Механизм активации Windows 7 был взломан ещё до официального выхода этой ОС. Однако, предложенный метод требовал изменений в BIOS, что является весьма нетривиальной задачей.

Сейчас хакеры нашли вариант полного обхода механизма Windows Activation Technologies (WAT) без манипуляций с BIOS’ом и вообще без использования ключа активации.

С помощью этого метода блокируется работа модулей SPP (Software Protection Platform) и SLC (Software Licensing Client). И хотя 30-дневный счётчик периода активации может продолжать видимость работы, он уже не инициирует никаких действий. Для блокировки используются следующие команды:

takeown /F %WINDIR%\System32\sppcomapi.dll

icacls %WINDIR%\System32\sppcomapi.dll /deny *S-1-1-0:F

Здесь sppcomapi.dll — библиотека, с помощью которой контролируется основная часть функций SPP. Данным метод можно применять для операционных систем Windows 7 и Windows Server 2008 R2.

С целью автоматизации процесса блокировки активации хакеры создали программы RemoveWAT и Chew-WGA .

По заявлению представителей Microsoft, они в курсе проблемы и уже занимаются ее решением. В Microsoft также подчеркнули важность использования лицензионного ПО.

Microsoft appears to be getting relatively strong early adoption of Windows 7 in the 10 days since its official launch.

According to Net Applications, more than 3 percent of PCs accessing the Web in the past two days have been doing so using the new operating system. Usage of the operating system has been growing strong in recent days, though Windows 7 already accounted for 2 percent of global Web traffic in the days ahead of its formal launch.

“The early adoption of Windows 7 looks very strong, and I don’t believe Vista enjoyed the same early success,” said Vince Vizzaccaro, an executive vice president at Net Applications. “Plus, we’ve seen surges the past two weekend days, and Windows has historically seen much higher usage market share on weekdays than on weekends.”

However, weekends tend to see stronger usage by consumers. And consumers are more likely to move quickly to a new version of Windows than businesses, which tend to do extensive testing before adopting a new operating system.

The news is not all positive for Microsoft, though. As a whole, the Mac OS continues to gain on Windows. As of October, Windows had 92.5 percent of the worldwide operating system market, but Mac OS reached 5.27 percent, up from 5.12 percent in September. (Past numbers from Net Applications showed the Mac OS with significantly higher market share, though the market research firm says it has changed its methodology to better reflect the relative traffic of the countries from which it is getting data.)

Apple’s recent anti-Windows 7 advertising has touted that if users are going to upgrade their Windows XP machines and have to transfer their data anyway, they might as well move to a Mac. Vizzaccaro said the early numbers suggest that the Mac might indeed be benefiting from such a trend but said it is too early to know for sure.

“We’ll know much more in the months ahead,” he said.

Hackers have managed to find a way around one of the key antipiracy protections built into Windows 7. Ordinarily, the operating system requires users to activate their copy of Windows 7 within 30 days. However, a recently outlined method allows the normal notifications to be turned off. The software does not actually get confirmed as legitimate, but users are able to keep using the product indefinitely. Microsoft confirmed last week it is aware of the technique, but said that it is working to shore up the activation procedure. “We’re aware of this workaround and are already working to address it,” a Microsoft representative said in a statement, which also urged customers to only use genuine software, noting the fake stuff can contain malware and other bad things. It is the latest in a long history of cat-and-mouse moves between the makers of Windows and those who would rather not have to pay for the privilege.

This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.

Dari laporan penjualan di pekan pertama sistem operasi terbaru Microsoft, terungkap bahwa penjualan Windows 7 mengalahkan penjualan Vista hingga 234 persen. Lalu, apakah angka persentase penggunaannya juga terwakili dengan penualan tersebut?

Ternyata, jawabannya memang demikian. Setidaknya menurut angka-angka yang diraih Net Applications, perusahaan pengamat pasar internet asal California, Amerika Serikat.

