Microsoft is readying a new, highly configurable firewall for its upcoming Windows Vista operating system that is designed to give system administrators much greater control over which applications are allowed to run on the systems they manage.

The new firewall is called “two-way�? because it filters both incoming and outgoing network traffic, meaning that it can be used to block machines that are trying to connect to a Vista PC as well as applications on the PC that are trying to connect to other systems on the network.

Blocking outgoing traffic in this manner will give powerful options to Vista administrators, Wilson said. Using the firewall, administrators could, for example, ensure that their PCs use only a preferred instant messaging application. “If you tried a different instant messaging application, then it would be blocked,�? he said. “It’s really something that we’re targeting toward enterprise administrators in corporations.�?

Source: Yahoo

Google is releasing new beta versions of its Google Toolbar for consumers and corporations. After Google Toolbar 4.0 is released publicly on Monday, new custom buttons will let people run search queries directly on any Web site from their toolbar.

People can easily create their own buttons from Web sites, and developers will be able to use a new XML application-programming interface to create more advanced buttons. Bookmarks can be saved to a user’s Google account so they can be accessed from any computer.

Source: News.com

The Windows Firewall feature of Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), a replacement for the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) in previous versions of Windows XP, is a stateful host firewall that provides protection for computers against incoming traffic from the Internet or from neighboring network devices on a private network.

Setting up Windows firewall from the GUI is easy, but there is another way you can control your firewall configuration, and this is via the command line.

In order to control Windows firewall from the command line Microsoft provides you with the Netsh.

The following Netsh commands can be used in scripts or at the command line to configure Windows Firewall for IPv4 and IPv6 traffic when executed from the netsh firewall context:

• add allowedprogram – Add the excepted programs
• set allowedprogram – Set the excepted programs
• delete allowedprogram – Delete the excepted programs
• set icmpsetting – Set the ICMP settings
• set multicastbroadcastresponse – Set multicast/broadcast response settings
• set notifications – Set the settings for notifications
• set logging – Set the logging settings.
• set opmode – Set the operational mode
• add portopening – Add excepted ports
• set portopening – Set the excepted ports.
• delete portopening – Delete excepted ports.
• set service – Set the services
• show commands – Show current configurations (see below)
• Reset - Resets firewall configuration to default.

So for instance, if you want to disable the firewall just type: netsh firewall set opmode DISABLE

Show commands

The following show commands are used to display the current configuration:

• show allowedprogram - Displays the excepted programs.
• show config - Displays the local configuration information.
• show currentprofile - Displays the current profile.
• show icmpsetting - Displays the ICMP settings.
• show logging - Displays the logging settings.
• show multicastbroadcastresponse - Displays multicast/broadcast response settings.
• show notifications - Displays the current settings for notifications.
• show opmode - Displays the operational mode.
• show portopening Displays the excepted ports.
• show service - Displays the services.
• show state - Displays the current state information.

So if for instance you want to see the logging setting, simply type netsh firewall show logging

To find out more, simply type netsh firewall ?

Though his movement is a bit stiff, slow and voice monotonous, he willingly turns on the television with a chest-mounted remote control, and brings a can of drink for you. Within years, a humanoid robot HRP-2 - currently under development by a Japanese national technology institute - could be a little domestic helper.

The robots - named Promet - are being developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and can run errands. They are designed to respond to verbal instructions and are capable of capturing three-dimensional images of objects and locating them through an infrared sensor.

Source: AP

A computer glitch partially shut down a Japanese satellite that launched earlier this week, a space agency spokesman said today.

In the latest problem with Japan’s star-crossed space programme, the four-tonne Advanced Land Observation Satellite reported an error yesterday in the system that processes the observation data it collected, Japan Space and Exploration Agency spokesman Tatsuo Oshima said.

The satellite was switched into “safe mode�? – a hold state – while agency officials reviewed the error-detection data, Oshima said.

“We don’t think the problem will turn out to be something that cannot be repaired,�? he said, adding that the agency at present did not believe the glitch would have a long-term effect on the satellite’s mission.

Source: The Post

Redmond is planning to rely more on Community Technology Previews for Windows input, and has two new Vista test builds planned for the next two calendar quarters.

Customers and partners who’ve been holding their breath waiting for Beta 2 of Windows Vista before getting serious about testing Microsoft’s next-generation operating system can exhale.

There will be no single, catch-all Beta 2 of Vista, according to Jim Allchin, copresident of Microsoft’s Platform Products & Services Division in Redmond, Wa. Instead, Microsoft is planning to rely increasingly on Community Technology Preview (CTP) builds to get its feedback from Windows testers.

