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Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (Final) Is Released

Getting ready to upgrade to Windows 7? Check out the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor tool from Microsoft, which scans your hardware, devices, and installed programs for known compatibility issues, gives you guidance on how to resolve potential issues found, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

(Supports Windows 7; Windows Vista; Windows XP Service Pack 2)

Be running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, plug in and turn on any USB devices or other devices, such as printers, external hard disks, and scanners, that you regularly use with the PC you’re checking.

Screenshots

Published on 22nd October 2009
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Microsoft Support Knowledge Base Search Using Windows 7 Search Connector

Here is a Windows 7 Search Connector which uses Windows Live Search to search Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) articles from within Windows Explorer.

Download MSKB.osdx and save to Desktop.

Double-click the file to add the Search Connector, and click Add when prompted.

This adds the MSKB Search Connector and then opens Windows Explorer. Type in a sample search query.

Fig 2: List of Windows 7 articles about "Aero".

And, to download the Winhelponline Search Connector, see article Creating Search Federation Providers (Connectors) in Windows 7.

Published on 16th October 2009
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Microsoft Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Windows Live Mail

Earlier we saw how to access Microsoft Newsgroup using Windows Mail. If you’re using Windows Live Mail, it’s even more easier, as Microsoft Communities Newsgroup account is already built-in to Windows Live Mail. You just need to customize it and pick the necessary groups from the listing.

1. Start Windows Live Mail

2. From the Tools menu (press ALT + T to show the Tools menu), click Accounts.

3. Select the Microsoft Communities news server and click Properties

4. Type in your name (this name will be displayed in your newsgroup posts), and the email address. Never use your primary email address in the newsgroups as it invites spam. Use an obfuscated ID instead. Click OK to close the dialog.

5. Click the Newsgroups tab on the left.

6. You’ll be prompted to set Windows Live Mail as the default news client. Click Yes if you want to set Windows Live Mail as the default news handler.

7. Click the View Newsgroups button on the right pane. Alternately, click the Newsgroups button at the top.

8. Select the Newsgroups from the list and click OK.

Selecting a newsgroup downloads last 300 message headers from the group. You can increase the number of headers to download, via the Windows Live Mail Options dialog, which can be accessed from the Tools menu.

Published on 15th October 2009
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RegASSASSIN Resets ACL Permissions and Deletes Stubborn Registry Keys Easily

When dealing with a Malware infested PC, you may have to prune several registry entries manually in case the cleanup tool you use does not remove all of them. In most cases, you would get an error ("Error Deleting Key") stating that you don’t have permissions to delete the specified branch. So, additional steps are required to reset the registry ACL Permissions first, before deleting the key. RegASSASSIN from MalwareBytes makes it very easy to reset the ACLs and delete the keys. Whew! You don’t have to perform half a dozen steps to reset the permissions for each key.

RegASSASSIN is a portable application which makes difficult to remove registry keys placed on your system by Malware a thing of the past. The program allows you to remove registry keys by resetting the keys permissions and then deleting it. Please use with caution as deleting critical registry keys may cause system errors.

Let’s assume that a Malware has added a Service to the registry and protected the key using ACL Permissions. Deleting the key using the Registry Editor causes the following error.

Caution: It’s prudent to backup the registry completely before modifying it. For more information, read articles Take a complete registry backup using ERUNT & How to backup the Windows Registry?

Deleting a Stubborn Registry Key

1. Copy the Registry key in question. This can be done by right-clicking on the key and choosing Copy Key Name.

2. Download RegASSASSIN from MalwareBytes Website.

3. Run RegASSASIN and paste the registry key that was copied in Step 1.

4. Select the following checkboxes:

  • Reset registry key permissions
  • Delete registry key and all subkeys

5. Click the Delete button. Click Yes when you see the following dialog:

6. Click Yes when you’re prompted for confirmation:

The registry key is deleted!

RegASSASSIN to Just Reset the Registry Key Permissions?

In case a software installation in your PC fails due to lack of permissions to write to a specified registry key, you can simply reset the corresponding registry key (without deleting the key) using RegASSASSIN. To just reset the ACLs and preserve the registry key, uncheck the Delete registry key and all subkeys checkbox in RegASSASIN.

Editor’s Note

  1. This tool does not substitute for anti-malware / anti-virus software. All this tool does is to reset the permissions for the specified registry key and delete it.
  2. This tool needs to be run as administrator (elevated) in Windows Vista & Windows 7. To do so, right-click on the RegASSASSIN executable, and choose Run as Administrator option in the context menu.
  3. Complex Malware removal is to be performed by trained personnel, as they’re capable of doing a surgical cleanup without affecting other components of the Operating System. The above article is for informational purposes only.

Published on 12th October 2009
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Disk2vhd Utility Creates VHD Images of Physical Disks

Here is another useful software from Windows Sysinternals. Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell have written a tool named Disk2vhd which is capable of creating Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) image of a PC which is currently running. The VHD image can be used with Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs).

Disk2vhd uses Windows’ Volume Snapshot capability, introduced in Windows XP, to create consistent point-in-time snapshots of the volumes you want to include in a conversion.