Seperti VIVAnews kutip dari eWeek, 17 November 2009, dari 160 juta kunjungan ke berbagai situs di seluruh penjuru internet, antara 6 sampai 7 November 2009 lalu ternyata merupakan kunjungan pengguna Windows 7. Tidak banyak memang, tetapi perlu diingat bahwa Windows 7 baru tersedia secara massal mulai 22 Oktober 2009. Dua minggu sebelum mencapai angka tersebut.

Sebagai referensi, eWeek menyebutkan, sistem operasi Windows Vista baru mampu menembus 4 persen pangsa pasar pada bulan Juni 2007, empat-lima bulan setelah peluncurannya pada 31 Januari 2007.

Data terakhir Net Applications juga menunjukkan bahwa Windows menguasai 92,52 persen pangsa pasar keseluruhan sistem operasi. Mac OS memiliki 5,27 persen dan Linux sebanyak 0,96 persen.

Meski demikian, Windows telah kehilangan sedikit pangsa pasar mereka dibandingkan Agustus lalu. Ketika itu mereka menguasai 93,06 persen pasar. Akan tetapi, jika dibandingkan dengan November 2008, angkanya memang lebih baik.

vivanews.com

My friend Mike, the PC whiz, just managed to install a ‘not-new’ HP all-in-one printer on his Windows 7 rig. He used Windows 7 USB ‘plug-and-play.’ According to him, it worked flawlessly, first time. Windows 7 found the right driver, ONLINE, installed it … and as we say in the U.K. “Bob, was his uncle” [though in his case "Bob, is his friend'].

Mike, ever the optimist, urged me to try my LaserJet HP P1006 again. You may recall that I was totally foiled, a week ago, from trying to install this relatively new, and still in production, printer on my Windows 7 rig.

Well, it only took 2 minutes for Windows 7 to tell me, not once, but twice that I was out of luck. That is the advantage of my ‘fast’ rig. You get BAD NEWS real quick. You don’t get to sit back and wait for mesmerizingly spinning egg timers. Error messages flash at you even before you have stopped typing.

No compatible printer driver. Damn you, HP!

Well, in my dotage, I know better than to sell stock based on emotion. That guy Jim Cramer, on CNBC ‘Mad Money,‘ taught me that. So I didn’t sell my HP stock immediately. Though, miracles of miracles (as they said on ‘Fiddler on the Roof’) I have actually made money on it … though I had owned it DURING the downturn of the last 18 months! So, I did some option action. Milked a few more cents BEFORE I get rid of it. Joys of old age. You no longer cut your nose to spite your face. But that is IT. I am done with HP.

By the way, IF you own an HP all-in-one or inkjet printer and wonder why they jam so often. Very simple. Look at a comparable Epson. See the difference. HP tries to FIGHT GRAVITY! I am not kidding. Take a look. HP insists on feeding paper from underneath. So the rollers have to overcome gravity to feed them through the printer. Now take a look at an Epson. Other way around. Always TOP FEED. Work with gravity. If you know Latin, QED. As I have mentioned I, for a brief but very enjoyable stint, sold Epson printers at BestBuy. Selling against HP was easier than stealing grapes from a goldfish. It was a hoot. There used to be an HP rep. I would outsell him 4::1 most days, 8::1 on better days. One day, I switched a customer over when the HP rep. went back to pick up a printer. When he came back his ‘customer’ was gone. He was looking all over. He then finally asks me “you didn’t sell him an Epson, did you?” I am honest, as the day is long. I admitted that I did. He knew I was on a mission. To make sure BestBuy customers always ended up with the Best printers. We were cool. We were ‘friends.’ He knew I owned HP share. He didn’t.

Anura Guruge
www.guruge.com

Memory (RAM) upgrade is probably the most common solution to slow responsive computer. But sometimes finding and installing the right memory can be difficult especially if you are not computer-savvy. Microsoft, with its release of Vista and Windows 7, introduced a new concept of expanding memory space without having to physically add a memory to your computer. The ReadyBoost speeds up computer using non-volatile memory like USB flash drive or SD card to improve performance.

