XP in Windows 7

You don't need to buy 2 OS licenses to get your precious windows XP to run together with Windows 7. Microsoft now has the solution .... XP in Windows 7 

Conficker News Update - PLEASE READ!!

Conficker Virus Starts to Attack PCs, Experts Say

04.24.09

A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.

By Reuters  

BOSTON - A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.

Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning an unknown number of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam, they added.

The worm started spreading late last year, infecting millions of computers and turning them into "slaves" that respond to commands sent from a remote server that effectively controls an army of computers known as a botnet.

Its unidentified creators started using those machines for criminal purposes in recent weeks by loading more malicious software onto a small percentage of computers under their control, said Vincent Weafer, a vice president with Symantec Security Response, the research arm of the world's largest security software maker, Symantec Corp.

Conficker installs a second virus, known as Waledac, that sends out e-mail spam without knowledge of the PC's owner, along with a fake anti-spyware program, Weafer said.

The Waledac virus recruits the PCs into a second botnet that has existed for several years and specializes in distributing e-mail spam.

Conficker also carries a third virus that warns users their PCs are infected and offers them a fake anti-virus program, Spyware Protect 2009 for $49.95, according to Russian-based security researcher Kaspersky Lab. If they buy it, their credit card information is stolen and the virus downloads even more malicious software.

Weafer said that while he believes the number of infected machines that have become active is relatively small, he expects a consistent stream of attacks to follow, with other types of malware distributed by Conficker's authors.

"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," he said of the worm. "It's not going to be fast, aggressive."

Researchers feared the network controlled by the Conficker worm might be deployed on April 1 for the first time since the worm surfaced last year because it was programed to increase communication attempts from that date.

The security industry formed a task force to fight the worm, bringing widespread attention that experts said probably scared off the criminals who command the slave computers.

That task force thwarted the worm partially by using the Internet's traffic control system to block access to servers that control the slave computers.

Viruses that turn PCs into slaves exploit weaknesses in Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Conficker worm is especially tricky because it can evade corporate firewalls by passing from an infected machine onto a USB memory stick, then onto another PC.

The Conficker botnet is one of many such networks controlled by syndicates that authorities believe are based in eastern Europe, southeast Asia, China and Latin America.

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XP: Mainstream Support Ends Today, Entended Support till 8 April 2014

Microsoft has ended the mainstream support for XP and now started the extended support for the OS until 8 April 2014, about 5 years from now.

Mainstream support which was normally ended 5 years everytime any of its product been released seems not really work for XP. MS finally took 8 years to end the support.  Besides the lag of Vista release, too relying on the XP by corporate and personal users was 2 main factors contributing to this longer support. The 'too relying on XP' factor doesn't seem to stop even until windows 7 being released.  MS will enable users who buy the PC with preinstalled windows 7 to downgrade to XP.

See how big the XP influence!

For those buying new PC and still wondering to go for Vista and XP. Again, it's up to you to choose. If you still  don't trust Vista, it's okay to go for XP. Remember, the extended support is still there. Once your install genuine XP, you still can get any security updates from MS (until April 2014 - quite long enough for a PC) . However, while giving free security updates, you now need to pay certain amount to get non-security hotfix ... it's just fine for me.

Support provided	Mainstream support	Extended support
Paid support (per-incident, per hour, and others)	x	x
Security update support	x	x
Non-security hotfix support	x	Requires extended hotfix agreement, purchased within 90 days of mainstream support ending.
No-charge incident support	x
Warranty claims	x
Design changes and feature requests	x
Product-specific information that is available by using the online Microsoft Knowledge Base	x	x
Product-specific information that is available by using the Support site at Microsoft Help and Support to find answers to technical questions	x	x

P/S - Whether or not MS extended the support, I now enjoy working with Vista despite of all bad perceptions I received earlier. :-)

What's hot this month

iPhone 3.0, Internet Explorer 8 Beta release, Windows 7, IBM deals with Sun and recession related topic are among the hot news that most IT and Computer-related magazines are covered.

