Just got this in from Bink:Reminder over a week ago MS released a critical patch for a security issue in RPC, All NT based Windows editions are affected Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
The impact of this exploit if a worm is developed makes CodeRED and SQL Slammer look like childplay, cause the security issue is on every NT based Windows. Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows2003. Code to develop a worm for this exploit are already posted on hackersforums, so a worm breakout may not be far away. Many users and system administrators dont realise the potential disaster that this worm might cause. Read More

If you use a version of Netscape Navigator that has an embedded < APPLET > tag for the Windows Media Player 9 Series OCX control, the Java Runtime may not initialize the control. You receive a "General Failure" error message. This problem occurs because the Windows Media Player 9 Series OCX control uses methods that are no longer supported by Netscape.

The Windows Memory Diagnostic tests the Random Access Memory (RAM) on your computer for errors. The diagnostic includes a comprehensive set of memory tests. If you are experiencing problems while running Windows, you can use the diagnostic to determine whether the problems are caused by failing hardware, such as RAM or the memory system of your motherboard. Windows Memory Diagnostic is designed to be easy and fast. On most configurations, you can download the diagnostic, read the documentation, run the test and complete the first test pass in less than 30 minutes. To run Windows Memory Diagnostic, you must reboot your computer with the disk or CD-ROM on which you installed Windows Memory Diagnostic in the drive. After the reboot, Windows Memory Diagnostic will load and its interface will appear. After loading, the first test pass will begin, using the default standard test suite, and continue until complete, unless Windows Memory Diagnostic is either paused or exited. Once the first test pass is complete, Windows Memory Diagnostic will begin a second test pass using the same settings as before. Windows Memory Diagnostic will continue to run test passes until you exit.

Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) is a part of Microsoft?s fully integrated directory services available with Windows Server 2003, and is built specifically to address directory-enabled application scenarios. ADAM runs as a non-operating-system service, and, as such, it does not require deployment on a domain controller. Running as a non-operating-system service means that multiple instances of ADAM can run concurrently on a single server, and each instance can be configured independently.

Just got the information from Bink, that he has posted an article about the Microsoft Newsgroup Social Analyzer. Here's a snip: Microsoft researchers are working on technology that makes it easier to navigate Usenet news groups, and which could help clear clutter in e-mail inboxes. A concept called the Community .net Server takes a new approach to displaying Usenet groups and message threads, making it easier for users to pick a relevant group, cut out spam and display the most active threads first.

Der Internet Explorer bleibt der meistgenutzte Browser für das Internet, das fand der Online-Analyse-Dienst OneStat .com heraus.
Trotz weniger Innovationen seit seinem Erscheinen 1998 platziert sich der Redmonder Browser mit 95,4% Markanteil unüberholbar vor seiner Konkurrenz.

Internet Explorer 6 sitzt mit 66,3 % an der Spitze, gefolgt von Version 5.5 mit 14,5 % und 12,7 % für die 5er Version.

Der Opensource Browser Mozilla ist mit 1,6 % Nutzungsrate auf Platz vier, auf Mozilla basierende Browser belegen immerhin 4,1 %.

Opera oder Safari liegen mit 0,6 % bzw 0,25 % weit abgeschlagen am Ende der Liste. Die nächste bedeutende Internet Explorer Version 7 wird es wahrscheinlich mit dem Erscheinen von Windows Longhorn im Jahr 2005 geben. Mehr Infos

WinInformant reports that [the program] hasn't been significantly updated since 1998, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer continues to dominate the Web, garnering a record market share of 95.4 percent, according to real-time web analytics firm OneStat.com. What's more, IE has garnered its highest usage level ever at a time when other browsers, such as Mozilla Firebird and Apple Safari, have earned record amounts of publicity for adding crucial features IE lacks, including pop-up ad blocking and a tabbed user interface that optionally negates the need for opening multiple browser windows. More
German version / Deutsche Version

Office Animation Runtime allows you to view a PowerPoint 2002 Web presentation that contains animations in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, if you do not have Office XP installed.

Mit Office Animation Runtime können Sie eine PowerPoint® 2002-Webpräsentation mit Animationen in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 oder höher anzeigen, wenn Sie Office XP nicht installiert haben.

