Do you own the program Adobe Photoshop 7.0? Have you been looking for new ways to use it? Have you been searching all over the internet for Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials but can’t find any? Well, this is probably because many of the Photoshop tutorials today are for version 9, which is the latest release of the program from Adobe. Here are some tips you can use to look for Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials.

1) Use your program help guide – every program has a help guide. This is because manufacturers want to make their programs easy to use. However, many people tend to ignore these guides, opting to look for easier-to-absorb Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials.

What you need to know is that most Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials in the internet today are actually based on the help guide found on your program. The guide contains the basic principles of operating Adobe Photoshop. This means that in the guide, you will find the basic knowledge you need to manipulate your images. After you have this basic knowledge, then you can progress to more complex manipulations.

2) Visit a bookstore – Because of the internet, most people today tend to underestimate the usefulness of books. However, you should realize that different types of tutorials are written as books. The advantage to looking for Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials in a bookstore is that you would be likely to find one that’s cheap. This is because not many people are looking for such books anymore.

Although this type of Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorial cannot give you the information as fast as other media, books often have much broader content. In an Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorial book, you will be able top find everything you need to know about the program, from the most basic concepts to tips even experts would want to know about. You will have to turn pages and search the index for the topic you want but the knowledge you gain will be worth the effort.

3) Talk to an expert – although old Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials may be deleted, you can be sure that there are people who still know how to work the program. Instead of looking for a tutorial, why don’t you just ask someone to teach you how to work the program? Sure, it can be a bit more time consuming and may seem to be pretty inconvenient compared to getting a tutorial, but this is probably the best way you can learn how to use Adobe Photoshop 7.0.

You will be able to ask questions and clarify certain points about the program that may seem unclear. The best thing about this is that the person who gives you the Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorial will actually be able to demonstrate the things that he or she teaches. You will be able to see and understand the lessons more quickly. You can also jump to more advanced lessons by asking the person about specific things that you want to do with the program.

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you can do to get Adobe Photoshop 7.0 tutorials. What you just need to do is to take what resources you have and make the most of them. Try to think outside the box and the answer will come to you.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For a free photo shop tutorial and or to purchase a video photo shop tutorial checkout his website.

Former Great Plains Software Dynamics, later one Microsoft Great Plains and currently Microsoft Dynamics GP is built upon GPS Dexterity technology. Great Plains Dexterity was specially created to provide DB and Graphical platform independence for one of the first graphical ERP applications in earlier 1990th – Great Plains Dynamics for Windows and Mac. Since then the initial purpose of Dexterity lost the actuality, but it still does the job and Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 and 10.0 are dex built applications. And, so dex modification upgrade is actual, especially for businesses with custom ERP logic, built on Dexterity custom programming. As the majority if not all of EDI tools, Dexterity come through evolution during these 15 years. This is why you should consider new technologies trends when planning to upgrade dex customization:

• Sanscript. DYNAMICS.DIC with your sanscript scripts present should be available for dexterity programmers in order to upgrade your modified logic. Dex customization is distributed and integrated via so-called Dexterity chunk, when being integrated chunk converts itself to the dictionary, where scnscript code is stripped out. If you don’t have original custom dictionary with code, please contact your former consulting firm to get it.

• Modifier/VBA Continuum imitation. In some cases we see dex sanscript code was incorporated into VBA code in Modified Great Plains forms. This technology was used to cross modules boundaries in Great Plains, for example to switch from Dynamics core module to Intellisol Advanced Purchase Order Processing or Project Accounting third party modules. This logic is OK to work, however it is a way harder for upgrade, as it will need to be analyzed and ported to new technology

• New trends in Dex: COM object interface – this technology allows you to call such nice new tools as XML web services from dexterity code, via COM object envelope. eConnect – this tool introduces elements of object oriented programming to GP and in the case of Dexterity customization upgrade, we recommend you revise dex logic and move work and master objects creation and modification to eConnect: customer, vendor, sales invoice, purchase order, etc.

Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Microsoft Dynamics GP USA and Canada nationwide: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburg, Toledo, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Austin. Local service is available in Chicago and Houston metros: Rosenberg, Katy, Richmond, Dallas, Galveston, Sugar Land, Naperville, Wheaton, Plainfield, Aurora, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Lisle, Oakbrook, Morris, Marseilles, Joliet, Montgomery, Oswego, DeKalb. With reasonable travel we serve Springfield, Bloomington, Normal, Peoria, LaSalle, Ottawa, Dixon

Customer Network Support Page

Computer Networks have become a way of life as of late. We have them at work, often at home too, and certainly every place we visit any more. How is it that linking computers together became such an important tool in our society?

Networks

To begin with, we have to remember that we’re in the ‘Information Age.’ Computers create, control, and disseminate information much faster than we can with paper and a pen. So what happens, when you have files on your computer that I need to see or change in mine? The only options are to either save the file from your machine to removable meda (CD Rom, USB Drive, or Floppy) then transport it to the other computer, or else have them in a Network to share the files. The latter is so much less time consuming in a busy office!

What happens when the Network goes down though? Of course this never happens at a good time. It happens when the work is (over)due or the customer is waiting for a printout. Yes, fortunately there are things that you can do before calling San Diego PC.

Without getting too technical however, you need to know a few things: Each computer on the Network has an IP address. This address is simply a number that identifies it on the Network, just as your house’s address identifies your home on the street.

The next thing is the infrastructure of the Network itself. The most common cabling between the computers will be ‘Cat5′ cabling, which plugs in to the back of the PC just the same way that a telephone cord plugs into a phone. This cable may simply go between a pair of computers, or more commonly it will be plugged in to a router at the other end. This is the device that links all of the computers together, using the Cat5 cable. It will be plugged into the wall for power, and a a cable will be stretched between it and each computer that it provides signal to.

When the Network fails, the first thing to do is think if anything in the office has been moved that would have disrupted the cables or the power to the router. Make sure that all of the lights on the front of the router are lit, that are usually on.

If all of the cables are connected and the router is indeed, plugged in, then we need to dig deeper. You can try unplugging the router for 15 to 30 seconds, then retry the Network at the computers. If that’s not convenient to so, you can tell the computer that you are using to get another IP address from the router.

This is done by opening a DOS window: Click on your START menu, then RUN. Type the word ‘CMD’ without the quotes and press ENTER. In the DOS box that appears, type ‘IPCONFIG /RELEASE.’ The computer should confirm at this point, that the address that was in use has been released. What follows is the same IPCONFIG command, followed this time, by the word ‘RENEW.’ At this time you will see the new address that has been assigned by the router for the computer to use.

If these steps fail, then the problem is not one that is presenting itself too easily, and you should call San Diego PC for your next step.

http://www.sandiegopcexperts.com

Only being the best in your neighborhood is not good enough anymore. The present-day market is international. Even if translating software into other languages costs serious money, this allows companies to access foreign markets that would be otherwise difficult to penetrate. Also, the rumor according to which ALL foreigners understand English is a myth.

Most software nowadays is localized in order to be available on larger markets. If you plan to develop your software in several languages, or if you plan to start developing the software in your own language and afterwards in other languages for foreign markets, it’s best, from the very beginning, to take into account certain localization and translation issues.

The best-case scenario is to do that before the software is even written. It is certain that keeping localization issues in mind while working on the specifications of the project will most certainly help reduce costs and will ease the effort associated with the localization of the product on foreign markets.

Localization: A Definition

Software localization implies more than just the mere translation of the product’s user interface. Companies require that their software to be adapted to the culture of the target country, so that they can reach a larger audience.

Localization, in this case, stands for the complex operation that consists in translating the software and also in adapting it according to the linguistic conventions and cultural specifics of the users from the target country.

This process often requires a lot of work hours and tremendous effort from the development teams, but there are a number of tools that were specifically created in order to simplify the localization process. Also, many of the localization projects are outsourced to specialized companies in order to reduce costs.

Tips for Software Localization

Software must be written in such a way so that it would be quite easy to adapt (i.e. translated) later, according to necessities, into different cultures and languages. Localization and internationalization go hand in hand.