1 - iPhone 3.0

I don't like to comment anything on the stuff I can only dream for at this moment..

2- Internet Explorer 8

Is spite of popular claim by Microsoft that the browser is one of the best version ever release. Outsiders are still at doubt whether this browser able to place itself on top, pushing out Mozilla Firefox version 3.5 which will be released sooner.  Being hacked at the first day of Pwn20wn has nothing but to show how vulnerable IE8 is as their previous version was. Luckily, the counterpart mozilla firefox faced same fate. On the other hand, it was surprised to know 'light-weight contender' Google Chrome was the only browser remains unhacked until the end of the first day. As a result, now I'm writing this blog under Chrome. Back to IE8, this version will be made available inside windows 7 and those who hate IE now have chance to remove it from add/remove program list unlike before.

3- Windows 7

This is the first ever operating system which was fully developed  without Bill Gates's final say.  This is also the first OS to be launched after Gates totally off from Microsoft July last year. According to CEO Steve Ballmer, this is really Microsoft team's product compared to the previous product where most of them was the result of Gates's thinking. Initial plan, windows 7 will be shipped 3 years after release of Vista (Vista was released on 2006). However, with the current economic situation, I doubt it will be postponed to the  next year mid.

4- IBM's 7billion deal with Sun

Whatever it is, there must be some advantages and disadvantages if the IBM deal of bought over Sun is closed. Generally, both will gain benefits. Sun will have enough money to run the business without changing any of it's traditional culture on R&D where has helped the technology industry evolved a lot. IBM on the other hand will now have more to be proud off by having more market share and owns quite a number of technology  they need years to develope if not decades.

5 - Recession related topics.

There are a lot of articles, tips and advice of how to survive recession subject to those who has already been laid off from the job to the action CIO should take during the recession time. I would advise everybody regardless of  his/her confortable level with the current job to read some of these stuffs. Who knows, one day your day will come, if not as someone to be laid off, may be as someone to decide who's going to be laid off. Anyway, It works for both.

Bypassing Vista for Windows 7

Windows 7 is now released for it's Beta version. I don't know quite well how good it is compared to Vista. Never have time to dirt my hand into it except some information telling by others who've tried it. Many of them admit that the coming version is far better than current Vista especially on handling network and hardware stuff which were according to some was the worst part in Vista.

Some people who's trying windows 7 considered it as best windows
OS since Windows 3.1

Again, I'm not sure how true it is. Wait and see. Some people might ask whether buying the PC with Vista is a right decision right now or wait after Windows 7 being released. Some might suggest to wait. But some said, it's okay to buy now, since Microsoft will provide the upgrade, you'll only have to pay for the upgrade fees and some even hope that Microsoft will give free upgrade to those who do buying since 12 months before the release.(Risky dream?). But for me, if you are not depressed enough and can wait for at least two more quarters of economic pain before shipping, why not?

It is good to always have some good info so that you won't make any costly decision.

Backup Your Data: Looking for the best solution

Some information written here was based on my working experience and some are the information given by many others on the net. Since servers and networking was not my expertise (at least at the time this article was written), I always welcome any comments and feedbacks from readers.

*******************************************************************

Data is important. Private data is even more. Either personal or commercial. No disputes on this.
When talking about data backup, THREE things are always highly focused on which are:

1- Cost
How expensive is the solution to be implemented.

2 - Reliability and Security
How reliable and secure the data once backup. Any security loop holes which can expose to any malicious attacks? virus? natural disaster? etc

3- Speed
How fast can we backup and restore the data.

Scenario to consider
------------------------
Now, consider we've large amount of sensitive data (200 - 300 Gb) to be periodically backup in a monthly basis. Restore will be done any time, depend on the request. Meaning that, the media must be large enough, the speed must be fast enough for restore process, and should not compromise in security factor. Let we consider solutions below.