Tecchannel: Bei der Windows-Aktivierung per Internet werden große Datenpakete an Microsoft übertragen. Doch bisher wusste niemand (außer Microsoft), welche Daten in diesen verschlüsselten Paketen stecken. Jetzt sind die Inhalte entschlüsselt!

German online magazine The Tec Channel have uncovered the entire process that Microsoft uses when people activate their copies of Windows XP. They did this over concerns that more information was being transmitted by internet activation of Windows XP than was necessary! Here's a snip:

The graphical user interface for Windows XP product activation is implemented by a HTML-based application, i.e. a collection of HTML pages, Java Script code, and COM components, that is located in the "oobe" ("out of box experience") subfolder of the system directory. Running "msoobe.exe /A" in this folder starts the activation process.

Microsoft Outlook 2002 Connector enables you to use Microsoft Outlook 2002 to access your e-mail messages, calendar, address book, and To Do (task) items on an IBM Lotus Domino Release 5 server.

Thanks to Voodoo over at Neowin.net for sending over this info:

Microsoft have just released an update of its P2P connection software 3° for MSN Messenger with the build number 1.0.0352.0. The first official beta release, carrying the build number 1.0.0336.0, wasn't updated for months. Now, finally an update is out which is a sign that this project has not been discarded by Microsoft. The tool is still intended to be used with MSN Messenger 5.0, although we've tested it with MSN Messenger 6 and it functions well with no noticable problems.

Wieder einmal konnten wir für euch einen sehr wichtigen Patch für Windows XP aus den Archiven von Microsoft befreien. Wer *.tif-Dateien mit dem Internet Explorer betrachten will und zum Aufruf die Dos-Shell verwendet, wird feststellen, dass der Internet Explorer beendet wird und stattdessen die Windows Bild- und Faxanzeige geöffnet wird. Um diesen schwerwiegenden Bug zu beseitigen, könnt ihr euch den folgenden Patch vom WinFuture-Downloadserver herunterladen. Download

Portugese website Portavol reports that Jim Allchin, Group Vice President, Platforms Group announced this morning that Longhorn Beta 1 will be available at the PDC03, Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003, October 26?30, 2003, Los Angeles, CA.

"Longhorn" is the codename of the next release of Microsoft Windows®?and the innovation runs deep. At PDC 2003, you can be the first to get information on how to build your applications to take advantage of "Longhorn," and be ready for the future.

PDC is a critical event for any developer who wants to see the debut of next-generation technology. Look into the future of Microsoft® Platform Software?Windows® "Longhorn," SQL Server "Yukon," Visual Studio® "Whidbey," and others?with the developers who wrote the code.

Two additional security updates are avalaible on Microsoft's TechNet. They were posted in conjunction with DirectX 9.0b.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-029: Flaw in Windows NT Function Could Allow Denial of Service (823803)

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-031: Cumulative Patch for Microsoft SQL Server (815495)

The Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP is a recommended update for Window XP SP1. It includes a new version of the IPv6 stack, an IPv6 firewall, and a peer-to-peer infrastructure.

Today Microsoft has officially released DirectX 9.0b which was previously posted by Neowin as a rip from the DirectX 9 Beta 2 SDK Refresh. Read more for the details.

We were the first to report about the Windows XP SP1 USB 1.1 And 2.0 Update - Q822603 update that Microsoft had announced via their Knowledge Base on July 17th, 2003. We contacted Microsoft about the status of the update and the company representatives said that this patch should already be up on Windows Update. However the online update service still does not list it. Therefore Warp2Search now offers this as an exclusive download to all our readers. For details about the patch please refer to the article linked to above.

Microsoft has published a Knowledge Base article on July 17th, 2003 in which the Redmond based company claims to have released a Windows XP SP1 USB 1.1 and 2.0 update to the proprietary Windows Update service. Although the article explicitly declares the update as available, it is not. W2S editors have checked Windows Update with both german and english language versions of Windows XP. One could easily declare this update as an USB rollup package as it fixes the tiny amount of only 8 issues discovered with USB support in Windows XP.