Read more…

 Si ya tienes Windows Seven  y quieres configurar un dispositivo Wifi por USB y configurar una red inalámbrica en Windows te dejo este enlace para un tutorial muy bien explicado de como hacerlo.

Hackers have figured out a way to bypass the built-in anti-piracy protection in the newly released Windows 7 operating system. Normally, a legitimate version of Windows will give you 30-days before deactivating itself but this new hack allows users to operate the product indefinitely.

Before you get all excited, a spokesperson for Microsoft has already stated that they’re already working on a patch for this issue.

CNET News – http://is.gd/4WHAF

 Resulta que Microsoft ha publicado en una nota de prensa, que acaban de detectar una vulnerabilidad en Windows 7. Se trata de un problema del SMB (Server Message Block), el cual permite ataques de denegación del servicio

Han dejado claro que este agujero de seguridad en Windows 7 no permite el control remoto ni la inserción de código malicioso,

Microsoft Deberá tomar las medidas apropiadas para ayudar a proteger a sus clientes.   y afirma que está intentando desarrollar un parche que el soluciones el problema.

Ver mas

Aunque parezca mentira, esta vez Microsoft ha Admitido que se ha inspirado en Mac Os X para crear Windows 7. Recordamos que ya hace un tiempo Apple llevó a Microsoft ante el juez por una supuesta copia de su sistema Operativo.

Simons Aldous es el que reconoce que se ha inspirado en Mac Os X para diseñar la interfaz gráfica, pero que el núcleo en que se basa Windows 7 está sacado de Windows Vista que es mucho mas estable que el de Mac OS X, algo que a casi todos los maqueros nos hará muchísima gracia dado que sabemos perfectamente que no es así… sino ¿por qué tendrían que reescrivir un sistema Operativo prácticamente desde cero y no usar el mismo añadiéndole mejoras?

A ver cuando Microsoft empieza a usar la cabeza y piensa sus propias ideas…

Arriving with the usual speculation and hype, Windows 7 has finally arrived. As the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system spreads through the user community, Microsoft hopes Windows 7 will move people away from XP. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality, but in the meantime, users should take a very close view of the multitude of enhancements and features packed into Windows 7.

No matter how many eye catching interface objects elicit an ‘Oh Wow!’ the bottom line for many users boils down to stability and performance. Following the wish list of users, one of the key improvements includes faster search capabilities and retrieval sets. Memory and processor utilization has been decreased due to executing fewer background tasks and reducing graphics memory requirements. The new Windows now employs integrated searches, which can be performed from the Start menu, open windows or by right-clicking the desktop. External resources, such as web sites and SharePoint offer return sets of query information. Jumps lists, an automatically populated record of task bar items as well as the most recently used items and applications, allow users to create quick and easy links to popular parts of an application. With one click users are transported directly to the documents, pictures, songs, or websites used most often.

Ready Boost cache applications and data into fast RAM, and can be used with multiple memory devices concurrently, allowing users to plug in multiple key drives or other high-speed memory devices instead of relying on slow hard drives. Battery performance of peripherals and other running applications have been greatly improved. Adaptive display brightness automatically dims the screen during periods of inactivity. Windows 7 also powers down network ports, if no cables are plugged in, while a more efficient video decoder reduces the processing power needed when playing DVDs. New battery controls and tools give users the ability to fine-tune performance for extended battery life and prove to be more informative.

All external devices are now grouped together under a single device state window, making it easier to work with and manage external devices. Device drivers for new devices are automatically downloaded, when not found locally, eliminating the need for user intervention. Location-aware printing automatically determines which printers are available based on which network a user employs. Other speed enhancements come from faster application launches and a faster responding task bar and Start menu, and faster boot and shutdown times.