Internationalization consists, basically, in developing a product in several languages. All the parts of software that need to be translated are separated from the software itself and adapted to the specifics of the country for which the software is meant. It is best that the concerned software to be designed with this aspect in mind from the very beginning as the process of re-writing the entire software which was designed from the start with just a narrow target market in mind, is time consuming and expensive.

Concerning the translators, ideally, they should perfectly master the target languages and have a very good knowledge in the technical field and be proficient with the specific vocabulary. Last but not least, they should be familiar with the software in order to fully understand the context of the phrases.

Sometimes, this can cause problems for the people in charge with the translation: there may be rare occasions when the entire translation team is needed, or just some “know-it-all” genius. Anyway, the translators should collaborate with the development team at all times.

Software localization is a process that requires specific knowledge and some serious project management skills. For each project, its manager, in close collaboration with the engineers, should develop a schedule that indicates all the necessary steps required to make the localized software lucrative.

A high-level description of the localization process would include the following steps:

• The identification of what must be translated from a software, and adopting a localization strategy based on the sales estimates.
• Establishing a strict schedule for the localization process, including deadlines for each stage in the process.
• Finding and recruiting adequate, professional translators, preferably with recent, significant experience in the target countries.
• Establishing a close collaboration relationship with the translators to ensure the accuracy and coherence of their work.
• Consulting the development team on aspects that could facilitate the localization process.
• Defining a properly internationalized product that won’t need to undergo changes for each of the envisaged foreign languages.
• Testing the product for each and every one of the languages in question.

Software localization mainly concerns the three basic components of a product: the graphical user interface, the on-line help and the documentation.

For the user interface, of great importance are the resource files, having the extension .rc. They contain what the user is most likely to see and displayed in the form of menus, dialog boxes, error messages, cursor shapes, bitmaps, etc. There are usually just segments of the resource files that need to be translated.

Some examples would be the text that appears on some of the most common bitmaps, the splash screens, or the text strings that are displayed in menus and dialog boxes / error message boxes.

Help files, initially in .rtf format, are compiled and converted into hypertext format. Most of what is included in such a file will be translated. What should not be translated is the hidden text that represents hyperlinks, as well as the “#” and “+” footnotes.

The documentation, which usually raises no issues for the translation process, includes readme files, Word processing and DTP files (documentation files per say), client-prepared file formats and incidental files.

Readme files are usually in .txt format, and contain information that was not included in the documentation, setup information or additions to the user manual.

Documentation files are the highly formatted user manuals that must reach the target users. The information in these files is usually overwritten during translation.

The Benefits of Localization

Software localization is beneficial for both developers and customers. We should take into account the fact that the number of non-English speakers that use localized software is in a continuous growth.

Most software users expect that their software be written in their own language. Even if localization is done at a certain cost for software companies, it entails obvious benefits: the users that perfectly understand a product can manage it more properly, can use it more efficiently, and are less prone to making costly mistakes.

All these have an influence on the final result. More competent and efficient users translate into fewer costs for support and customer service.

Localization allows users to interact with software in their own language via an intuitive configuration for them.

To exemplify:

• Messages are in their native language.
• The entry fields are formatted in a manner that is common to their respective country (name, address, date, hour, etc.)
• Different types of keyboard are taken into account for entering information.
• The error messages in the native language guarantee quick solutions for the problems.

Competition in the software sector is fierce, with numerous high-quality products fighting over the same market. It is not possible anymore to gain advantage over the competitors by blowing fairy dust in the customer’s eyes.

The winning scenario is the one where the customer’s needs are met in the best way possible. Software localization proves to be the key of a strategic advantage over one’s commercial adversaries.

Mistakes in Software Localization

• Neglecting the length of translated words, which would require redesigning the software to fit the foreign language version, and thus losing valuable time (and money).
• Disregarding localization (i.e. specific countries / regions) and their particular, characteristic elements (e.g. date format, number format, address structure, postal code length and structure, calendar format, etc.).
• Failure to use simple, concise text, familiar to most people and, primarily, to possible users of the software.
• Failure to provide clear, accurate text in the target language, rendering the instructions and commands in a nonsensical way or hard to understand.

Conclusion

Software localization practically equals to a guarantee that your software “speaks” the language of your customers. In the present context of globalization, localization might just make the difference between success and failure on your target markets.

