Well it's soothing to know that old practices seemingly never change, eh? According to The Register USA, who claims to have gathered information from recently changed Microsoft roadmaps, Windows XP SE is being prepared for release sometime in early 2003. While this will give Redmond - Washington based Microsoft more time to overhaul the next-gen Windows code named Longhorn Windows XP SE will be a cup of semi-warm coffee. Most expect allmost all additions will be included in Service Pack 1 for the initial release of XP. Read more...

Thanks to Scoutch Industries for the news. Microsoft has released a new critical update on their website. It contains 4 MB for web browser protection.

Get it at : Windows Update

Just saw this @ Neowin.net:

An ADTW exclusive here. With a handy app entitled NTSwitch you now have the option to turn .NET Server into XP Pro. What's more, this isn't just for .NET to Pro. You can use this to turn any NT Server OS into it's Workstation counterpart. 2K Pro to 2K Server, 2K Server to 2K Pro, and if you convert an OS from server to workstation, you can undo the changes by simply running the executable again and choosing to go back to whichever type of OS you were on before and simply rebooting. Click read more to continue......

Welcome to the Microsoft® .NET Passport Software Development Kit (SDK).

.NET Passport is a core component of the Microsoft .NET initiative and the foundation of the upcoming Microsoft .NET My Services. Microsoft .NET provides the platform for the next-generation Internet. To reach the next level of online business, your company needs a consistent way to refer to individuals, groups, and companies online; a way to notify them of important events; and a schema for storing essential global data to orchestrate applications, Web services, and devices on behalf of users, with their full control and consent.

Microsoft .NET Framework Service Pack 1 provides the latest updates to the .NET Framework. Service Pack 1 is highly recommended for all users of the .NET Framework, including customers of Visual Studio .NET.

On March 4, 2002, Microsoft released the first version of this bulletin. On March 18, 2002, Microsoft re-released this bulletin to make customers aware of an additional vulnerability that is eliminated by the updated VM (Microsoft VM build 3805). Customers who have previously installed the new build do not need to take any additional action.

The Microsoft VM is a virtual machine for the Win32(r) operating environment. The Microsoft VM is available for Windows 95, Windows 98, ME, Windows NT(r) 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. It is also available as part of Internet Explorer 6 and earlier.

Ibelite.com You actually have a 5th, hidden, security zone in your IE6 Internet Options -> Security -> Zones know as "My Computer". Yep, you can protect yourself from your own system. It's normally kept hidden on purpose because the average user doesn't need to lock down their system THAT tight. But if you're a regular here, you're not that average. One other possible reason (just a guess) is that it might help stop the spread of trojans and bad ActiveX controls.

Ibelite.com In three separate legal briefs filed Friday, a total of 34 states opposed a Microsoft motion that a federal judge should dismiss the remaining portion of its antitrust case.

Nine states and the District of Columbia return to court Monday to determine a remedy for the company's antitrust violations. But Microsoft had asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to dismiss the states' litigation, arguing that the states should not be allowed to set antitrust policy over the Justice Department. The Justice Department and nine other states settled the case in November.

Twenty-five additional states rallied Friday behind the nine litigating states--California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia--in an attempt to protect states' jurisdiction over antitrust matters.

These scripts are part of the Security Operations Guide for Windows 2000 Server, which you should read before using these scripts. The guide provides how-to instructions for system administrators to use after a Windows 2000-based server is up and running, and is part of the Windows Secure Technology Protection Program (STPP). If you are responsible for maintaining a secure Windows 2000-based server, this guide is for you.

MSXML 4.0 SP1 offers a number of new features and improvements over the MSXML 3.0, including support for the XML Schema language and substantially faster parser and XSLT engine. MSXML 4.0 SP1 is a complete replacement for MSXML 4.0 RTM and provides a number of bug fixes. It can not replace MSXML 3.0, because some obsolete and non-conformant features are no longer supported. MSXML 4.0 installs side by side with MSXML 3.0 and earlier, without any interference.

After a massive preordering program where customers could already buy an empty Xbox box as a guarantee to get their console today in store the Microsoft gaming console finally has arrived on the shelves. The launch is accompanied with the availability of 31 games in Europe including Halo, Max Payne, Project Gotham Racing and Nightcaster. Microsoft will also hold a big launch party in Berlin, Germany. The Xbox will approximately cost 479 Euro. Source: Xbox

ZDNet reports that Microsoft is working on developing a new database software dependent file system for future releases of their Windows operating system. The new technology would add to stability as well as increase performance and reliability according to analysts and developers. Read more...

The Microsoft® XSL ISAPI filter enables and simplifies server-side XSL formatting for multiple device types. Its features include: Automatic execution of XSL style sheets on the server with the choice of alternate style sheets based on browser device characteristics or XML document type.
Style sheet caching for improved server performance.
The ability to specify output encoding.
Post-processing support for certain cell phone markup languages.
Customizable error messages.

In this episode of the .NET Show, I?ve invited Mark Lucovsky and Shaun Pierce to join us and share some of the issues that they have been dealing with while they work on developing the "HailStorm" technologies. Mark is one of Microsoft?s Distinguished Engineers, and is in charge of "HailStorm" design. Shaun is an Architect on the HailStorm project and is in charge of implementing the individual services that "HailStorm" will encompass.

Good old Microsoft has made a new version of Windows Messenger available for download. This is build 4.6.0077. No words on fixes or updates are available yet.

The ultimate game system meets the ultimate media player! The official Xbox skin combines Xbox-inspired styling with the top digital media experience of Windows media player.

Microsoft is offering two new patches for their latest operating system Windows XP in order to squash some issues some users are said to encounter. It may add to system stability to download them. Read more...

Microsoft is taking the Unchecked Buffer in SNMP Service Could Enable Arbitrary Code to be Run issue out of business step by step. The Security Bulletin MS02-06 has now reached revision 3 with the release of the Windows NT4 patch...

Title: Unchecked Buffer in Windows Shell Could Lead to Code Execution
Date: 07 March 2002
Software: Microsoft Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000
Impact: Run code of attacker's choice
Max Risk: Moderate Read more for more details and patch availability.

Ibelite.com: Hackers can run anything on your Windows with command written in HTML, an Israeli security researcher said. The trick works on Internet Explorer and Outlook even if active scripting and ActiveX are disabled. A demonstration script is available. It starts the calculator out of an HTML file. MS said they will patch the hole, but a workaround proposed by Axel Pettinger and Garland Hopkins is apparently working. The registry patch is also available on the source. Although the workaround will cause IE to launch a security warning that can not be turned off.