Windows 7 now offers support for many more wireless devices and technologies, including improvements in Wi-Fi security. New wizards add support for wireless printers, NAS devices, cameras and other wireless devices. Windows 7 can also act as a wireless access point, allowing users to share a wireless broadband connection over a Wi-Fi network. This is a very useful feature for mobile workgroups that can share a single 3G WAN connection over a Wi-Fi LAN.

Eye candy performance, you ask? The Aero visual effects include enhancements such as Aero Peek, which allows users to make open windows transparent to see objects underneath. Users will also enjoy the new Aero Shake, which instantly minimizes open windows. Aero Snap provides the opposite effect, expanding desktop items to the borders of the screen. The Taskbar will now allow the user to place often used applications to the bar, executing them with a single click. And thumbnail-sized previews of all open windows can be accessed, including running videos. As the user hovers over a thumbnail, it instantly morphs into a full-screen preview.

With other enhancements including Parental Controls, User Account Control, Libraries, newer Gadgets and a host of under the hood improvements, Windows 7 has shaken off the difficulties of its predecessor and fulfilled great strides in providing the desires of its user community – a much more stable, powerfully performing operating system.

Según una encuesta del  mayorista estadounidense Retrovo realizada sobre  1000 usuarios, el 60 % de los mismos está descontento con las limitaciones que tiene Windows 7  Starter Edition para Netbooks y que no tienen con XP.

Parece que Microsoft ha capado funciones de la versión de Windows 7 para Netbooks,  de forma que  no ejecuta DVD de video, no deja personalizar el escritorio, no tiene soporte multipantallas, no incorpora Aero, no es multi-táctil, no lleva juegos premium, no tiene Windows Media Center y tampoco tiene el modo emulación Windows XP.

Lo que no sabían los usuarios (porque Microsoft no lo pubicita) es que si quieren tener todas las funciones de un sistema operativo, como por ejemplo Windows 7 Home Premium versión deberán pagar un extra de 80 $ más.

Todo lo mencionado anteriormente ha llevado a Retrovo a preguntarse en un bog:

¿Está Microsoft tratando de matar el mercado de Netbooks?.

A lo que otro podría pensar:

¿no será que Microsoft tiene miedo de que la gente se anime e instale Linux Ubuntu en sus Netbooks viendo el mal rendimiento de Vista y W7?

Fuente: www. geekwithlaptop.com

На фото: MS-глава Стив Балмер в Мюнхене (Германия) на представлении Windows 7 (октябрь 2009 года; фото Лукаса Барта, dpa/Corbis).

Компания Microsoft превратила операционную систему Windows 7 в рекламную площадку.

В число партнеров изобретательной ПО-корпорации вошли славные Porsche, Pepsi, Twentieth Century Fox и другие компании, которые отныне могут размещать логотипы своих брендов на рабочих столах пользователей. На ваших рабочих столах, друзья. Вскоре реклама появится на границах окон и в звуковых схемах, а также увидят свет рекламные дополнения к веб-обозревателю Internet Explorer 8 (счастливые пользователи будут направляться на домашние страницы рекламодателей).

Рекламодатели приветствовали этот шаг, посчитав его новым способом установления контактов с потенциальными покупателями.

Реакцию потребителей угадать не очень сложно, но концессионеры пока помалкивают на этот счет.

Напомним, что в октябре Microsoft анонсировала Office 2010 Starter Edition — версию пакета офисных программ для начинающих пользователей. Она будет поставляться бесплатно с новыми компьютерами как раз за счет доходов от рекламы.

Подготовлено по материалам Daily Telegraph.

… and a windows seven burger

Wer Bluray Filme über Windows 7 anschauen möchte, könnte feststellen, dass diese gar nicht abgespielt werden, weil der passende Codec fehlt.

