Category Archives: Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Patch Tuesday Tomorrow – Important Patches Due Out

Come Tuesday, Microsoft is shipping five security bulletins to fix flaws in the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office productivity suite and the Microsoft Server Software that could lead to code execution and privilege escalation attacks.

All five upgrades have been rated “important” and the Windows OS updates will apply to all versions of the operating system, which means the newest Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be able to reap the benefits too. And keep in mind, at least one of the bulletins will require a restart after installation.

Now don’t you even think of downplaying this batch of patches just because it doesn’t have a “critical” bulletin. Yes, “important” vulnerabilities do not give attackers the full root privileges generally associated with “critical” vulnerabilities, but the attackers can still use an “important” rated vulnerability to achieve an initial compromise. Once the compromise has been obtained, there is no doubt that these attackers will escalate privileges by other means.

The not-“critical” but still “important” bulletins are coming. We are sure that by now, you’ve come to understand just how important these “important” bulletins are.

Trust your local Hamilton IT support specialists at Solve-IT to help you with all your business IT support needs.  Our clients never have to worry about security bulletins, we do this for them.  Speak with us today about all your Hamilton computer support needs.

Microsoft

Windows 8 to debut in 2012

Are you ready for another version of Windows?

Windows 8 is coming soon; according to Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer. Recently the Microsoft leader was speaking to an audience of software developers in Tokyo where he announced that Microsoft’s next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 8, is all set to debut in 2012. Since this announcement, the blogs have heated up with many opinions on what Microsoft will change from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

Many of our peers and industry pundits have been speculating about the release of Windows 8 for the past while, this is the first time an actual date has been somewhat officially confirmed.

Ballmer further added that, as Microsoft approaches the release date, there will be a lot of noise around Windows 8, Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, and a variety of different form factors who all running Windows.

The upcoming version of Windows is likely to have an updated user interface and will support low-power ARM chip. This change is expected to give Microsoft a benefit in the blooming tablet market which is now dominated by Apple and an affluence of others, including Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook.

Windows 8 being released in 2012 puts it three years behind the earlier version, Windows 7, which was released in July 2009. As the tradition remains, Microsoft is relying on this new version to spur sales. Microsoft still expects to sell more than 350 million copies of Windows 7 this year even with new versions of the Apple MacIntosh Operating System LION now being announced.

As for the upcoming version, we will be hearing more about it at the recent All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Still have questions about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft solutions in your small business? Talk to your Hamilton Microsoft partner today. Solve-IT works with a number of businesses in and around the Hamilton area. We can help you make informed decisions about any of Microsoft’s product offerings.

Microsoft

Sneak Peak at Windows 8

After so much speculation, we were glad to hear that Windows 8 is finally scheduled to hit the market within the next year. According to all the product demos we have seen, it appears that the next generation of Windows is equipped with new user interface that is going to sweep us off our feet, as seen in Windows’ demonstration of the upcoming version at the D9 conference.

Windows 8 basically revolves around touch-centric hardware although it will still work equally well with a mouse and a keyboard. The new interface also has several other aspects that we think are absolutely amazing. Check this out:

  • A tile-based Start screen with a customizable, scalable full screen view of fast launching apps.
  • Live tiles with notifications to give you up-to-date information from your apps.
  • Fast, fluid and natural switching between running apps.
  • Apps can be snapped and resized to the side of the screen. Could multitasking with Windows get any better?
  • Apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that are web-connected and web-powered!
  • Hardware accelerated Internet Explorer 10 that gives you fully touch-optimized browsing.

And it does not end here! The demo also showed effortless movement between existing Windows programs and new Windows 8 apps.

The new reimagined interface is also expected to fuel a whole new generation of apps. Apps in Windows 8 itself can use a broad set of new libraries and controls that enable fluid interaction and seamless connectivity. This entirely new user experience is not limited to just touch PCs. We are also going to see the user interface and new apps working with or without a keyboard or a mouse on all kinds of screen sizes and pixel densities. The product is just being prepared for early testing though which means we will have to wait for a while to experience this brand new interface.

As soon as we get a chance, Solve-IT will be testing Windows 8 in our own test labs. We want to make sure we can figure everything out throughout the beta process so when it is available through our PC partners, we are properly prepared. We are your Hamilton Microsoft partner and want to ensure you have an IT firm you can trust with all your business technology needs.

Microsoft

Microsoft set to retire versions of Windows

For Windows XP and Vista users, there is bad news AND there is good news.

Let’s get done with the bad news first. The bad news is that support is ending for some versions of Windows which includes Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) for which support ends on July 12, 2011. And if you didn’t know, support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) has already ended on July 13, 2010 which means if you are using any of these versions, you won’t get security updates for Windows after support ends.

However, users of the 64-bit version of Windows XP running it with SP2 need not worry as this version of Windows will continue to have Microsoft support and receive updates until April 8, 2014.

Now, we understand this is devastating news to some of you who elected to hold onto Windows XP but now is the perfect time to sit down and talk with your St. Catharine’s computer repair team about Windows 7.

In our opinion it is the better option for today’s business. Windows 7 simplifies your everyday tasks, makes your PC safer, and makes new things possible. For those “do it yourself” folks, make sure you download Upgrade Advisor to see if your PC can run Windows 7 before you run out and buy it. Compare versions to find out why Windows 7 is the better option and then and only then should you buy it.

Even better, call us and we can help your business find the right version of Windows 7.

