Service Packs & Infection Rates

1.  First it was windows XP..then it was SP1(Service Pack 1)...followed by SP2,SP3 ...further by Vista SP1,SP2 and now Windows 7...how the upgrades in these packs have been reducing the infection rates is briefly reflected as per stats from Microsoft Security Intelligence Report.

- Infection rate for windows XP with SP3 is less then half of that for SP2 and less then a third of SP1.

- Windows Vista SP2 has a lower inefction rate then SP1 which is about 50% lower then Windows Vista Basic.

- In case of Server Operating SystemS,the infection rate for windows server 2008 with SP2 is about 20% less then the predecessor ie Windows Server 2008 RTM.

2. Thanks http://www.microsoft.com/security/sir/

USB DHAMAAAL!!!

1. The world of USB based gadgets is in for some real surprising things.Two of the recent ones that surprised me really are mentioned below.

2. USB Beverage chiller : The name says it all.

Features:

• Works w/ Soft Drinks, Coffee, Tea, and More
• High Efficiency - Works in Just a Few Minutes after Plugging into USB Port
• Draws Power Directly from USB Interface
• Plug and Play (No Driver Required)
• On Board Button to Switch from Warm to Chill
• Weight : 440 gm
• USB Cable length : 1.1 m

3. USB Mini Fridge : Again the name says it all.The features include :

• Powered entirely via your computer’s USB port
• Internal blue LED illumination
• Keeps one 12oz can of beverage chilly cold
• No batteries required

4. Where are we heading this way?

USB Bootable Vista

1. For long I have been trying to find out and try ....infact have already tried many options on how to make a pendrive bootable till one day I got in touch with the link http://kmwoley.com/blog/?p=345#more-345

2. I could not find out 50% of the meaning of the commands that I blindly typed and followed as per the screen shots available....but finally I could make one.

3. Simple steps ,no need to worry about screwing up your system......no probs at all...it all goes smoothly.Extract is produced below for dispersion.

4. Required hardware :

• USB Flash Drive (4GB+)
• Microsoft OS Disk (Vista / Windows 7)
• A computer running Vista / Windows 7

Step 1: Format the Drive
The steps here are to use the command line to format the disk properly using the diskpart utility. [Be warned: this will erase everything on your drive. Be careful.]

1. Plug in your USB Flash Drive
2. Open a command prompt as administrator (Right click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”
3. Find the drive number of your USB Drive by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:
   diskpart
   list disk
   The number of your USB drive will listed. You’ll need this for the next step.  I’ll assume that the USB flash drive is disk 1.
4. Format the drive by typing the next instructions into the same window. Replace the number “1” with the number of your disk below.
   select disk 1
   clean
   create partition primary
   select partition 1
   active
   format fs=NTFS
   assign
   exit
   When that is done you’ll have a formatted USB flash drive ready to be made bootable.

Step 2: Make the Drive Bootable 
Next we’ll use the bootsect utility that comes on the Vista or Windows 7 disk to make the flash drive bootable.  In the same command window that you were using in Step 1:

1. Insert your Windows Vista / 7 DVD into your drive.
2. Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:
   d:
   cd d:\boot
3. Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista/7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:
   bootsect /nt60 g:
4. You can now close the command prompt window, we’re done here.

Step 3: Copy the installation DVD to the USB drive
The easiest way is to use Windows explorer to copy all of the files on your DVD on to the formatted flash drive.  After you’ve copied all of the files the disk you are ready to go.

Step 4: Set your BIOS to boot from USB
This is where you’re on your own since every computer is different. Most BIOS’s allow you to hit a key at boot and select a boot option.