With the commercial environment becoming more and more competitive, the stringent need to adapt software, documentation, on-line help files, Web pages and user manuals has arisen, so that they meet the cultural and linguistic needs of each and every customer.

Localization has really turned into the price that must to be paid in order to be able to perform commercial activities on a global scale.

Copyright © 2007, http://www.avangate.com all rights reserved. This article was written by Adriana Iordan, Web Marketing Manager at Avangate B.V. Avangate is a complete ecommerce provider for shareware sales incorporating an easy to use and secure online payment system plus additional software marketing services and sales tools.

This article may be reproduced in a website, e-zine, CD-ROM, book, magazine, etc. so long as the above information is included in full, including the link back to this website.

Is your computer chugging along with a much reduced speed, and is it getting very difficult for you to log on to your favorite web page? Is your computer hard disk producing a lot of unnecessary noise that appears strange to you while running? If the answers are Yes to these questions, then you are probably the unfortunate victim of spyware infection!

Being infected by spyware can be a disaster because the performance of your computer is greatly reduced. Worst, spyware can include keyloggers, adware, trojans, browser hijackers, malware, adware and viruses.

In this article I will explain some of the most important factors you must consider when choosing an anti spyware software or a spyware removal software and the effectiveness of using free anti spyware removal programs available on the internet.

Free Anti Spyware versus Paid Anti Spyware Programs

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First, can I rely on a free anti spyware or a free adware remover software?

There are two main free spyware remover software available widely on the internet. One is a spybot that can identify spyware, and the other is an adware remover. They are pretty good in capturing most spyware that are commonly found on the internet. Note that I mention “most spyware”, not ALL the spyware. In fact, to prove this to myself, I performed an experiment.

When my computer showed signs of distress, and started to produce a lot of weird noises from the hard disk, I knew I have had some form of spyware lodged in my computer. I ran the first spybot anti spyware and that removed several spyware, some tracking cookies, a trojan and an attempt at a possible browser hijacking.

In order to determine whether all the spyware were removed, I ran the second free software program which was an adware removal software. I was not surprised to see that there were more undiscovered spyware and even a registry key modification performed without my knowledge.

Next I ran the third anti spyware which was a paid anti spyware software.This paid software captured another three more spyware which consisted of tracking cookies and a trojan left unidentified after running the two most popular free anti spyware program on the internet.

This simple experiment showed that the free spybot spyware remover and the free adware remover failed to completely remove all the common spyware. In my estimation, the two free anti spyware programs could identify and remove around 70% of the common spyware and adware when used one after the other, whereas a paid anti spyware program had to be run to ensure complete removal of all the spyware and adware.

Superior Features of Paid Anti Spyware Programs

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What separates a paid anti spyware program from a free spyware detector and removal program? The most important difference is that of the identification and removal algorithms and the constant updates to the anti spyware definitions that you can get from the paid anti spyware programs. Most Paid solutions post updates, almost daily, of the newly discovered spyware released into the internet to ensure their software is always up to date and effective against newly discovered spyware, keyloggers, malware, tojans and browser hijacking attempts.

You also get better support services from these paid spyware suppliers. An anti spyware software is of no use to you if you encounter a technical issue and you cannot get technical support readily to provide you with help on your problem.

Thirdly, when looking for a paid solution, you will also look at their customer service. This can be easily checked by looking at the comments and reviews of other users of the anti spyware program. A paid software company that provides superior customer service suggests that the company is serious about its reputation and its business, and will not be folding up their business anytime leaving you without any updates or customer service. In contrast, I have known of many freeware that are released without technical and customer support.

Unless your computer security, confidentiality and privacy is of no serious concern to you, you will need an anti spyware software that possesses a superior algorithm to identify and remove all the malware that lodges on your computer online. Having a paid anti spyware that updates frequently with superior technical and customer support will provide you with peace of mind that your computer is secured against malware, spyware, keyloggers, browser hijacking and also identify theft.

Be sure to read Part 2 of this article where I’ll show you the best anti spyware program to protect your computer against malicious spyware activity and how you can uncover hidden malware in your computer instantly.