1) CD is out of the consideration! Next please ..

2) DVD
Still limited in storage. While the dual layer DVD normally below 10 GB and single layer below 5GB, You still need a lot of pieces to complete your monthly backup.
Result: Reject!


3) Tape Drive
Good storage size. We need 1 to 2 tapes to backup 300Gb. Have to wait at least half to almost whole day to restore 1 tape data. In term of cost, we need USD1000 0r (MYR3000 - MYR4000) to buy the tape drive and 40USD (MYR 200 - RM300) for individual tapes. Not so good at speed and expensive at cost.
Result: Reject

4) External Hard Disk
The speed is much better than tape. A bit slower than internal. Not so costly compared to it ability. Not much security holes since you won't expose it to the network. However, it doesn't allow multiple accesses. One single client or server can access it in a time. Therefore not suit for server backup where the data is normaly shared by multiple users. Fortunately, this already satisfed above requirements.
Result: Just nice.

5) Storage Area Network (SAN)
Unlike the previous. This is more as architecture technology then a media technology. A single dedicated server is required plus few storage nodes will be connected to the network in order to implement the technology. Due to it highly advance technology, it is seldom used by personal and small company. The main benefit that a SAN network brings a company is speed with data transfer plus the ability to connect large data networks that span thousands of miles- and the devices on that network can still communicate effectively. By organizing these devices on a data device-only network, faster data transfers can occur. Very helpful to system administrator since it can backup data from multiple sources at any time.
Do we really need this?

Result: Acceptable for multiple access and highly scalable solution.


6) Network Attached Storage Server (NAS)
A NAS server is essentially a server that is set aside strictly for distributing files to other servers, and client computers. Instead of doing any processing, this server only act as a storage to other servers or clients therefore reducing risk of file corruption and most OS-related issues and very good at speed. Standard servers typically run server-class Operating Systems, which can become corrupted, or otherwise damaged. NAS, however, store their Operating System on flash memory which can only be overwritten in an upgrade. Due to that, it is normally more expensive. Moreover, this is not end stage of backup due to the physical disaster which can be potentially crashed the whole storage and leave no single data once occurs. That's why technology such as clustering and RAID should be implemented as well. (Wikipedia: It should be noted that NAS is effectively a server in itself, with all major components of a typical PC – a CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc. – and its reliability is a function of how well it is designed internally. A NAS without redundant data access paths, redundant controllers, redundant power supplies, is probably less reliable than Direct Attached Storage (DAS) )

Finally, In most cases, you'll still need to do backup for this server and bring us back to the original question "where and how to backup the data?"

Result: Acceptable for data storage not a data backup. Full Stop.

Besides these solutions, there are other solution we can implement.

7) Optical Jukebox.
From Wikipedia: Optical Jukebox is a robotic data storage device that can automatically load and unload optical discs, such as Compact Disc, DVD, Ultra Density Optical or Blu-ray disc and can provide terabytes of tertiary storage. Jukebox capacities have greatly increased with the release of the 50GB dual layer Blu-ray (BD) format, with a road-map to increase to eight layers and 200GB per disc. The current format allows 35TB of storage from a single 700 disc jukebox.

I might miss out some advantages or disadvantages at every single data backup solution I disucssed in this article. However, this overview might give you some introductory concept and idea on the data backup solution which might help you deciding the best solution and most importantly BEST AFFORDABLE SOLUTION as most people might concern.

The world is flat

What the hell on earth are you saying the world is flat. After so many proofs brought by so many scientists around the world plus all the holy proofs from God, the world was never be flat. Are you living at different century friedman?

I have a lot to say on this Friedman's The World is Flat. However I won't give any comment before I complete my reading. Just 30 more pages to go. If I can give so called 'pre-comment' - This book has allowed me to see the world at different angles which was beyond my perspective before. Yes, the world was never be flat and will never be flat - physically, no one denies that. But, physical perception matter less here! Anyway, I can't wait to give some comments in this 'new theory'.