Source: microsoft-watch

An appeals court has upheld the prosecution of a Michigan man who was charged with production of child pornography after downloading and burning pornographic pictures from the Internet. The pictures were created by a Russian website that the man was not affiliated with in any form. From the court decision: ‘After reviewing the dictionary definition of the word make, the circuit court stated that the bottom line was that, following the mechanical and technical act of burning images onto the CD-Rs, something new was created or made that did not previously exist.’

Source: Slashdot

Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix entertainment products in North America, announced a simultaneous launch for FINAL FANTASY XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan, the third expansion pack for the title. The long-awaited release of FINAL FANTASY XI for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft will also be available that day. Specifically, retail product and service will be available in April 18 in North America, April 20 in Europe and Japan.

FINAL FANTASY XI, the first cross-platform, cross-continent massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) will be accessible on Xbox 360 for the first time to players in North America, Europe and Japan. Gamers will be able to communicate and play together no matter where they are or from what platform they connect — the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Windows operating system or Xbox 360.

FINAL FANTASY XI (which is required to play any of the expansions) and does not require the Chains of Promathia and Rise of the Zilart expansion packs. The third expansion will be sold separately for PlayStation 2 and Windows users at North American retailers for a suggested retail price of $29.99 (USD).

The minimum system requirements for FINAL FANTASY XI on Windows: Windows 2000/XP, Intel Pentium III 800Mhz or faster processor, 128MB RAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card, DVD-ROM drive, 56K or faster Internet connection, and GeForce series or Radeon 9000 series video card with 32MB of RAM. A DVD ROM drive is required to install Treasures of Aht Urhgan and the Vana’diel Collection.

Nobody was ever arrested for leaking the secret source code for parts of the Windows operating system in 2004, but a hacker who sold a copy online afterward was sentenced to two years in federal prison Friday.

William “IllWill” Genovese, 29, will serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, during which he’ll be subject to electronic monitoring through special software installed on his computer, under the terms handed down by federal Judge William Pauley in New York. He remains free on bail, and is scheduled to report to prison March 14.

According to court records, an investigator hired by Microsoft took Genovese up on his offer and dropped two Hamiltons on the secret source code. The investigator then returned and arranged a second $20 transaction for an FBI agent, which led to Genovese’s indictment under the U.S. Economic Espionage Act, which makes it a felony to sell a company’s stolen trade secrets. After consulting with his public defender, Genovese pleaded guilty last August.

Source: wired

SHOUTcast 1.9.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in a content URL, as demonstrated in the filename portion of a .mp3 file.

SHOUTcast is Nullsoft’s Free Winamp-based distributed streaming audio system.

French Security Incident Response Team rates this vulnerability as critical and recommend that you upgrade to version 1.9.5

To help your customers avoid inadvertent non-compliance, beginning in January, Microsoft will be removing the full Windows operating system software bits from the Volume Licensing CDs.

There is a misperception that Volume Licensing agreements cover the full Windows desktop operating system. The upgrade license does not provide a full, or initial, license for the Windows operating system. The Windows XP Professional desktop upgrade license is for upgrade purposes only. There are no changes to the terms of the Volume Licensing agreement, nor the Windows XP Professional upgrade license product use rights.

To provide clarity around the Windows desktop upgrade license and help customers avoid inadvertent non-compliance, Microsoft will be removing the full Windows operating system software bits from the Volume Licensing Welcome and Comprehensive Kit CDs beginning in January, 2006. Customers will receive CDs that include upgrade bits per their rights under the Volume License agreements. The full software bits will remain available to Volume Licensing customers through a secure online site (Microsoft Volume Licensing Services website) or by ordering a CD, but customers must have a qualifying operating system installed on their PCs in order to obtain the Windows Upgrade license

The recent move by Apple Computer to begin shipping Macintosh computers that use microprocessors from Intel could open the door to more attacks against computers running the company’s OS X operating system, security experts warn.

The shift to Intel processors from the Motorola Power PC processors will make it easier to create software exploits for Macintosh systems, and could result in a steady stream of Mac exploits in years to come.

The change could put more pressure on Apple to build security features into OS X, according to interviews conducted by eWEEK.

Apple declined requests for interviews. In an e-mail statement, the company said that the security technologies and processes that have made Mac OS X secure for PowerPC remain the same for Intel-based Macs.

Source: eWeek