Click Here For Part #2 or visit http://1anti-spyware.blogspot.com

Are you sick of having to just log of the net because of those popups. Close one popup and another five happen to display themselve’s. Even worse you’re kids are on the net and one of those Pornographic ads popup!!

Believe me I know how it feels!! Popup’s are a form of advertising. Most advertisers’ use popups of a way of getting your attention so they can then redirect you to their web site. They are usually trying to sell you their product or get your email address, so if you happen to give them your email address the individual or company will then in term send you information on their products. This can get very annoying! They tend to just keep sending email after email clogging your inbox with spam.

Popup’s really are one of the most hated entities on the net they are rude and just take up so much of a person’s time. And then comes another form of advertising! The popups sparring partner The pop under. This type of ad just likes to wait till your finished with the web site your using and when you think your done! There it is looking straight at you from your screen. Pop unders are actually a sneaky way of putting a ad in front of you without you even knowing about it. They position themselves behind the window itself so when you close the widow there it is!!

Now popups are not just used for advertising. Unfortunately they can be used for planting ad ware and other types of malware including spyware making them even more dangerous. People will use this to there advantage they will try to gain your personal information. Once this sort of software is installed in your computer they can have access to anything from your tax details to bank accounts and your passwords.
So please be careful. Clicking on the x on top of a popup window will not stop people gaining entry to your computer it will actually give the popup the command to install the malware. The key is to stop popups and pop unders from ever appearing.

Now to the topic of preventing popups. There are thousand’s of popup and pop under blockers available on the net. Lets get down to the free versions. Don’t get me wrong if you can’t afford to pay for a good popup blocker at the moment then by all means download a free package. But please remember, “you get what you pay for” The free version’s have trouble blocking pop unders and some popups. Usually it’s the bad popups that they don’t stop. So spend some time to find a good popup blocker. Here is some super advice just for reading my article. Before you pay for anything on the net or if you are thinking of buying a certain blocker and I stress this to everyone I know. Please find out all about the product before you purchase. It’s as simple as using your favourite search engine. One web site I use is called ripofreport.com
Just type in the product your planning on buying and see what people are saying.

Now it’s your turn to get rid of those intrusive and so annoying popup’s. Keep you and your family happy and safe for a peaceful online experience!!!

Joel Pearce writes on the popup

Copyright: Joel Pearce.

Joel Pearce has been helping the average person to have the best possible experience while using the Internet. If you would like to find some of the best popup blockers on the web go to
http://peajoe.bezoogle.com/pp/popup-blocker/

Typically retailers use combination of point of sale software and ERP or accounting to automate financials. High-end ERP providers, such as Oracle E-Business Suite, Navision, Axapta have their own POS module, and you should evaluate these options to see if these ERP specific retail application fit your business needs. Microsoft Great Plains typically integrates with Microsoft Retail Management System (MS RMS). You should consider the level of integration: do you plan just to pull transactions from RMS to GP or you plan to control RMS inventory and purchasing plus all financials from GP. The answer may vary, but these are the mayor first questions to answer.

• Pushing transactions to RMS. This question might be considered as simple, however we saw programmers, who were trying hard to manipulate RMS, especially on the store level, by inserting records into RMS store database tables. This route leads nowhere, because RMS will wipe out these ‘illegal’ records by analyzing its historical processed worksheets. All communications between RMS headquarters module and the stores are done through RMS worksheets. And this is good news for you – as a programmer, you should program worksheet and mark it as approved to manipulate RMS logic. You typically do it on the headquarters level – and RMS will propagate your logic down to the stores

• Pulling transactions from RMS to GP. Here you have more flexibility and you can directly populate Great Plains SQL tables or use business-validating logic of eConnect. If you are Microsoft Visual Studio developer, you probably prefer eConnect approach as it has Web Services interface. We heard questions about eConnect performance, and we would like to confirm that eConnect deploys SQL stored procedures and so should be very efficient

• Auto Posting. We were hearing multiple complains from GP developers about eConnect limitations – one of them is inability to post Microsoft Great Plains sales order processing batches automatically from custom logic. Well – the answer might be doing your homework and look for eConnect extenstions, one of them is Alba Spectrum posting server

• Microsoft Dexterity extensions. When you contract Microsoft Dynamics ISV partner, you usually get Microsoft Great Plains Dexterity so-called chunk to be integrated with your GP workstation to enable custom logic. Be sure that you are getting DYNAMICS.DIC dictionary file with your customization scripts in it. This will be required if in the future you will decide to switch to another Dynamics GP customization partner to support or upgrade your alternate GP logic.

