Just came across this interesting tool from the AddictiveTips Blog.
MSE Update Utility is a simple app that updates Microsoft Security Essentials when Windows Update is disabled. Windows Update service is responsible for frequently updating MSE. But once it is disabled via Group Policy Editor, MSE won’t update anymore.
You can download the MSE Update Utility from AddictiveTips.com.
[Related Tip] Updating Microsoft Security Essentials Using Command-Line
Did you install the Microsoft® Winter Fun Pack 2004 in your Windows XP system earlier, and then upgraded the system to Windows 7 or Windows Vista? In that case, the uninstaller for Winter Fun Pack 2004 may not work correctly under Windows 7/Vista, throwing out error code 1713. If the uninstaller does not work, you can remove the related files and registry entries manually.
The list of registry entries and files added by Microsoft® Winter Fun Pack 2004 for Windows® XP is available at the following link:
Browser Defender™ – Download Analysis for winterfunpack2004forwindowsxp.msi
Important: Before proceeding, take a complete registry backup either using System Restore or using a program like ERUNT. This article is targeted towards intermediate and advanced users.
To make things easier, I’ve made available a .REG file which removes the Winter Fun Pack 2004 related registry keys. Download winterfunpack-remove.zip (partly based on BrowserDefender.com’s installation track data), unzip and double-click the .REG file to run it.
1. Registry Values
After running the REG file, you may have to remove some registry values manually:
1. Start Regedit.exe and navigate to:
2. In the right-pane, delete the values relating to Winter Fun Pack 2004 (Refer the URL above)
3. Exit the Registry Editor.
2. Files & Folders
Use the information at BrowserDefender.com and delete the files and folders added by Winter Fun Pack 2004.
3. Outlook Express Signature
1. Start Outlook Express
2. In the Tools menu, click Options
3. Click Signatures
4. Select MP Song Signature and click Remove
Note: In Microsoft Outlook, you can remove the MP Song Signature via the Tools menu, Options, Mail Format, Signatures.
5. Click OK.
Do you own a Netbook without a CD/DVD drive, but want to install Windows 7 on it? No problem! Microsoft has made available a tool known as Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, which takes an ISO image and creates a bootable USB device that can be used to install Windows 7. The utility can create a Windows 7 installation DVD from the ISO file as well.
Update (Nov 10, 2009): Microsoft pulls download tool over GPL violation accusation
Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from Microsoft Store Website. To copy the ISO image to USB flash drive, ensure that the drive has minimum 4 GB of free space.
The tool works only for the Windows 7 ISO image downloaded from online Microsoft Store. It throws the following error if you use a custom Windows 7 ISO image.
However, Rafael Rivera of Within Windows has written a tool that will allow you to use your own ISOs with the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. For more information, read the excellent post Use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool with custom ISOs by Rafael.
Windows XP Mode is a new Windows 7 feature that lets you run older Windows XP applications on your Windows 7 desktop. Windows XP Mode is available for the Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7.
In order to use the Windows XP Mode in Windows 7, your system must support hardware virtualization (and also the option should be enabled in the BIOS). The Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool (HAV detection tool) helps you check if your computer processor supports HAV. The tool also checks if this setting is enabled for the processor.
How to confirm your PC can run Windows XP Mode
Edison is an excellent power management tool made for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista systems. Edison optimizes Windows Power Management settings for maximum power savings and provides a friendly user interface to configure the power settings.
Download Edison from Verdiem’s Website. (See also Verdiem :: Edison FAQ.)
Alter the Work Time Power Settings by moving the slider. To input custom values (hours: minutes) click the Custom button. And, click the Schedule tab and set your Work Time.
Edison creates a custom power plan, which can be viewed using Power Options (Windows Vista).
Edison changes the power plan options automatically, based on Work Time and Non-Work Time settings.
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?
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:
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!
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
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)
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.
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.
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.
File Type Settings
Autoplay Settings
Default Programs Settings
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.]
