HelpWithWindows Newsletter

01. Microsoft Shares Longhorn Server Details

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

This week, Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia discussed details about Longhorn Server in an online chat called "Windows Server Vision."

Muglia noted that Beta 1 of Longhorn Server will ship this summer, just after the Longhorn client Beta 1. During the chat it was announced that there will be a chat about Longhorn Server Beta 1 in August, so it looks like this beta will be made available to the public.

According to Microsoft, Beta 1 of the Longhorn Client is not expected to be made widely available to the public.

Muglia also talked about the possibility that Microsoft would release a "Home" version of Longhorn Server in the future. He noted that currently many people are deploying Windows Small Business Server 2003 in their homes to distribute digital content around their home, and a stripped down version of Longhorn Server would be perfect for this job.

Microsoft officials have been releasing more details on Longhorn Server in the past weeks. They also said that Longhorn Server will be role-based, whereby administrators can choose from around 20 different "profiles" when setting up their server, which will then load only the appropriate components for that profile (profiles such as print-server, Web server, DHCP server, etc.). Officials have also noted that Microsoft has been working on a new error-reporting feature (currently known as Crimson), which reports on system health.

According to Muglia, Longhorn Server also will include Network Access Protection (NAP) security functionality; a new version of Internet Information Services (IIS 7.0); new Terminal Server functionality and cached-storage technology.

02. Microsoft Security

Microsoft Windows Security Bulletin Summary for June, 2005

The security update for June 2005 includes several updates for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook Express.

Severity Rating: Critical

Severity Rating: Important

Severity Rating: Moderate

Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent Could Allow Spoofing (890046)

Microsoft also published an Exchange update, a Windows and Services for Unix update, and an ISA Server update.

03. Recent Support BBS Postings

Systray (Notification Area) problem - Windows XP
Defection back to IE, anyone? - Netscape and Mozilla
RealPlayer Takes Over Autoplay Settings - Other Software
How To Change Font Size When Printing An E-mail - Outlook Express

04. Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP

The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer is a free "PowerToy" for Microsoft Windows XP that provides the ability to view, organize, and print photos captured in RAW image formats from supported digital cameras.

Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Requires .NET Framework 1.1

Download [47.7 MB]

Whitepaper: Viewing and Organizing RAW Images in Windows XP [2.16 MB]

05. Microsoft Releases June Malicious Software Removal Tool

Microsoft has updated the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool to help remove specific, prevalent malicious software from computers that are running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows 2000.

Read Full Article

06. Microsoft Updates Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter

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

07. The Administrator Accounts Security Planning Guide

This guide is designed to help organizations plan a strategy for securing administrator-level accounts in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. It addresses the problem of intruders who acquire administrator account credentials and then use them to compromise the network. It provides guidance on what steps to take to secure local and domain-based administrator-level accounts and groups.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the documentation.

Download [206 KB]