"On November 3, 2009, Sun will release the following security updates:Sun Security BlogThe following Sun Alerts corresponding to these updates will be released following the availability of these updates.
- JDK and JRE 6 Update 17
- JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 22
- SDK and JRE 1.4.2_24
- SDK and JRE 1.3.1_27
- 269868
- 269869
- 269870
- 270474
- 270475
- 270476"
To celebrate the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft wants to discover creative ways that a 
Do you have an idea how you could use Windows 7 to help your local community? Submit a short video explaining or illustrating how you would use Windows to help a community organization. Why? Because the 7 people with the best submissions (selected by Microsoft judges) will each win a new PC running Windows 7. In addition, each winner's chosen (eligible) community organization will receive a $7,000 grant.
Find the rules, get additional information and submit your video at 7 Ways to Change the World. The deadline for submission is November 11, 2009.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ok, I can hear the groans from here. You have a great idea and a worth-while community organization that could really benefit from that grant but you have never created a video before. Take my word for it, even an amateur can create a video with Windows Live Movie Maker.
For simple instructions check out the videos the Windows Live Team created and soon you will be on your way. Don’t take too long though, the deadline for submitting your video to 7 Ways to Change the World is November 11, 2009.
Windows Live Movie Maker Videos:
Windows Live Movie Maker References:
Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...
Windows 7 Launch Events
Finally the event that people from around the globe have been waiting – the 
Live coverage will also be provided by WinPatrol developer and fellow Microsoft MVP, Bill Pytlovany. He will be joined by the PC Pitstop Pit Crew. Join them tomorrow at: “Live Coverage – Windows 7 Launch Event in NYC”.
Watch for Windows 7 Launch Party invites in your area or host your own Windows 7 Meetup!. Brandon LeBlanc provided additional details in the Windows 7 Team Blog: Windows 7’s Big Day Tomorrow + New Offers Announced!
7 Days of Windows 7
Following are the Day 1 offers posted on the Windows Team Blog that will be included in Day 1:
Buy a PC - Get a Discounted Upgrade for another PC:
Buy a PC with Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate and purchase a discounted copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate to upgrade an existing Windows PC.
This offer will run through January 2nd, 2010 and be available in Germany, UK, Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Latvia, Hungary, U.S., Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Australia.
Windows 7 Family Pack:
Windows 7 Student Offer:The Windows 7 Family Pack is also available today while supplies last. Customers can buy 3 licenses of Windows 7 Home Premium for one low price – for the U.S. it’s available for $149.99.
The Windows 7 Family Pack is available in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden.
If you are a student (an .edu email address is required), you can upgrade to Windows 7 at the LOWEST PRICE offered, $29.99 in the U.S.
This offer runs through January 3rd, 2010 for US, Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Mexico and UK and March 31st, 2010 for Australia.
See Microsoft Student for details.
Following the "More information" link illustrated at the bottom of the above image, led me to a Mozilla page which lists blocklisted add-ons that should no longer be used with Mozilla products.
Compliments to the Mozilla developers for providing this service.
Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Firefox, Tips, Security, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Information, How-To
The Security Research & Defense blog provided additional information on the attack surface for the IE Security Bulletin MS09-059, Vulnerability in Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Could Allow Denial of Service (975467). As explained:
“A browse-and-get-owned attack vector exists. All that is needed is for a user to be lured to a malicious website. Triggering this vulnerability involves the use of a malicious XBAP (XAML Browser Application). Please not that while this attack vector matches one of the attack vectors for MS09-061, the underlying vulnerability is different. Here, the affected process is the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) hosting process, PresentationHost.exe.
While the vulnerability is in an IE component, there is an attack vector for Firefox users as well. The reason is that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installs a “Windows Presentation Foundation” plug-in in Firefox”
In other words, if you happen upon a malicious website, with the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) plug-in enabled in Firefox, your computer is vulnerable.
Recommendations:
Internet Explorer
Although XBAP is disabled in IE8 on Win2k8 and Win2k3, that is not the case for IE7 or other operating systems. To disable this setting, edit the security settings in the Internet Zone as follows:
Launch Internet Explorer --> Click Tools --> Security Tab --> in Internet, click Custom level. Under .NET Framework --> XAML browser applications, Change the setting to Disable:
Firefox:
The WPF plug-in was installed in Firefox with .NET Framework 3.5. To disable the plug-in, do the following:
Click Tools --> Add-ons --> Click the Plugins Tab.
Select “Windows Presentation Foundation”, and click “Disable”.
To uninstall the “Windows Presentation Foundation” plug-in from Firefox, see to Microsoft KB Article 963707, How to remove the .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox.
Should you wish to switch to an alternate PDF reader, there are a number of open source readers available from http://pdfreaders.org/.
Warning: Hat tip from my friend Randy. The Google Toolbar is not required as part of the installation. If you do not want the toolbar, uncheck that option when installing the update.
Affected software versions
Acrobat Update Locations:
Reference: Adobe Security Bulletin apsb09-15
Microsoft released 13 new bulletins which address 34 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office.
