Upgrade From Windows XP Or Get Ready To Face Infinite Zero Days

The Redmond based software giant Microsoft is intensifying its efforts to make users get free from the twelve year old Windows XP operating system saying that they are going to stop the support provided for the oldest Windows operating system in use now in a few months time. What follows that is infinite zero days, i.e days without any security patches and software updates for Windows XP. One could check these measures to make the users scrap the Windows XP operating system as a drastic effort from Microsoft to increase the sales of their failed operating system Windows 8.

The director of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Tim Rains stated in the latest Microsoft support page blog about the Windows XP situation saying, "There is a sense of urgency because after April 8 [2014], Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) customers will no longer receive new security updates, non-security hot fixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates. This means that any new vulnerability discovered in Windows XP after its 'end of life' will not be addressed by new security updates from Microsoft."

Rains also said that when the operators fix vulnerability in the software by releasing a patch, the hackers or malicious users reverse engineer the patch in an effort for finding trapdoors and for creating exploits. Once they have found what they needed, they make use of the exploit on users who have not installed the update. The developers will be forced to release a new patch for fixing the new exploit created by the hackers. The scenario that may come into view if Microsoft stops the support for Windows XP will be catastrophic since there will not be any security updates or patches to be released, the hackers will have a free reign over the operating system.

According to the latest statistics from Microsoft support page, over 64% of enterprise companies still have not migrated from the age-old Windows XP operating system. Microsoft warns these companies that when they stop the support provided to the Windows XP computer, the system may become highly susceptible to outside attacks and no protection software will be able to resist the attack.

Therefore, it will be in your best interests to upgrade to the newer and better operating system released by Microsoft, Windows 8.1. It has been proved that Windows 8.1 is the most secure operating system available in the market now. So why wait, go ahead for a newer and better computing future. 

Steps To Unlock A PC Without A Password Reset Disk

Locking the computer is very essential to ensure the privacy of the contents stored in your PC. If you are not using a password to lock the computer, anyone can access your personal files and can use the Internet connection. Therefore, it is always good to use a password to lock your computer. There are a few things that you should keep in mind while selecting the password. The password should be easy to remember, should contain digits and special characters and so on.

You may forget the password you have set for your computer and a locked computer can make you frustrated to the core. There are many ways to unlock a locked up computer and it may even cost you hundreds of dollars. This article discusses the ways to unlock your computer without the help of a password reset disk. This can be done from the default Administrator account by entering the Safe Mode and unlocking the computer through the console commands. The Windows support number tips explained below will help you to unlock your PC from Safe Mode.

Instructions

• Restart the PC and while the computer restarts, tap the F8 key until the computer enters the Advanced Boot Menu. This menu will give you a list of options. Select Safe Mode With Networking from the list of options.
• As the second step, click on the Administrator account.
• On the lower left hand side of the desktop screen, you will be able to see the Start button. Press on this button.
• In the text field that appears, type in control userpasswords2 and hit the Enter button. Uncheck the box next to Users must enter a username and password and then reboot the computer. When the computer restarts, it will be unlocked.
• If these steps do not solve the issue, press the Start button and then select Control Panel from the menu that appears. Click on the arrow in the Control Panel to open a drop-down menu. From the options, choose All Control Panel Items. Go to User Accounts and then select Manage Another Account. Choose the account that you want to change and select the option to edit it. As the next step, choose Remove the password. Repeat this step for all the accounts that are accessible through the Control Panel.

These are the steps to unlock a computer without using the password reset disk. If you have any more doubts, you can contact the Windows support number for further help.

Microsoft Introduces New Help And Tips App In Windows 8.1

Microsoft had lost most of its users to other operating systems, as Windows 7 and its predecessors were not compatible with the touch screen computers and smart phones. Hence, Microsoft decided to launch a new version which boasted of some of the sophisticated features that were missing in its earlier versions. The main attribute of the new OS was that it supported the modern touch screen devices. However, as is the case with almost every new product in the tech field, Windows 8 too had many of its features facing severe reproof from users.

Several programmers panned the new version, saying that the Windows 8 provided a clunky user experience. This even forced some of the users to contact the Windows 8 help, for help with uninstalling Windows 8 from their systems. And then Windows 8, which was Microsoft’s biggest ploy to retain its customers, backfired. However, now Microsoft is tackling the criticism, with a new update, and features that are borrowed from Windows Phone, which help the users to figure out what is what in the dramatically different software, thereby solving the confusion. According to Verge, in Windows 8.1, which is the latest update to Windows 8, Microsoft has included a Help and Tips app to get to know Windows 8.1. The new update includes the little row of three dots that a user would see in Windows Phone, for bring up extra options in an app and in the desktop software; the three dots bring up settings and options in selected apps, starting with built-in tools such as Mail, People and Calendar.

It has been a year since Windows 8 revealed a new, advanced, touchscreen-focused look for Microsoft's operating system. It has also certainly been a big change for anyone who used to run Windows 7, Vista or XP. With Windows 8.1, it is certain that Microsoft is trying to make things much simpler. The first striking change in Windows 8.1 is the inclusion of some of the features that were omitted from Windows 8. According to the Windows 8 help techs, Windows 8.1 sees the return of the Start button, as well as the option to start up straight to your desktop, avoiding the colorful but controversial home screen altogether.

Hence, it is clear that Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned in making the Windows 8.1 update the most convenient and user-friendly version of the operating system. However, how far the software giant would be successful in retaining its customers, is yet to be seen.

Microsoft Releases New PST Tool With Sophisticated Features

Although Microsoft Outlook is defined as an email application that is used by many people in the world, it also serves as a personal information manager for the users. This is accomplished due to the fact that Outlook comprises of an array of advanced features such as calendar, journals, event manager etc which enable the users to organize and schedule their important tasks and events. The personal information of the users is stored in files known as personal storage tables or PST files. Sometimes, when such files become corrupt, you would not be able to fix these issues and do the Outlook repair.

According to Microsoft tech support, the Outlook 2007 application is said to be vulnerable to corruption, and might become corrupted due to some malfunction. The corruption sources can be many, and could make your PST files corrupt and inaccessible. You may notice that sometimes, even the inbuilt scanpst.exe repair tool is ineffective at dealing with such corruption. Hence, Microsoft has released the professional Outlook 2007, with some of the advanced features that can fix the corrupted PST files, irrespective of the cause of corruption. With the release of the professional Outlook 2007 Repair tool, Microsoft has provided an amazing solution to the Outlook PST errors. As mentioned earlier, this tool has been updated with the sophisticated features and functionality that deals with all kind of corruption issues, and comprehensively restores from any kind of loss that includes deletion, or even loss while in the corruption mode.

According to the Microsoft tech support, one of the main features of the software is that it restores data in the same original file formats and content. The new tool is very efficient at Outlook repair, and works with the earlier versions, which include Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, and a later version as well - Outlook 2010. The tool is compatible with all versions of Windows, which include Windows XP, Vista, 7 and even Windows 8. As soon as the release of this professional repair tool happened, most users downloaded this application, and got the outlook 2007 PST files repaired. As a result, issues related to the corruption of the PST files were sorted out.

Therefore, with the updated outlook 2007 PST Repair tool, it is certain that it is the most efficient replacement of the inbuilt scanpst.exe tool, with added features to deal with the complex corruption issues.