I've just noticed that Microsoft New Zealand has updated their web page with "Kiwi Made" Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets, including our very own Geekzone Gadget for Windows Vista Sidebar.

The list now includes the following Gadgets:

- Trade Me
- Television New Zealand
- New Zealand Herald
- Geekzone
- ASB
- DigiRAMA
- TrafficWatch
- PowerShell Gadget

They also have links to gadgets for Air New Zealand flight special, New Zealand radios and New Zealand weather.

If you are interested in knowing what security features were introduced with Windows Vista, then the "Security Enhancements in Windows Vista" whitepaper is for you.

This article highlights security enhancements in Windows Vista, the most secure version of Windows yet.

This article includes information about security enhancements in Windows Vista and how Microsoft used the Security Development Lifecycle to increase the security of the Windows operating system.

This is the list of topics covered in that whitepaper:

Security Enhancements in Windows Vista 
Windows Vista: The Most Secure Version of Windows Yet 
A key milestone on the path to Trustworthy Computing 
Windows Vista: New features, new choices 
Engineering a Secure Operating System: The Security Development Lifecycle 
The impact of the SDL 
Security is a process 
Under the Hood of Windows Vista 
Windows service hardening 
More defense-in-depth: NX and ASLR 
64-bit security enhancements: Kernel patch protection and driver signing 
New User, Network, and Application Security Options 
User Account Control 
Windows Defender 
Windows Firewall 
Windows Security Center 
Network Access Protection 
New logon architecture 
Easier smart card deployment 
New Data Protection Options 
BitLocker™ Drive Encryption 
Integrated Rights Management Services client 
Encrypting File System enhancements 
Security Options in Internet Explorer 7 
Microsoft Phishing Filter 
Extended validation SSL certificate support 
Internet Explorer Protected Mode 
URL handling protections 
ActiveX Opt-in 
Fix My Settings 

Just now I've received an e-mail from a reader in Toronto, Canada, who started Windows Vista Help, a website with resources and information for Windows Vista Users.

The information in the site is in a format that is easy for novices and non-technical users to understand.

If you want to get a bit more information or need some Windows Vista Help, check his site.

It appears Microsoft is finally coming out with its online storage service, called Windows Live Folders and rumoured for a long time to be part of the Windows Live services suite.

There are reports - and even a review! - on liveside.net.

Initially it will allow users to store 500MB online, but since this will be a beta I imagine this limit will be higher in the actual service, and probably you could even purchase additional storage.

The review doesn't say how this service interacts with FolderShare a folder synchronisation and sharing tool acquired by Microsoft a couple of years ago. FolderShare promised lots because of its delta sharing capabilities, though Microsoft removed that functionality because it was based on open-source in the original software.


Windows Live Folders allows you to create private, public and shared folders. Everything is done through the browser.

It looks interesting but it probably requires lots of management, otherwise you will end up filling it fast. My Canon D-SLR currently holds a 2GB SD card, and have two 1GB spare cards. If I take a full card of pictures Windows Live Folders wouldn't have enough space to store it. But for people with office documents this could be ideal.

The login page has been down for a while, but it should be open to beta testers soon.

As usual, we can only draw conclusions when the beta is completed and the final product emerges.

A few days ago I posted on how hard it is to install (and uninstall) Microsoft's own SQL 2005 on Windows Vista.

I need the SQL Server Management Studio so I can manage some of my databases. I do not have any Windows XP machine anymore and I must use this.

Of course it warns of problems with Windows Vista just before the installation, but the warning dialog also tells me to install Micorsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 and all will be ok.

After a few days I managed to actually remove the previous failed install and have the correct things installed. But when I tried to apply the Service Pack 2, that's what I get:

That's right: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 failed to install exactly on the component I need most.

Incredible. Both Microsoft's flagship products in their categories won't work with each other. When are they going to learn, if ever? Are these products still in beta?

Closer to going out and getting that Apple Mac.

Scammers all over are making it harder for common people to identify social engineering tricks... Look at the latest phishing scam associated with a trojan for Windows... According to the Symantec Security Response Weblog:

Recently we came across an interesting Trojan sample, detected by Symantec as Trojan.Kardphisher. The Trojan is not very technical - it's really just another classic social-engineering attack. What makes it interesting is that the author has obviously taken great pains to make it appear legitimate.

How legitimate? Look at the screenshot:

The trojan runs on startup and pretend to be a Windows Activation dialog. Note how it asks for name, address, credit card number, expiry date and even ATM PIN!

So, beware. Windows Activation does not ask for this information. Also it offers the option to activate over the phone. If you are in doubt and the machine has been activated before, run an anti-virus!

I found this today and it's kind of a cool concept, so I decided to post a short note: a free plugin to enable Windows Live Messenger chats to be shown on-screen:


The software is free and available here.

How many times do I have to reboot Windows Vista to install SQL Server Client? How many failed attempts are required? Why does the setup die? Is this a bad case of application still in beta?

So frustrating. I cringe every time I have to reboot now.

I am very tempted to go out and buy an Apple Mac.

UPDATE: Install worked, after four attempts. And this is not a machine with lots installed - and it's clean. There is no toolbars and loads of utilities. It's just plain stock Windows Vista. Lesson learned? Don't use the Sleep or Hibernation thing. Every time I use that something goes wrong. Reboot every day.

UPDATE: I can't believe it... After the install finished I clicked Windows Update. It downloaded 340MB for SQL 2005 SP2, and run for ten minutes. Then it return "Update failed to install". I clicked the link "Get Help" and as expect the error code wasn't there. I clicked the button "Try again" and it started downloading the 340MB SP2 again!

How bad a software can be? It's just the client, for goodness sake, it's not the SQL 2005 Server components. Another reboot coming.

UPDATE: Worst decision ever: installing the SQL 2005 Client on this Windows Vista machine. After installing SP2 I wanted to add another feature, but can't because the code files are newer than the installation DVD. And guess what? Uninstall is not working. What a piece of software.

Head over to the main Geekzone page and look for the Xbox LIVE Gold 12 Month Subscription Card giveaway (until 8 May)... The prize is a 12 month subscription plus 1000 Xbox LIVE points in the package, so the winner will have lots to spend in the Xbox Marketplace.

I found this today and will try soon, when I have the Vodafone vodem updated to work with Windows Vista:

bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

This command disables the requirement for signed drivers under Windows Vista 64 bit. Nirvana!

Thanks to Chris123NT for the tip.

By the way, the Vodafone vodem can be updated to work with Windows Vista, but the firmware updater only runs on Windows XP. I don't have any Windwos XP PC here anymore. Might have to borrow one just to update the device.


UPDATE: As mentioned by Brad, this seems to be the fix we have known for some time - and it only works once each time you issue the command. One option could be to run this as a batch file on logoff, through the Scheduler...

UPDATE: I haven't tested yet because I don't need any non-signed driver to be installed right now, but Chris123NT tells me this is persistent across reboots...