Microsoft is also re-releasing MS08-069, vulnerability in Microsoft XML Core Services could allow remote code execution (955218) to add detection for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Although this component does not ship with these platforms but many applications install it in order to use its functionality.
There was a change in the severity rating since the advance notification for several versions of Windows in the .NET bulletin (MS09-061). Microsoft elevated the severity from Important to Critical. This is not a regular practice, however, it was determined that this was the appropriate rating for these products when certain versions of the .NET Framework are installed on them.
The Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) adds one new family this month: Win32/FakeScanti.
Critical
Important
References
Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...
According to the Advance Notification, of the 13 bulletins only one is designated Critical for Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7. Four bulletins are designated Important for Windows 7. The full version of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for this month can be found at the TechNet link below.
Critical, Windows 7 (32 and 64 Bit):
Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Security, Updates, Microsoft, Information
"I am pleased to announce that the Commission will formally market test proposals made by Microsoft to address the Commission's concerns regarding the tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows PC operating system."Brad Smith, General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation, welcomed the European Commission announcement to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft’s web browser proposal in Europe. An example of what to expect in the Web browser ballot is shown in the image below.
Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Information, News, IE8
Earlier today, Neowin reported that thousands of Windows Live Hotmail account details were publicly exposed:
“An anonymous user posted details of the accounts on October 1 at pastebin.com, a site commonly used by developers to share code snippets. The details have since been removed but Neowin has seen part of the list posted and can confirm the accounts are genuine and most appear to be based in Europe. The list details over 10,000 accounts starting from A through to B, suggesting there could be additional lists. Currently it appears only accounts used to access Microsoft's Windows Live Hotmail have been posted, this includes @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com accounts.”
The Windows Live Team, 
Edit to add Windows Live Team Update: "As of 3pm PT: We want to provide a quick update, that as a result of our investigation we are taking measures to block access to all of the accounts that were exposed and have resources in place to help those users reclaim their accounts. If you believe your information was documented on the illegal list, please fill out the following form to reclaim access to your account."
If your account was compromised, please see “What to do if you think your account has been stolen”.
The Windows Live Team provided the following steps to take if you are a victim to this or any phishing scam:
“Q: What should you do if you fall victim to a phishing scam? How should you respond? What steps should you take?
A: If you think that you may have responded to a phishing scam with personal or financial information or entered this information into a fake website, you should take four key steps: (1) report the incident to the proper authorities, (2) change the passwords on all your online accounts, (3) review your credit reports and your bank and credit card statements, and (4) make sure you are using the latest technologies to help protect yourself from future scams.
- For the first step:
- If you have given out your credit card information, contact your credit company right away. The sooner a company knows your account may have been compromised, the easier it will be for them to help protect you.
- Next, contact the company that you believe was forged. Remember to contact the organization directly, not through the e-mail message you received. Or call the organization's toll-free number and speak to a customer service representative. For Microsoft, call the PC Safety hotline at:
1-866-PCSAFETY.- Then, report the incident to the proper authorities. Send an e-mail to spam@uce.gov to report it to the Federal Trade Commission and to reportphishing@antiphishing.org to report it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
- The second step is to change the passwords on all your online accounts. The reason for this is that a lot of people use the same password for multiple accounts. Start with passwords that are related to financial institutions or personal information. If you think someone has accessed your e-mail account, change your password immediately. If you’re using Hotmail, go to: http://account.live.com.
- The third step is to review your bank and credit card statements and your credit report monthly for unexplained charges, inquiries or activity that you didn’t initiate.
- Finally, make sure you use the latest products, such as anti-spam and anti-phishing capabilities in e-mail services, phishing filters in Web browsers and other services to help warn and protect you from online scams.”
As a precautionary step,it is advised that Windows Live Hotmail passwords be changed every 90 days. Instructions for changing your password as well as getting a refresh reminder are available in “Let Hotmail Remind You To Refresh Your Passwords Every 72 Days”.
With the end of the year Holidays approaching, phishing scams will be on the rise. Learn how to Create strong passwords, Protect your Windows Live ID and much more at the Microsoft Online Safety Fraud Prevention web page.
Canada and the United States have set aside the month of October as Cyber Security Awareness Month. Where ever you may live, the tips provided by supporters of this endeavor are appropriate for all computer users.
To support the Cyber Security Awareness theme last year to "Protect Yourself Before You Connect Yourself", I scheduled a new "tip of the day" at Security Garden each day during October (Available in the Cyber Security label). Although it was a lot of fun, the theme this year is "Our Shared Responsibility".
With that in mind, where ever you may be, I challenge everyone who reads this to join in the endeavor – share the responsibility! As a home computer user or tech enthusiast, take responsibility for keeping yourself and your family safe online.
After your computer is protected with the basics, it is time to consider that the Internet is a virtual world with potential dangers and . . .
For those members of your family who are mature enough to participate in social networking sites, additional guidance is available from the Microsoft Family Safety webpage:
Additional information on Cyber Security Awareness Month is available at the following locations:
