• Google launches operating system
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• Digital TV now in 90% of UK homes
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• Spam Rates Recovering From 3FN Takedown
• Sunbelt partners with StopBadware.org
• Traffic rockets to Twitter site (Follow Us @Securitycadets)
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• Malware SPAM: KB910721 officexp-KB910721-FullFile-ENU.exe
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• BING-VS-GOOGLE

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The beta version of Microsoft Relevant Products/Services’s security Relevant Products/Services software is a hit. The software giant announced Wednesday on its Web site that it had reached the U.S. limit on downloads for Microsoft Security Essentials — which was only made available Tuesday.

The general release of the free software is expected this fall.

“Alert!” said a posting on the Web page for the security software. “Thank you for your interest in joining the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta. We are not accepting additional participants at this time. Please check back at a later date for possible additional availability.”

Limit Reached Within 24 Hours

The beta became available Tuesday morning and reached the limit for the U.S. and Israel within twenty-four hours. Microsoft had said it would allow 75,000 downloads for users in the U.S., Israel and Brazil.

According to news reports Relevant Products/Services, the limit for the U.S. and Israel was reached at about 5 a.m. PDT Wednesday. The limit of 20,000 downloads for Brazilian users hadn’t been reached, meaning 55,000 downloads were reserved for U.S. and Israel. – Source: Data Storage Today

Yikes! Let’s wait and see if Microsoft can specialize in this area. For me, decidated companies and organisations will always remain in a better position to deal with security as it’s their bread and butter. Chat about it here in full.

• Anti-piracy music deal for Virgin
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• Hackers claim T-Mobile breach after sensitive database info is offered for sale
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• UK firm wins top prize for Chinese water cube
• Facebook usernames to be released
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And the LandzDown Team is pleased to announce that ESET Smart Security, Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and WinPatrol PLUS licenses have been donated to be awarded to lucky prize winners in games and contests as part of their fifth birthday celebration!

“Join us in the celebration, beginning June 10, 2009, at LandzDown Forum.”

The LanzDown Forum

• Bing is live!
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• Malware SPAM: Western Union WesternUnion_TR0002212.zip
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• Wolfram search engine goes live
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• Mike Nash: Ask Toolbar in Online Armor Free? Nearly!
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• Malware SPAM: Western Union MTCN_BB77122.zip

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Although Microsoft has long provided Knowledge Base articles with detailed instructions for repairing problems such as those mentioned above, the instructions generally involve registry edits — which is understandably something the average home user generally will shy away from doing.

Along comes Microsoft Fix it, a tool to automate those fixes that you want now, relieving you from worrying about messing up a registry edit that could result in your computer in worse condition than before you attempted the fix.

The Fix it Team has created a wide range of fixes covering problems in Windows, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office programs such as Excel and Word, Outlook, Windows Media Player, Zune and a whole lot more. Many of those fixes are a result of Windows Error Reporting (WER) where people like you and I allow the submission of crash reports to Microsoft. By submitting those reports, Microsoft Product Support Reports (MPSReports) is able to analyze the results and fixes for repeated problems are added.

To check that Windows Error Reporting (WER) is enabled, do the following:

Windows Vista:

Click Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Problem Reports and Solutions > Change settings > Advanced settings > Select “Automatically check for solutions”.

Windows XP:

Click Start > Right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced Tab > Error Reporting.

If you are not sure where to start, you can try Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services (Microsoft ATS) to detect problems on your machine and automatically fix any common problems.

The Fix it Team has provided multiple resources to assist you in locating a Fix it solution:

1. Fix it for me blog
2. Fix it Gadget (Download link)
3. Fix it Solutions Page
4. Microsoft Fix it Solutions Center

Listed below are a few of my favorite fixes for problems I frequently see in the support forums.

Windows Fixes

Enable Windows Firewall

Error message when you use the Windows Update or Microsoft Update Web site to install updates: “0×8007000B”

How do I enable User Account Control in Windows Vista

How do I reset the Windows Update settings?

How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Internet Explorer

Ask Toolbar that causes a crash in Windows Internet Explorer 6 and 7

How do I move the Standard toolbar to a location that is above the Address bar in Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8?

Reset Internet Explorer settings

Re-Register the Internet Explorer .dll file

Uninstall or remove Internet Explorer 8 - restores your previous version.

Other Examples

Default line spacing and default paragraph spacing in Word 2007 differ from the default spacing in earlier versions of Word

How to move the Windows Taskbar from its default position or reset it to its default position
Reset Windows Media Player Associations

The next time you need a solution for a problem, let Microsoft Fix it for you.  If you need further assistance, post a topic in the forums and Security Cadets members will do their best to assist you.  Post questions about t his topic here.

Related Posts: Microsoft FixIt Label

Corrine

Remember – “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart…

• Shuttle blasts off to fix Hubble
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A day later and Symantec respond:

I wanted to let you know that we’ve been in touch with Bill Pytlovany and have reached out to the original customer who called support.

Symantec does not classify WinPatrol as a threat, and we’re actively investigating this customer’s experience to learn more about why the support agent provided incorrect information and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Best,

Noah Edwardsen
Symantec

The comment was left over at Security Garden. I welcome this response. Let’s lay this to rest and work with each other so situations like this can be prevented rather than caused. Chat about the situation in our forum.

Indeed strong words to use, but sometimes that is required to express a point. Our expert and Microsoft MVP Corrine blogged in February about the good, the bad and the ugly regarding Symantec. This included the partnership with IAC/Ask. One partnership which appears to be infectious to many legit companies in the web today.

Today I sit here and to inform you about another twist in the Symantec saga.

Symantec Support says Winpatrol is a virus. Yes, you read that correctly.

Bits from Bill – “This week I was surprised to hear that a Symantec support rep actually told a customer that WinPatrol was a virus and during a remote assistance phone call they deleted WinPatrol from their system.”

And for all of that they charged the victim $99. To put it into context. WinPatrol PLUS costs less than that and the standard version is free. To add, WinPatrol is probably, if not already, the best utility to have on a computer to assist with many problems we face. We even have an un-official support forum for it. And we’re not the only one with such a forum.

I know we’re in a tough economic times and perhaps the partnership with companies is understandable to balance the books. What isn’t acceptable is insisting WinPatrol is a virus, removing it and then charging for a simple task that should not have been done in the first place.

How are support staff at Symantec regulated and chosen? Because providing support like this staff member did shows to be poor and reflects on the company overall.

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