HelpWithWindows Newsletter

01. Microsoft to Deliver Automated, All-in-One PC Health Service for Consumers

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

Today Microsoft announced plans to deliver Windows OneCare, a comprehensive and simple-to-use consumer subscription service that will provide automated protection, maintenance and performance tuning as an all-in-one package for Windows-based PCs. Windows OneCare will be available for a public beta later this year.

"Windows OneCare is the next major advance in our ongoing efforts to help keep consumers' Windows-based PCs 'healthy' in a way that's simple and as worry-free as possible for them," said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of the Technology Care and Safety Group at Microsoft. "We're designing the service so it will continually update and evolve over time, helping to ensure that our customers will have the most complete and effective protection and safety services in place every time they turn on their PC."

According to Microsoft, key capabilities and features of Windows OneCare will include the following:

Defense against evolving threats. Windows OneCare will provide automatically updated anti-virus, anti-spyware and two-way firewall protection.
Performance and reliability tools. PC owners will be able to choose to have Windows OneCare automatically carry out periodic maintenance tasks such as disk cleanup, hard-drive defragmentation and file repair. The service also will offer boot-time information and proactive support tools to help improve the customer experience.
Backup and restore capabilities. Windows OneCare will enable automated backup of files by category on CD and DVD, along with the option to back up all files on the system or only those that have changed since the last time the action was performed. If files are accidentally deleted or corrupted on the PC hard drive, the service is designed to restore saved versions or map them on a new PC.
Simple, integrated service experience. PC users will have one simple point of reference for checking the overall health of their system. Windows OneCare will automatically notify users of available updates or other recommended actions and enable users to easily act as needed. Otherwise, the service stays quiet and in the background.

More information about Windows OneCare, including details on how to sign-up for the beta can be found at the Microsoft OneCare Web site.

Give your comments on this article.

02. Microsoft Security

Microsoft Windows Security Bulletin Summary for May, 2005

The security update for May 2005 includes only one important update for Microsoft Windows 2000.

Severity Rating: Important

Vulnerability in Web View Could Allow Remote Code Execution (894320)

03. New WindowsBBS Service

Maybe some of you already discovered it, if not: I have started a new "service" on WindowsBBS.com. Accessible via news.windowsbbs.com, you get a "portal" that will show you all the latest Windows & Computer news headlines from around the Internet, updated several times a day. You will also find a calendar showing upcoming (Microsoft) events such as Microsoft Webcasts and TechNet Chats.

Also shown on this portal is a listing of the latest posts to the WindowsBBS support forums, directly linking to the topics.

Start here: news.windowsbbs.com

04. Recent Support BBS Postings

Removing the [SP2] Uninstaller - Windows XP
Clock Not Remembering Time! - Windows 98
Mapped drives losing connection - Networking
Anti-phishing software - General Security
WinZIP included? - Windows XP

05. Microsoft Updates Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter

This week, Microsoft released an update to Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 enhancing the junk e-mail filter in Outlook 2003 to help provide a higher level of protection against junk e-mail.

Read Full Article

06. Microsoft Posts Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.0.1

This week, Microsoft posted a new version of the Application Compatibility Toolkit. This toolkit is a collection of useful tools and documents that enable both application developers and IT professionals to resolve application compatibility issues, and can be used on both Windows XP (including Service Pack 2) and Windows Server 2003.

Read Full Article

07. Windows XP Troubleshooting: Internet Explorer Cannot Connect to Secure Web Sites

Quite a number of people have been reporting problems connecting to Secure Web sites. There are a number of possible causes, which in turn have a number of suggested fixes.

Read Full Article

08. Microsoft Security Tip: Identity Management

An effective identity and access management strategy not only strengthens security, but can also help your company achieve greater productivity, drive down costs, and improve business integration while simplifying and streamlining the user experience.

Read TechNet Article