Windows 7 "Windows XP Mode" Offers Backward Compatibility

Exciting news has been released about a feature that will likely be included in certain versions of Windows 7 called "Windows XP Mode" or "XPM". This feature standards to save business significant amounts of money upgrades and migration costs.

XP Mode is reported to be based on Microsoft Virtual PC 7 (VPC) technology, which provides a Virtual Machine (VM) of a licensed copy of Windows XP to run seamlessly within the Windows 7 desktop environment.

What this offers is a method to run applications that may not be fully compatible with the new Windows 7 environment by providing a virtualized environment that is essentially Windows XP. The application neither knows or cares that it's running in a VM "on top" of Windows 7. The virtual machine XPM technology takes care of providing resources to the application and allows the application to appear to run directly on the Windows 7 desktop. XPM is reported to even include entries in the Windows Start menu and other tools to make the XPM application appear even more seamless with the Windows 7 desktop. Users could, for example, run older versions of Internet Explorer alongside of Internet Explorer 8.

This strategy, which is based on technology available from Microsoft for a number of years, offers two primary benefits: first, it allows Microsoft to "move forward" with their operating system code base, potentially slimming the code down by elininating the requirement to support older functions, and most importantly for businesses and consumers, to reduce issues with supporting older legacy Windows applications.

XPM allows legacy applications to run side by side with newer applications, reducing the need to support two different desktop environments.

It is reported that XPM will not ship with the Windows 7 operating system, but instead be offered as a free download from Microsoft for owners of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Via Paul Thurott's SuperSite for Windows

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Microsoft Announces Release of Windows 7 in 2009

Although the release of Windows 7 this year has been publicly discussed for quite a while, Microsoft officially announced on Monday that Windows 7 will be released in 2009. It is anticipated that release will occur in time for the operating system to be available for the coming holiday season. According to Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte, "a holiday release is accomplishable".

A Windows 7 pre-release version, referred to as a Release Candidate or "RC" of the operating system is still due to be released to developers in the July to August timeframe.

This is great news as Windows 7 is, in my opinion, is superior to Vista. Even early beta versions appear to be more stable and out-perform Vista. Many companies and consumers skipped upgrading to Vista and many even downgraded their systems to Windows XP. Many in the industry expressed that it felt like Vista was rushed out the door before it was finished. All in all, Windows 7 appears to be the "finished" version of Vista.

Via WindowsITPro

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Home Routers and DSL/Cable Modems Attacked by psyb0t Worm

According to a report by PC World, a new computer worm believed to have originated in Australia has been discovered "in the wild". The worm is reported to infect 55 different consumer-oriented routers and cable modems including common brands such as Linksys and Netgear.

The worm is designed to infect systems and then run commands sent by its author across the Internet, creating what is known as a botnet. Once infected, most home users will be unaware that they're infected, and the worm could potentially be used by it's authors to steal personally identifiable information such as account names, passwords, social security numbers, and other personal information.
Recently no longer considered a threat by organizations that track botnets such as DroneBl Blog, psybOt could be an indication of things to come wherein the infrastructure of home networks is attacked at a lower and more discrete level than normally seen.

The best way to combat similar attacks is to ensure that your router or cable modem is configured correctly through a thorough lock-down and the default factory settings have been changed to improve security.

Via PCWorld

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Free Information About Identity Theft From the FTC

Were you aware that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers information about combating Identity Theft? Guides and booklets about topics such as Personal Identity Theft, Stimulus Scams (Phishing), advice on purchasing and using Identify Theft services, and Protecting Personal Information for Businesses are available for download in PDF format.

The materials are well-written, free, and easy to understand. I've personally used their guide "Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft" to include in a security awareness program I developed and found it to be invaluable. The nice thing about having access to them electronically is the ability to forward them to friends and family who might never know about or be able to obtain this information. We recommend starting with this guide first.

We recommend that you visit their site and check out their materials as soon as possible!

Via the FTC Web site

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Microsoft "Security at Home" Web Site

Microsoft has a nice web site designed for home users we recommend that you take a look at. The site provides information about many topics including the latest security threats such as the Conficker Worm, protecting yourself from Identity Theft via Phishing, using parental controls, etc.

There's a lot of information to help educate home users about security threats as well as links to free Microsoft security tools for download and Windows updates. Microsoft has even created and posted video tutorials on topics such as Security, privacy, and Internet safety, e.g. "Defending against viruses and worms", "Reducing spam", and "Protecting your privacy and personal information online".

Via Microsoft Security at Home

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