Not ready to shift to Windows 7 now? Don’t worry, there are two things you can do: get Windows XP SP3 (a free update) or get Windows Vista SP2 (which is a free update too).

Windows XP SP3 includes all previously-released updates and a small number of new updates. There is no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP though, but you can use it with SP2 and you will continue to get support till April 8, 2014. Likewise, Windows Vista SP2 includes support for new types of hardware and includes all the updates that have been released since Windows Vista SP1.

As your St. Catharine’s Microsoft Partner, we can help you get the most out of your business IT. Talk with us today.

To learn more about Microsoft retirement of Windows visit http://windows.microsoft.com/eos.

Microsoft

Microsoft Big Easy 6.0 Offer

If you are thinking of purchasing or renewing software, why not do it via eligible Open License programs, especially at a time when Big Easy 6.0 is providing an incredible offer with the latest Microsoft products? As your local Hamilton Microsoft Partner, there are many programs your business can leverage to help make sure the right solutions are in place for your business and that you are getting them for the right price plus maybe taking advantage of many Microsoft incentives.

The Big Easy 6.0 offer provides you up to 30% in partner subsidy dollars on qualifying Microsoft purchases, and the offer applies to new and renewal software purchases. You will also be able to apply these partner subsidy dollars towards future purchases of Microsoft solutions or services. With the offer, you will be able to receive a reimbursement on the purchase of a Windows Phone device through Open Business or Open Value, as well.

While making new purchases, you will be able to get 5% in partner subsidy dollars under the Open License plus Software Assurance, and the percentage is 15 for Open Value. Those who opt for an Open Value Subscription will be provided 30% partner subsidy dollars. Confused about Microsoft’s licensing programs; don’t be. We are here to make sure your business gets the right licenses.

Likewise, if you are looking for renewing an existing license agreement, you will be able to get 30% partner subsidy dollars under the Open Value agreement where renewals are given when other new products are purchased.

You must have already taken your pick by now. If not, we recommend you make new software purchases through the Open Value Subscription (OVS) agreement and renew existing license agreements through the Open Value (OV) agreement (because they are the most beneficial agreements!). The offer lets you choose from the latest softwares like Lync, Office 2010, Windows Server, and Exchange 2010 to name a few; but the offer lasts only until June 30, 2011.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the offer today!

Microsoft

Important Microsoft Security Fix For Niagara Business

Microsoft addressed two security bulletins in May’s Patch Tuesday release. Security experts said administrators should apply the fixes immediately – because, despite their small size, they address significant threats.

Microsoft fixed a critical vulnerability affecting Windows Server and an important bug in Microsoft Office PowerPoint, according to the Patch Tuesday advisory released May 10. Microsoft also assigned separate “exploitability” scores for newer versions of the software under the “improved” exploitability index ratings.

Your Niagara computer support team at Solve-IT is already looking into all identified security flaws and addressing them. Our clients who are part of our fully managed IT support program have nothing to worry about. Interested in learning more about how we help Denver business with their day-to-day IT needs? call us today for a no obligation review of your business IT.

read more from eweek.com

Microsoft

Windows SBS 2008 Recovery

Recently, I ran into an interesting situation where a client’s computer (MAC) decided to have a Microsoft Outlook issue. Outlook crashed; and when it re-opened, it identified an issue with the client’s identity. Subsequently, it requested a rebuild of the user’s identity. Sadly, the rebuild was performed rather than the proper procedure of erasing the identity and recreating it. (I only service one Apple PC, so I don’t encounter this a lot. I only found out the proper procedure after the damage had already been done.)

Subsequently, the profile was rebuilt to the server; but all the calendar entries had been wiped out, as well as about 1GB of data was vaporized from the client’s exchange store. Needless to say, the client was overly pleased with the results. The client had not elected to use my preferred backup application, but at least had the Windows Small Business Server backups running.

I began the procedure to recover missing data from a specific email box as described by Microsoft. This requires the technician to perform a complete restore of the entire mail store (based on size and server speed, anywhere from 1-4 hours) to a redirected folder on the server. Once that is complete, you create an Exchange Recovery database and associate the required mail store to the recovery mailbox.

Following that you attempt to mount the mail store (AKA database) on the server so that it can be viewed and restored from. So far this all sounded rosy save for the initial recovery mechanism. If the file mounts successfully from the restore, you perform a mail merge operation and recover the user’s missing information and are off to the races.

Here’s the sour point: when you attempt to recover the database, the logs are likely missing and the database won’t mount gracefully. This will leave you in a heap of trouble since now you need to repair the database before you can mount the database (this is almost sexual, but I will leave that to another topic and this wouldn’t be a site you would be browsing for that type of story.)

Microsoft has made it much easier to run the old command lines for eseutil /d and eseutil /r by automating these commands for you. Keep in mind that since they have automated it, you can’t set the locations of the temporary databases (DBs). So if you have no space on the email store drive, this will fail. The major issue is the time taken to repair the DB before you can even begin to recover the mail.

Once I realized that my newly recovered database wouldn’t mount, I started the repair mechanism. Three hours later I was finally able to mount the database. At this point, I went through the basic steps of merging the user’s particular mailbox back into the existing email box and was successfully able to recover the missing 1GB of messages and their calendar items.

The end result of the story was that the user paid about $400 in service time to recover a singular failed mailbox because they didn’t want to spend $700 to buy a proper backup application.

Happily, the Microsoft application worked as advertised. I wouldn’t want to rely on it if I am interested in saving the client time in terms of recovery and lost productivity due to missing email.