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All Web browsers recent upgrade their tools anti-phishing and anti-malware. Internet Explorer 8 is no exception.

Both Opera 9.5 and Firefox 3.0 had the desire to propose security features more advanced in order to fight against various threats in the field embodied by the malware and phishing. Otherwise known as phishing, phishing is to recall a technique used by criminals and to make people believe that a user is directed to a trusted third party as a seemingly legitimate website in order to obtain personal information and where appropriate usurp his identity. Internet Explorer 8 Microsoft will also have this concern.

In Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft has already introduced a security feature dynamic designed to alert users in case they try to consult a site identified as fraudulent. With the help of various partners, Microsoft has also added support for Extended Validation technology in IE7, which is implemented in PayPal example, in order to color the address bar green when consulting a site to ‘legitimate identity. In this connection, PayPal had criticized Apple’s Safari browser for not having followed the same path that IE7.

With IE8, Microsoft continues its efforts, and in a note published on IEBlog, product manager for Internet Explorer security explains that the protection against phishing has been improved in the browser with the development of a SmartScreen filter. The SmartScreen technology is already used in email clients online with a view to fight against spam.

Anti-malware also on the agenda for IE8
In addition to the anti-phishing filter SmartScreen tackle anti-malware benefiting from the ecosystem dedicated Microsoft to include a blacklist of sites exploits distributing malicious software. “The feature SmartScreen anti-malware takes advantage of the reputation of a URL, which means that the host servers programs are evaluated to determine if these servers are known to distribute content unsafe. This analysis is done in concert with other anti-malware technology-based signatures as Malicious Software Removal Tool, Windows Defender and Windows Live OneCare, “said Eric Lawrence. In case of danger, a specific page will be displayed in order to deter the user to continue its consultation.

Beyond SmartScreen other security features will be present in IE8 with a filter to prevent XSS attacks Cross Site Scripting, a communication more secure with iFrames or changes in the way ActiveX controls are handled.

All these security features will come into action with the release of beta 2 IE8 scheduled for August 2008. A first version in French was also on the agenda for this beta 2 but should be available later.

Confirmation that XP will be present in the Windows family for many years, with a health safe beautiful fixed until April 2014.

Like Bill Gates, the time of retirement has come for the Windows XP operating system. But the image of co-founder of Microsoft, it will rather talk about pre-retirement. In a letter published on the Microsoft site, Bill Veghte, vice president Windows Business Group, has provided few details of circumstance, whereas the late sales of Windows XP, it’s officially on June 30, 2008. Number of users arise therefore legitimate questions.

We hear talk about XP for a long time
The most important of these is probably the support of Windows XP, and you can say that users have time to see coming as security patches and other critical updates will continue to run until April 2014. Calendar in support, the last Patch Tuesday for Windows XP will fall … a Tuesday, April 8, 2014, unless of course that by then, Microsoft makes changes to its security policy. Is it ever. In any case for XP, it augurs for 13 years full of patches since its release in October 2001.

For Veghte, long-term support is the recognition that users are very attached to their PC-based Windows, and in the case of Windows XP. The rage for some who have not hesitated to take part in petitions to save XP. However, manufacturers will receive more copies of Windows XP to load into their new machines.

Until January 31, 2009, obtain Windows XP will remain possible, however, its sale is still permitted by the integrators. Likewise, a priori until June 2010, Windows XP Home and starters may find refuge in the ultra low-cost personal computers deemed eligible given their small configuration (non-touch screen at least 10.2 inches, 1 GB of RAM, hard disk of 80 GB, single processor core 1 GHz).

In addition, Veghte said that manufacturers like Dell have already begun to implement the right to “downgrade” to put forward on Windows XP Pro after purchasing a license (or purchase of a PC) Windows Vista Business or Ultimate.

With all this, we will have one day or another a successor to Windows XP and its output general public has been confirmed for early 2010. Ah … non … XP already has a successor since 2007 and it is called Windows Vista. After the improvements made by its first service pack, remains to be seen whether it can find its place and restore its image tainted by a difficult start.

They know Windows Vista sux! :p

The installation of Windows XP SP3 could have unexpected effects particularly visible in the device manager. Microsoft offers a patch to address this problem, which earned him a pass weapons with Symantec.

Yesterday, Microsoft has published in its download an update labeled 953979 whose description seems familiar. The latter is indeed on a problem identified after installation of Windows XP SP3 in the device manager where it becomes impossible to display devices, while the display network connections has disappeared. This problem occurs when an application antivirus is running for the installation of SP3. Symptoms that we had already described in our columns and which gave rise to a strong pass weapons with Symantec.

There is no doubt that the problem is the same with the original file fixcss.exe. This executable had been accused by Symantec to add to the registry entries disabled in a section reserved for the configuration of products of the publisher of security. Accusations based as evidenced by the publication of Microsoft.

Microsoft and Symantec Solution
Recall that in this story, the share of responsibility Symantec had been attributed to the use of a technology SymProtect running in background. If fixcss.exe adds many invalid, it tries nevertheless remove them but is prevented by SymProtect.

To correct this problem, Symantec had proposed a utility cleaning SymRegFix, and Microsoft is now offering its solution home with this update.

David Austin has just received the tidy sum of $100000 following a competition where it was sufficient to use the new space for collaborative work online from Microsoft.

In March, Microsoft launched its online workspace in a beta version which like many Google services, should keep this status beta for many months without this being provided a sign of any instability. The free service allows users to the general public to share documents with others with the possibility of consultation, comment on them.

To attract the Internet, the launch was accompanied by a contest open only to U.S. residents with the key of the bagatelle 100000 dollars for the winner, whose only merit was to open her own work space. Her identity was unveiled earlier this week, there is a certain David Austin who pockets thus placing after drawing lots from among the hundreds of thousands of participants who took part in the contest. This student at the University of Washington said that with this money, it will finance the completion of his studies and put aside to buy a house.

Office Live Workspace
The french surfers have also been excluded from entering this contest. As a consolation, they can however since May receive a localized version of Office Live Workspace, either in Windows and Mac OS X work space can accommodate up to 500 MB of documents (executable excluded) with features including sharing and screen with the application SharedView.

Workspace Office Live also integrates with Outlook 2003 and 2007 (synchronisation with contact lists, tasks, etc.). And add-ins can modify and register online Word documents, Excel and PowerPoint (XP , 2003, 2007) directly from the workstation.

The American justice decided to check whether Windows 7 and IE8, Microsoft is not likely to break the competition.

After a long legal battle to the USA and the famous antitrust trial in 2001, a technical committee was established by the Department of American justice to ensure that Microsoft complies with its commitments, and n ‘hinders competition not including a code default Windows excluding third party applications.

Such monitoring would have ended in 2007, but several states who were joined by influential groups and directly affected by the actions of Microsoft like Google, have seized Justice to request an extension of 5 years.

Windows 7 under the same control system that Vista
Finally, it was decided not monitored until 2012 but still until 2009, enough to enable the technical committee to monitor the development of Internet Explorer 8 and the Windows operating system that will take 7 succession Vista in 2010. This decision is hardly surprising, and it was expected. NetworkWorld just to provide confirmation via the publication of a document from the Department of Justice U.S..

You learn and how Internet Explorer 8 will be built into Windows will be part of the concerns of the committee, which also has access to a build of Windows 7 in order to evaluate it. The committee will also ensure that Microsoft provides the necessary documentation to third-party publishers to develop interoperable applications with Windows 7.

With 8 as Internet Explorer with Windows 7, Microsoft will not be able to do what it wants.