By Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft has released a beta refresh of its Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack (SP) 1 to selected PC and Technology Adoption Program (TAP) partners, company officials confirmed on August 30.


Microsoft made the refresh build — the build number of which is said to be Build No. 7601.17077 — available to a select group of testers on August 27. There’s no word (so far) on whether there is anything new in that refresh.


“A private interim release went out Friday as part of our normal feedback loop with a small group of our testers – our TAP and OEMs,” a company spokesperson told me via e-mail when I asked about the refresh.
The spokesperson said Microsoft would not comment on whether the company will release to the public another interim SP1 build before the first service pack is released to manufacturing. Microsoft officials said earlier this summer that the company is planning to deliver the final SP1 code in the first half of 2011, and the spokesperson said on August 30 that Microsoft is still on track with that stated release date.


Many Microsoft watchers, partners and customers had been expecting Microsoft to deliver the final SP1 bits before... [Read More]

By Ryan Naraine




Metasploit’s HD Moore was in the midst of researching the recently patched LNK (Windows shortcut) vulnerability when he stumbled upon a serious problem that exposes more than 40 different Windows software programs to remote code execution attacks.


Moore issued a brief warning about the issue via Twitter and linked to a critical bulletin from Acros, a Slovenian security research outfit, that references a remote code execution bug patched in Apple’s latest iTunes update.
From Acros:


A “binary planting” vulnerability in Apple iTunes for Windows allows local or remote (even Internet-based) attackers to deploy and execute malicious code on Windows machines in the context of logged-on users.
[ As attacks escalate, Microsoft ships emergency Windows patch ]

According to the advisory, all a remote attacker has to do is plant a malicious DLL with a specific name on a network... [Read More]

By Gregg Keizer

Microsoft on Wednesday updated its bare-bones preview of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) for the last time, saying that the next release would be a beta build.

Although Microsoft hasn't named a release date for IE9's beta, the six-to-eight week stretch between each Platform Preview may provide a clue: If the company sticks to the same gap between the fourth preview and the beta, the latter should show on or after Sept. 15.


In IE9 Platform Preview 4, Microsoft has integrated its new JavaScript engine into the browser, finished its work on hardware acceleration and boosted performance in several areas, including the Acid3 test, said the IE team's leader.


"The IE9 platform is nearly complete," said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of IE, in a detailed post on the browser's blog Wednesday.


http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...e_for_IE9_beta

According to the site Neowin.net, Microsoft has sent out invites to certain to potential beta testers.

In an email to beta candidates, the Windows Customer Connection Team has picked select testers for an early copy of Windows 7 SP1. The email read "You are receiving this invitation based on the quality of feedback you have provided on previous Windows programs", which promised early access to pre-release versions of the Service Pack.

The invite also confirms the Service Pack will be available in English, German, Japanese, French and Spanish. Microsoft is planning to release a public beta of Windows 7 SP1 by the end of July, & technical beta testers are expected to receive the beta by the end of June.

Windows 7 SP1 will include the usual hotfix patches, and RemoteFX which provides rich 3-D graphical experience for remote users. The service pack also will include a series of incremental updates, previously released on Windows Update for both Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.