Andrew Karasev http://www.albaspectrum.com
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Microsoft Dynamics GP USA and Canada nationwide: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburg, Toledo, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Austin. Local service is available in Chicago and Houston metros: Rosenberg, Katy, Richmond, Dallas, Galveston, Sugar Land, Naperville, Wheaton, Plainfield, Aurora, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Lisle, Oakbrook, Morris, Marseilles, Joliet, Montgomery, Oswego, DeKalb. With reasonable travel we serve Springfield, Bloomington, Normal, Peoria, LaSalle, Ottawa, Dixon.

These days, there are more than enough people who are becoming fit and practical. They have long ago realized the advantages of the opportunities being offered up by the popularity of the Internet. As a lot of businesses are gaining their cyberspace portals, so does the need to be vigilant on the part of the business-minded individuals escalate. They have one concern in mind—to gain money and to profit from their endeavors. And they have seen the vast positive attribute of the online marketing as a good way of realizing their goals.

One needs not be surprised if there are a lot of member area software programs that pop up here and there. There are obviously so many individuals who have already ventured into the promotion of the member area software. Through the member area software, only the successful members are allowed to gain access to the freebies, discounts, and other privileges that come along its promotion.

Indeed, the paid membership websites are among the easiest and most conveniently managed businesses of today.

Of course, those who are successfully approved to become members are obliged to purchase the member area software so they could further the enjoyment that they could be exposed to as they utilize the program. More so, if you as the promoter of a member area software could manage to come up with an appealing and stable website that would be a host to a variety of individuals, the better and advantageous it would be for you.

The good thing with the member area software promotion is that you don’t necessarily have to exert all of the efforts yet you would be able to earn the salary that is similar with that of a CEO of a multinational company! How could that be made possible? Well, all you have to do is maintain a database that will ensure an organized and secured record keeping of the members of the organization. And then, through handling the selling of the membership area software, you would be able to convince the members how well they need the program.

As the membership expires, they will have to pay again. And for every service that the members avail of, there will be a corresponding payment that will go straight to your pocket.

So what should your membership area software contain? Many of the same sorts of endeavor flourish through time because there are lots of appealing features that come along with the subscription to the membership. It could be that coaching, mentoring, information dissemination, and informative articles are provided to the members. It is important that you are well-rounded. If you truly want to gain lots of followers, your expertise must not only be confined to one particular area.

People have different needs. And they subscribe to become members because they believe that you could provide them with the solutions to their problems. Now are you going to fail them? Certainly not or your business would eventually die out.

The member area software of yours must contain the best features as possible. For you to be able to convince the consumers well, you must ensure that you work on the reliability and credibility of your venture. Gaining profit is not that easy. You have to gain the trust of the people. You have to prove to them that they need you. It is simply a give and take process.

Good luck then to your attempt to pursue a member area software conceptualization!

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on href="http://www.extrememember.com">membership software or for href="http://www.extrememember.com">membership management software checkout his website.

Microsoft has endowed Vista’s kernel with highly restricted access, in a bid to improve security in its new operating system. This extra security has succeeded in locking out hackers, malware purveyors and has apparently locked out security software as well.

Competing security software manufacturers say Vista’s security system alone is not enough to protect users from threats. Security firm, Webroot Software reported in January that its security testing of Vista revealed significant holes in its security shields. The tests showed Vista to have ineffective blocking capabilities and weak antivirus capabilities in the default anti-spyware and antivirus components within Vista. Webroot also found problems in Microsoft’s Live OneCare security suite.

Webroot said Windows Defender failed to block 84 percent of a testing sample set that included 15 of the most common variations of existing spyware and malware. On top of this, Windows Defender did not perform at the level of many third-party security applications.