Zwar hat Microsoft bei Windows 7 die Codecs stark aufgerüstet, aber haben auch wieder Raum für Dritthersteller gelassen, damit die wieder das System verpfuschen können. Vielleicht hat auch einfach nur die Zeit gefehlt um von der Umstellung von DirectShow auf MediaFoundation alles auf einen Schlag hinzubekommen.

Sei es wie es will, hier ein paar Links die in diesem Zusammenhang interessant sind und auch fürs Media Center und Bluray rippen interessant sind:

http://www.hack7mc.com/category/codec

http://babgvant.com/blogs/

http://www.slysoft.com/de/

http://www.clownbd.com/

No surprise here.  Click here to read.

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

Enfrentada a acusaciones de violación de licencia GPL, Microsoft ha suspendido la distribución de una aplicación que facilita la instalación de Windows 7 en PC portátiles desprovistos de lector de DVD.

La situación fue denunciada en el blog de Within Windows, donde Rafael Rivera asegura haber detectado en Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool código de ImageMaster, proyecto de código abierto licenciado bajo GPLv2.

Lo anterior no habría tenido mayor relevancia si Microsoft hubiera puesto a disposición de la comunidad Open Source el código agregado a su aplicación. Según Rivera, tal no sería el caso y destaca, como situación agravante, que Microsoft no autoriza la redistribución de Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. Incorporar código abierto a una aplicación y luego no poner el resultado a libre disposición de la comunidad Open Source implica una infracción a las estipulaciones del código licenciado bajo licencia GPLv2.

En un comentario hecho a CNet, Microsoft informa que la situación está siendo investigado y que, como medida precautoria, eliminará la posibilidad de descargar la herramienta en cuestión desde su sitio. La empresa de Redmond lamenta además cualquier inconveniente que la situación haya causado a sus clientes.

But am I here? It’s kind of hard to tell
I do a good impression of myself
But what’s normal now anyhow?
from “Normal” by Porcupine Tree

Since the great weirdness last month things are getting pretty much back to normal in Colorado. The Balloon Boy’s parents have fessed up, but not before the Larimer County Sheriff posted an item to his blog attacking [the father], calling him “clever and manipulative” and comparing him to the Joker character from “Batman.” But sadly, if you were looking forward to the Balloon family reality show, that idea is a non-starter according to at least one New York-based production company.

“It’s just too poisonous,” said Irad Eyal, vice president of development at True Entertainment. “I don’t think anyone is going to want to meet with a man who shamed his family and children that way. In reality TV, there’s a definite line you don’t cross, and that’s tormenting children.”

I’m just going to leave that quote alone – as nothing I could possibly add would make it any more hilariously absurd than it already is. But I digress. Balloon Boy saga done.

The insurance companies that thought they could get away with denying coverage to healthy children are backpedaling and spinning their respective ways back to sanity. The Denver post reports that the insurer changed it’s course on the chubby baby.

Rocky Mountain Health Plans announced Monday that it found a flaw in its underwriting system and now will provide coverage to healthy infants, regardless of their weight.

“As a small company we were able to act quickly and decisively,” said Rocky Mountain spokeswoman Kayla Arnesen. “We are really pleased we are going to be covering Alex and other healthy babies.”

A “flaw in it’s underwriting system“? Dude, I can’t make up stuff this good. But again I digress. And the Denver Post also reports that the insurance company changed it’s mind on the skinny tot as well.

The Golden Rule Insurance Co. said Wednesday that it has changed its mind on a 2-year-old from northern Colorado rejected for coverage because she’s so skinny.

The insurer announced the change after [the parents] brought their story to television stations.

Golden Rule said in a statement that it changed its mind on Aislin’s case after a routine appeals process.

“I won’t tell you we’ve never made a mistake, because we have. But our reviews process is open to all,” said company spokeswoman Ellen Laden.

And the mistake was that they thought they could get away with it? At least the reviews process is open to all.

Westword is close to hiring that medical-marijuana dispensary reviewer. Although apparently I’m not the only one who found it humorous. According to Westword, their hunt for a pot critic made international news and the talk-show circuit.

