In this issue:

• Microsoft to Ship Vista SP1 Beta Next Week?
• Microsoft Ships Public Beta of OneCare 2.0
• Microsoft Security Bulletin
• Windows Updates
• Recent Support BBS Postings
• Administrivia

Microsoft to Ship Vista SP1 Beta Next Week?

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, unnamed sources at Microsoft told her that the company plans to ship Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Vista alongside Windows Server 2008, as it had originally planned. Previously Microsoft had said that making the changes to Instant Search because of Google's complaint would cause a delay to SP1. But it now seems Microsoft is accelerating development of Vista's 1st service pack.

Although (till now) no one at Microsoft seems willing to go officially 'on record' on a delivery date for the first beta of SP1, the intended ship date of the finalized service pack of November this year means the beta should come out as soon as possible. There are only a short four months remaining till then. In the past, Windows service packs have been in beta for six to twelve months (SP2 for Windows XP took seven months from first beta to final release).

According to Mary Jo, besides the bundling of current fixes in SP1, the service pack will also include performance tweaks to improve Vista's file copying and shutdown routines; improvements to BitLocker Drive Encryption (to allow for locally created data volumes to be encrypted); Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) boot support for x64-based systems.

Microsoft Ships Public Beta of OneCare 2.0

This week Microsoft launched a beta version of its upcoming Windows Live OneCare 2.0 security and maintenance subscription suite.

The new version includes these new features:

• Multi PC management form central location with one common Windows Live ID
• Printer sharing - you can share your printer with all the PCs in your OneCare circle
• Securing wireless networks: if your router is supported OneCare 2.0 will allow you to secure your wireless network
• OneCare Online Photo Backup - paid storage is available online for photo backups
• 64-bit support

System Requirements

• Windows XP SP2 for all editions including Home, Professional, Tablet PC, and Media Center editions; or Microsoft Windows Vista for these editions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions; X64 for Windows Vista
• 600MB of Hard Disk Space
• 256 MB of RAM (recommended minimum) for Windows XP; 512 MB of RAM (recommended minimum) for Windows Vista
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 or higher for Windows XP SP2; Phishing Filter requires Internet Explorer 7
• Microsoft Windows Live ID account (formerly Passport)

You can sign up for the beta on Microsoft's Live Beta's Web site.

Microsoft Security

Microsoft Windows Security Bulletin Summary for July, 2007

The security update for July 2007 includes three updates for Microsoft Windows, and one for .NET Framework.

Severity Rating: Critical

• Vulnerability in Windows Active Directory Could Allow Remote Code Execution (926122)
• Vulnerabilities in .NET Framework Could Allow Remote Code Execution (931212)

Severity Rating: Important

• Vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Information Services Could Allow Remote Code Execution (939373)

Severity Rating: Moderate

• Vulnerability in Windows Vista Firewall Could Allow Information Disclosure (935807)