Webroot also said that Windows Vista allowed a variety of threats to get through its security shields and remain undetected on its testing environment. These threats included adware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), system monitors, key loggers and Trojans. These results come after Windows Live OneCare recently came last in a recent of antivirus applications.

Webroot also stated that Microsoft’s additional charge to Vista users for antivirus protection through a subscription service, is a potential weakness in security, as consumers may be unwilling to make that purchase.

According to Max Secure’s Pradhan, Microsoft’s attempts to block out third-party security vendors raise questions of fairness. However, he believes that strategy will be short-lived.

“Microsoft should have learned that approach is not the best way to go. I see Microsoft changing because consumers will see that they do have a choice,” said Pradhan. “Microsoft is offering a system that is flawed. Consumers will force Microsoft to open up the kernel access when infections and attacks continue.”

On the other hand Marco Peretti, CEO of BeyondTrust, does not see Microsoft’s decision to lock down access to the Vista kernel all that damaging. Peretti believes that Microsoft has made accessing the kernel in the 32-bit version of Vista more difficult than in Windows XP.

“Microsoft is blocking the kernel only on 64-bit, not the 32-bit, platforms. To Microsoft the 64-bit Vista is the future,” Peretti noted, adding that 2007 and 2008 will see the mainstream adoption of the 64-bit Vista operating system.

The problem in Vista 64-bit is caused by the patch-guard which it utilises, according to John Safa, security expert and the chief architect at DriveSentry. This patch-guard prevents programs patching the key system functions, which are also used by hackers to create rootkits.

Safa also claims that these same functions are also patched by security vendors to detect threats, which they are now unable to do. In response to this, Microsoft has stated that it intends to provide access to security vendors of Vista 64-bit by the time it releases Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. Service Pack 1 is currently scheduled for release in the second half of 2007.

Safa asserts that third-party security vendors are to blame for not developing strategies to dealing with Vista’s 32-bit compatibility issues. He also notes that third-party security vendors are adapting their products to work with the kernel restrictions in the 32-bit version. “There is no real reason why security vendors cannot have their product ready for Vista 32-bit,” he said.

Safa views Microsoft’s claim that it has locked down Vista equivalent to issuing an open invitation to the hacking community to prove it wrong. Safa notes, “There’s real money to be made in this high stakes game, and the rules have completely changed. Today’s malware threat has evolved into a destructive force that outpaces even the best antivirus signatures, leaving consumers’ personal data completely exposed to zero-day attacks.”

Visit Tech Sphere for more articles.

online comparative test

Microsoft has begun a very unique marketing campaign aimed at students to help combat piracy and boost the sales revenue of Office 2007. The campaign, known as itsnotcheating aims to stop piracy among students by selling Office Ultimate 2007 at extremely low and affordable prices.

Selling for a price of only $75 Australian dollars for an unlimited license and $25 for a one year license, Microsoft is in effect offering a discount of 94% to students. Office Ultimate 2007 has a recommended retail price in Australia of $1175. The commencement of the offer also marks the first time that Microsoft is selling its software on a subscription-model, which we will no doubt see more of in the near future.

Those customers who purchased Office 20007 Home and Student Editions before the commencement of this offer have effectively wasted $174 and didn’t even receive Outlook. When this offer was approved by Microsoft it is highly likely that they knew they weren’t losing $1100 per copy. So if Microsoft can afford to sell Office Ultimate 2007 for only $75, how much is Office Ultimate 2007 really worth?

This offer has no doubt upset many of Microsoft’s retail partners. They have been left with no possible way to compete against a $75 Office Ultimate 2007, because Microsoft wholesales Home and Student Editions for more than that price. This is a serious blunder on Microsoft’s part as the retail partners are the ones who have spent thousands of dollars on advertising, promoting Home and Student Editions, only to lose their business to Microsoft themselves.

Microsoft has no doubt embarked in this marketing campaign out of complete desperation because of the large-scale piracy it endures, from within institutions like universities. High software prices have no doubt forced many students to seek alternatives to purchasing legitimate software. It remains to be seen if this marketing campaign will actually work by combating piracy and boosting Office 2007 sales.

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