“A newspaper in Denver is planning to hire a critic to write reviews of all the medical marijuana clinics in the state,” Conan O’Brien joked on his show last week. “My one suggestion for the editors: Give the guy a deadline.”

Thanks, Conan: We have. Westword stopped accepting applications for our medical-marijuana dispensary reviewer in mid-October. Now if comics and reporters alike would just stay off the story for a while (Westword’s job opening has been the punchline on both NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and a BBC quiz show, and we just logged mentions in newspapers in Russia, Israel and China), we might be able to actually finish the hiring process. For the record, we’ve gone through the more than 250 formal applications we received, contacted a dozen semi-finalists, and hope to have our new critic in place within the week.

That’s right, then it’s back to the same old, same old. But, seriously wouldn’t this  be the best job ever.

The Denver Broncos are behaving more like expected now with a 6-3 record having lost the last 3 games straight making it altogether possible (yea even probable) that they might only win 6 games total this season. Hey, you can only push the Almighty so far.

And finally the Windows 7 juggernaut continues unabated. Well, except that according to J. Nicholas Hoover at InformationWeek the U.S. Government isn’t jumping on the bandwagon until the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), is finalized for Windows 7.

It may be another six months before agencies can move ahead with Windows 7 deployment because a government-mandated security standard hasn’t been finalized.

The Federal Desktop Core Configuration spells out 300 settings for Windows PCs and laptops, with a goal of making them less vulnerable to hackers and data breaches. FDCC settings exist for Windows XP and Windows Vista, but not yet for Windows 7.

“It will take until spring 2010, at least,” said Ken Page, Microsoft’s FDCC program manager, in a presentation today at Microsoft’s Washington, D.C., office. “This process does not happen fast.”

Oh and there was that little brouhaha over Microsoft snagging some open source code for use in a semi-proprietary licensed tool as reported by Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet. But they’ve fessed up and made it right now. Or at least made it GPL 2.

From a November 13 blog posting by Microsoft Open Source Community Manager Peter Galli:

“After looking at the code (within the USB tool) in question, we are now able to confirm this (inclusion of improperly licensed GPL v2 code) was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part. While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process. We have furthermore conducted a review of other code provided through the  Microsoft Store and this was the only incident of this sort we could find.”

Galli said Microsoft plans to make the source code and binaries for the Microsoft tool available the week of November 16 under the terms of the General Public License v2 “and are also taking measures to apply what we have learned from this experience for future code reviews we perform.”

So like I said, things are getting back to normal. At least as normal as things ever get.

Si ya estás usando Windows 7 pero aún no tienes un antivirus porque crees que debes adquirir una licencia de alguna marca reconocida, te invito a darle una oportunidad a otras alternativas que la verdad no tienen nada que envidiarle a los antivirus de pago, de hecho algunos son mucho mejores, y gracias a un análisis que han hecho en PC World donde comparan cada una de las características de los 6 programas Antivirus más populares.

Como puedes ver en el análisis están ordenados por calificación del 0 al 100, donde AntiVir Personal tiene 92 puntos y se lleva la máxima calificación, en segundo lugar está Avast Antivirus Home Edition con 91 puntos, AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 Free con 86 puntos, Microsoft Security Essentials Beta con 86 puntos también, PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition con 69 puntos, Comodo Antivirus Internet Security con 68 puntos.

Enlaces para descargar Antivirus para Windows 7:

1. AntiVir Personal – Descargar.
2. Avast Antivirus Home Edition – Descargar.
3. AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 Free – Descargar.
4. Microsoft Security Essentials Beta – Descargar.
5. PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition – Descargar.
6. Comodo Antivirus Internet Security – Descargar.

Más información en PC World.

Fuente: Blog de Carlos Leopoldo. Techtastico. Antivirus gratis para Windows 7, los 6 mejores antivirus