Big thx to NeoWin for this information.

Just recently a piece of code has been making its way round the internet that allows people to open others CD drives by simply getting them to vist a website. Annoying as that was there is another piece of code which isn't even really all that advanced that will crash Internet Explorer with the error "Unhandled exception in iexplore.exe (SHLWAPI.DLL): 0xC0000005: Access Violation". Shockingly this line code is very easy to implement into any HTML. The bug posted at BugTraq on the 21st of April is now spreading around the internet, so watch out for what URLs you click on from friends and in emails for now. The line of code is literally :

Read More for code and a test page which causes a crash.

The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup.

Thanks to Neobond at Neowin.net for sending this in!

Once again it is my turn to *cackle* as another pre-beta SP2 build has found its way onto the internet. So again it's fun all round, you get to post silly comments and I get to post silly screenshots. This time the build number has changed much like the clock digit on the lower right of hand of my screen. However this time MS seem to have fixed the Outlook Express bug where posting to a newsgroup using the reader would bring up a blank dialog box that was useless.

I have installed Win 2003 trial and everytime I use the right mouse click there is a stop ("hang") in Windows. I have seen that the process CSRSS.EXE which is part of the Windows kernel is responsible for this high CPU usage. Searching the net about this, I have discovered that this a known bug of all the NT systems. Why has Microsoft not solved this KNOWN bug for this "NEW" system?

I am looking for a patch, a solution, ANYTHING...

A new build 4.068 of Windows 2000 SP4 has leaked to the web and is available in English! Click on the Windows 2000 logo for your download.

Thanks to Tim at Majorgeeks.com for the heads up. PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after the product has been released to manufacturing, but before the next project has begun. These toys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience! These are available as individual files from Microsoft, but for this download, we have zipped them all up in one file for you.

Thanks to Neobond at Neowin.net for sending in this info and the proposed workaround!

I have found a problem in Windows XP in that right clicking on a file in Windows Explorer causes 100% CPU utilization on Windows XP. This only happens on files that have not been selected first with a left mouse click. This problem is reproducible on Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 machines of varying speed, does not happen on Pentium 2 systems.

Just got word from Neowin.net that MSN 8.5 beta build 1617.1 has been released.

No major improvements but powerdafuture has noted the status bar has been changed back to the original IE style rather than the new 'MSN 8 style' that Microsoft had implemented in earlier builds.

Looks like MS have updated the article on 811493 and recognise the performance issue: Buffer Overrun in Windows Kernel Message Handling could Lead to Elevated Privileges (811493) Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0, Windows® 2000 and Windows® XP systems

A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Microsoft® Windows® and gain control over it. To attempt an attack, the attacker would have to be able to log on to the computer. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft.

This update provides stability and performance enhancements, and resolves the following issues: If you try to record an episode of a series that has been removed from the schedule, the whole series is deleted. (For example, if you schedule a series to record, cancel the current episode from recording, and then schedule the current episode to record by using Guide or the One Touch Record feature. If you do this, the current episode is recorded but the rest of the series is deleted.) Read More

Microsoft has released two new important updates - rated critical by the Redmond based Software giant - for Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Affected versions range from version 5.01 to 6 SP1 of Internet Explorer where a security vulnerability has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise your Windows-based computer and, possibly, read files on it. A similar vulnerability exists in Outlook Express. I have added both updates to our Internet Explorer Post SP1 Updates chart. Users of other versions than IE 6 SP1 and OE SP1 please consult Windows Update.

Windows XP puts your imagination in charge, making it easy to create greeting cards with your own photos, spice up your home movies with new sound effects and turn them into video screen savers, turn your computer into the party jukebox, and more. Download screen savers, PowerToys, and other tools that help you have more fun and create amazing things with Windows XP this spring.

A new build 4.066 of Windows 2000 SP4 has leaked to the web and is available in English and German language versions! Click on the Windows 2000 logo for your download.

Thanks to Neobond at Neowin.net for sending this in. In a follow up to our post here on troubles with Q811493 patch for Windows XP y_notm has submitted to the BPN section that MS have posted a workaround on the WUv4 beta newsgroup (Windows Update v4). Rancho*: I simply advise you to *NOT* install this patch, or if you have - uninstall it. If you install the Q330909 [original article] patch instead you will get even newer versions of the affected system core files and circumvent the whole performance issue. We have already mentioned this in the release article for Q811493 by the way. I have added a file comparison screenshot for all disbelievers.

Neowin.net reports that Windows update users and prudent sys admins might have installed the latest Windows patch without a thought. That might not have been such a good idea. The patch is meant to fix a hole in Windows Messaging but can end up causing a severe performance degradation.

They never stop working at Microsoft and we have a sneak peak at what to expect in the next Windows. Read the preview to see what to expect when it's released. There is sure to be some major redesign of the user interface after the new API becomes developed further, as well as Microsoft's new WFS(Windows File System) that is database-based which they plan to include in the final release. Another coming attraction is the addition of integrated CD and DVD burning that will follow the Mt. Ranier Specs. For those of you who haven't heard about Mt. Ranier, it will allow the hardware of the CD/DVD-burner to be integrated with the OS and allow you to copy files by dragging them in just like you can do with a floppy drive now without the use of outside software.

A source told me, Longhorn Build 4021 found its way on to the net...

Thanks to creamhackered at Neowin.net for the info. I hate to say it again but no new features as such in this build, although we're hearing whisperings from the Redmond hillsides that concurrent sessions might be implemented by the time May is finished with. Hold onto your hats on that one though.

For the screenshots warp2 Neowin.net.

Just spotted this at Iexbeta.com:

On 26 March Microsoft announced that Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 CALs, Windows 2000 Terminal Services CALs and Windows 2000 Internet Connectors were to be discontinued as of 1 April 2003. If you require Windows 2000 Server/CALs etc. they can purchase Windows Server 2003 instead and downgrade to 2000. They can do this without relinquishing the rights to Windows Server 2003 so they can install this version whenever they like. Media kits for Windows Server 2003 are expected to be available on 24 April.