After almost 6 months in Beta, Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 is ready for download. This is the latest version of Microsoft’s free anti-virus/anti-malware utility and what I use to protect my own PCs....More
Do you run a web server on any supported version of Windows? Then you're going to want to check out this out-of-band security update, which applies to four vulnerabilities in Microsoft's .NET technologies....More
Now that smart phones have decent cameras, many people won't need to carry an additional gadget with them all the time. But we're also going to want to make sure those memories we record get properly archived, at home on Windows PCs, and in the cloud via connected services....More
I've often imagined a computing environment in which you could run mobile apps on a full desktop OS. Well, someone has brought this dream to life: Via a utility, you can now run Android apps on Windows....More
In a post to Microsoft's Threat Research and Response Blog, the software giant is claiming success against Autorun-based malware. Here's the breakdown...More
The Windows 8 Start screen is just the latest in a long line of Windows user interfaces, some evolutionary, some revolutionary. But understood in retrospect, this new UI makes plenty of sense, and it certainly has precedent in Windows UIs past....More
Tracking Protection is a new IE 9 feature that limits the browser's communication with certain web sites, which in turn prevents content on those sites from tracking your online activities. Tracking Protection performs its magic using one or more tracking protection lists, each of which works like a combination white list and black list....More
When Microsoft released the public Beta version of Internet Explorer 9 last fall, I began writing a series of Feature Focus articles that touched on each major new feature in this important browser release. Now, with the final version of IE 9 available, it's time to take another look at those new features and update the series to address features that were added after the Beta....More
Internet Explorer 9 is faster, more secure, more standards compliant, and more efficient than any previous IE version, and if you're using Windows 7, it offers the best OS integration features around. It's available today. Should you switch?...More
Every so often, I publish an updated version of my “What I Use” document, which details the technology products and services I actually use day-to-day. Since I’m currently on my third business trip in five weeks, this is perhaps an ideal time to discuss the technology products I rely on when I travel and a few related points....More
Lots of changes since November, including a new PC-based home server running Windows 8, several new smart phones, new PCs and tablets, new cloud backup, Office 365 Home Premium and a nice doubling of my Internet speeds courtesy of Verizon FIOS....More