Have you ever found .NET Application in Macintosh?

This article was written based on my rough idea related to my observation as a software engineer. No serious studies has been made. Therefore, some of the facts might not be accurate.

I'm just coming back from kick-off project meeting in ***. We spent almost 1.5 hours discussing on the project. As usual, I just listened to the conversation cause most topics doesn't seem relevant for any interruption especially from technical person like us (me and my supervisor of course). However, it was after the meeting (during makan time) that suddenly give me some interests. Somebody was talking about how cheaper it is to go for Apple Mac rather than Microsoft. There were other arguments there, but those were not involve my interest so much.

Macintosh VS Windows

Most people know both Apple and Microsoft was, is and will be rival forever unless, one of them switch their core business into other field as what has happened to rolls-royce (they are in Jet industry instead of automative if you don't aware). As long as they are building and selling software and particularly Operating System, these two giants will never be good friend. The reason for war between these two is actually more compared to their war with others, Linux distro for example, since their target user was not so much different. However, here in Malaysia, the money might be the reason no 1 why Apple doesn't seems to be better choice for Malaysians. However, once there are arguments saying that, it is a lot more cheaper going for Apple Macintosh rather than Microsoft Windows when you sum up the price with the hardware cost, then I'm now thinking that the future might be different for Microsoft. Of course the effect is not an independence effect where only effecting Microsoft profit and loss but it is also effect any other parties who are depending so much on the Microsoft technology such as product distributor, technology supplier including the software company (software engineer of course).

Going for Platform-Independence?

Yesterday, this question is sometimes sounds more commercial rather than technical. However, today, it looks like both. Here comes the reason why the sofware company has to be dynamic enough to face the challenge. They must get ready to invest on time and money any time from now. I'm not saying this is an urgent process. But, what I really mean, a local software company cannot be so rigid on providing the solution. Yes, most markets in Malaysia are still using Microsoft technology and will use it few years down the road. How about the world market, have we ever think about it? is it impossible to the local market to be shrinking so much until we can't get any single project in a year. Or, are we waiting for the worst case to happen only we gonna crash our head thinking about the market in China or United Kingdom while never have information on what platform the majority are using in United States or Saudi Arabia?

This is the time for us to get ready. This might sound good for the company that already applied Platform-independence technology in their development. It's good, really good. But, did you really take this oppoturnity to really explore bigger market? If the answer is yes, why not take this oppoturnity to really go in front and leave all the close-minded local software company far behind. Stop depending so much on the local market.

Facing Challenge

The future for software companies is always a challenge. Greater challenge would be faced by them 5 years from now compared to now. This might required them to have 'foretune teller' in the company that can predict what the challenge will. I, a poor little software engineer, really believe that the next challenge will be the demand on platform-independence technology as the monopoly will be wiped out in this world in a day that is becoming closer by now. The reasons for this to happen is now clearer than ever!


Nasrul Muhaimin b Mohd Zain
November 20, 2008

XP Fans won't migrate to Vista

It's just yesterday when I wondered if I've ability to develop my own operating system which can work perfectly with all other software and hardware drivers just like Windows XP does. This hard-to-achieve dream(still can achieve I believe) was actually triggered by the few months back bad news regarding possibilities that Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP after somewhere on 2009.

Less than 24 hours later I found that there one open source team on the net has just launched their alpha version of 'WinXP'-like OS called ReactOS.

Claiming that their XP-version is just similar with the existing Microsoft Windows XP on the market. It's gonna work just like the WinXP and sure it's not another LINUX Windows GUI distro as claimed by them "This is not a Linux based system, and shares none of the unix architecture"

Okay, this could be another good news collection to all XP users a.k.a Vista haters after June news.


p/s - Looks like most XP-users is buying time for at least until Windows 7 is launced.