For more information about this tool, visit the Disk2vhd page at the Windows Sysinternals Website.

(via SoftPedia News)

Published on 8th October 2009
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Posted in General | 1 Comment »

Fix for Event Log Service Startup Error 1079

When you start the Event Viewer, the following error message may be shown.

Event Log service is unavailable. Verify that the service is running.

Any attempts to start the Event Log service results in the following error:

Windows could not start the Windows Event Log service on Local Computer.
Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process.

As the Windows Event Log service isn’t running, starting Task Scheduler results in the following error:

Windows could not start the Task Scheduler service on Local Computer.
Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

This problem was reported by one of our readers via email, and it has been fixed. Service startup error 1079 occurs if the logon account for the service is incorrectly set. Usually this is resolved by fixing the service logon account (via the Log On tab in the Property sheet) via the Services MMC (services.msc)

This can’t be done in case of Windows Event Log, where the Log On tab controls remain grayed out by default.

So, we need to alter the ObjectName registry value in the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog

Start the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to the above branch:

Double-click ObjectName value and set its data as NT AUTHORITY\LocalService {for Windows Vista & Windows 7}

Double-click ObjectName value and set its data as LocalSystem {for Windows XP}

Restart Windows.

Registry Fix

To automate the above setting, download eventlog-svc-fix.zip and run the REG file which is applicable for your Operating System. The zip file includes the REG fixes for Windows XP and Windows 7/Vista. Restart Windows after applying the fix.

Published on 7th October 2009
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Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »

Updating Microsoft Security Essentials Using Command-Line

Microsoft Security Essentials includes a Command Line Utility which can be used to update the virus/malware definitions, initiate a scan, undo a recent definition update and perform other tasks. To know how to use the Command Line Utility, open a Command Prompt window (CMD.EXE) and execute the following command:

"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Security Essentials\MpCmdRun.exe" /?
Command Description
-? / -h Displays all available options for this tool.
-Trace [-Grouping #] [-Level #] Starts diagnostic tracing
-RemoveDefinitions [-All] Restores the installed signature definitions to a previous backup copy or to the original default set of signatures
-RestoreDefaults Resets the registry values for Microsoft Antimalware Service settings to known good defaults
-SignatureUpdate [-UNC] Checks for new definition updates
-Scan [-ScanType] Scans for malicious software
-Restore -Name <name> [-All] Restore the most recently or all quarantined item(s) based on name
-GetFiles Collects support information

In addition to the above information, detailed information for each command-line parameter is shown when you run the above command.

To update the MSE virus/malware definitions, use this command:

"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Security Essentials\MpCmdRun.exe" -SignatureUpdate

The Command-Line tool can be useful if you want to update MSE using Batch file, Script or using Task Scheduler.

Published on 3rd October 2009
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Microsoft Security Essentials Is Now Available for Download

The much awaited security suite from Microsoft, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is now available for public download. MSE provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download (requires WGA validation) from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials. To view the How To Guides and Videos, check out the Security Essentials Software Support page. Be sure to update the definitions after installing the product.

Published on 29th September 2009
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Jumplist-Launcher: Create Custom Application Jumplists in Windows 7

Jump Lists, a new feature introduced in Windows 7, in which a list of destinations and common tasks associated with an application is attached to that application’s taskbar button. For example, if you right-click on the Notepad application button in the Taskbar, you’ll see the list of most recently opened text files. However, using the Jump Lists feature to add multiple applications in a single Taskbar icon (as a launch pad), is not possible natively. There is a program named Jumplist-Launcher which makes this task possible.

Download Jumplist-Launcher, unzip the contents to a folder and then run the executable.

Add as many programs and folders (up to 60) as you need, and click the Create Jumplist button.

Right-click on the Jumplist-Launcher executable and click Pin to Taskbar.

Your custom Jump List is now ready. Simply right-click on the Jumplist Launcher Taskbar button to see the list of programs you added.

Download Jumplist-Launcher (472 KB) from Ali’s Dünnpfiff’s site.

Published on 24th September 2009
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Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »

Default Programs Editor – A Useful File Association Editor for Windows 7 and Vista

Default Programs Editor is a very useful tool which helps you to edit file type associations, add or remove AutoPlay handlers and static context menu entries. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, there is no option provided to add or edit context menu entries and static verbs (as in Windows XP’s "File Types" dialog.) Here is where the Default Programs Editor comes in handy.

Features of Default Programs Editor

File Type Settings

  • Add, Edit, and Delete context menu items
  • Change file type icon & description
  • Change an extension’s associated file type

Autoplay Settings

  • Add, Edit, and Delete autoplay handlers
  • Change which autoplay options are available for any media type
  • Change the default autoplay handler

Default Programs Settings

  • Add or Remove default associations

Screenshots

Fig 1: Default Programs Editor main window.

 

Fig 2: Context Menu Editor. (Remember the File Types dialog in Windows XP?)

 

Fig 3: Add or Remove AutoPlay Entries and manage settings

 

Fig 4: File Associations Editor

 

Fig 5: Additional Program Options

Default Programs Editor is designed for Vista and Windows 7. [Visit the Author's site to download the software.]

Published on 23rd September 2009
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