really, if you think of this as a full-screen start button menu, you'll use Windows 8.1 just as swiftly as its predecessors. (For more tips on quickly mastering the new OS, read my 5 Tips for Using Windows 8.1 Like a Boss.) The boot-to-desktop option is found in the Taskbar's settings dialog, shown here:

New Start Tile and Window Options
The tile-based Start screen has gotten more flexible, now with four size choices instead of Windows 8's two. Added are a huge square, for apps with a lot of live info to display, like mail, and a tiny one, for apps with nothing to update live. Not all apps have all size choices, depending on what the app developer deems sensible.  

The Start screen gets more than just new tile sizes. It also can now display animated backgrounds, or use the same background as the desktop wallpaper, for a more unified interface experience. So that the Start screen doesn't get overwhelmingly cluttered with app tiles, now apps only are automatically added to the All App screen, not to the Start screen, but in Windows 8.1, you can get to this All Apps list simply by swiping up on the Start screen.

As to new-style app windowing, more than two modern apps can now share the screen. No longer are you restricted to a large window and one slender side panel, but two apps can each take up half the screen, or, depending on what the app's developer has allowed, any portion you choose. The number of apps depends on how large the screen is and its pixel density.

Apps can even sprout a second new-style window when it makes sense such as the new Reading List app, which keeps the list in a narrow left-side panel while the content you want to read takes up most of the screen. With multiple monitors, you can further augment the number of windows. Speaking of external monitors, Windows 8.1 supports Miracast, which lets you send video over Wi-Fi to large HDTVs and the like.

The Lock screen also has new tricks: It can act as a slideshow display of your photos, rather than just showing a static picture. The slides are chosen with some intelligence, too, rather than simply rotating through all your photos; for example, you may see photos from around the same time of year in previous years. Another big help, especially for small tablets, is access to the camera without the need to log in. The same goes for answering Skype calls—just tap on the notification to start videochatting with grandma.

A big bugaboo of mine for Windows 8 was that you have two Settings tools—the new-style one and the traditional Control Panel on the desktop. Windows 8.1 still maintains this duality, but the modern UI settings have gotten far more robust, eliminating the need to head to the massive number of choices in desktop Control Panel. For example, now you can configure display settings, change mouse and typing options, and see PC info. You can even make new adjustments, like changing the app-switching behavior in the Corners and Edges section.

Another peeve of mine was that, in order to sync documents with SkyDrive, you had to have two SkyDrive apps running on Windows 8, the modern and the desktop version. Now SkyDrive document syncing is a built-in capability of the OS, and it offers an option that lets you access any files on a PC, even if you didn't explicitly upload the file to SkyDrive. I still wish you could upload from the Pictures app, and auto-upload the way you can in Windows Phone.

View the original article here