Microsoft warns on Vista update

Vista was released to consumers on 30 January, 2007

Microsoft is warning Windows Vista users that a forthcoming service pack for the operating system may stop some third-party programs working.

The software giant has released a list of programs that may be broken by the SP1 update for Vista.

Most of the software hit by the upgrade are security programs that prevent Windows users falling prey to viruses, trojans and booby-trapped webpages.

The Windows Vista update will be released to the public in mid-March.

Update loop

Service Packs are among the biggest updates Microsoft issues for its various operating systems. The software firm said SP1 makes Vista more secure and reliable and introduces some new features.

The list of programs affected by SP1 is divided into three. Some will be blocked by the update, some will not run and others will lose some of their functions.

PROGRAMS HIT BY SP1 BitDefender AV Fujitsu Shock Sensor Jiangmin KV Antivirus 10 Jiangmin KV Antivirus 2008 Trend Micro Internet Security Zone Alarm Security Suite Iron Speed Designer Xheo Licensing Free Allegiance NYT Reader Rising Personal Firewall Novell ZCM Agent

Of the 12 programs mentioned, six block viruses or keep an eye on the places someone visits online.

Microsoft warned that its list was not "comprehensive" and asked people to get in touch with the maker of any affected software to fix problems.

Although the update will become widely available in March, Microsoft is releasing it to business customers in February.

Microsoft has also been forced to withdraw an update to Vista that was required before Service Pack 1 could be applied.

Writing on the Windows Vista blog, Nick White, Microsoft product manager, said the company had withdrawn the preparatory update while it investigated.

Isolated reports suggest that some machines on which the preliminary update has been applied go into an update loop.

He wrote: "We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue."

Carphone misleading over iPhone

Staff at the UK's biggest mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, have been caught misleading customers about Apple's popular iPhone handset.

Undercover researchers from BBC One's Watchdog found staff made false claims about what would happen if a phone was stolen and hadn't been insured.

This was in the hope customers would take out the store's own insurance.

The firm said there could be "some element of confusion among an isolated number of sales consultants".

But Carphone Warehouse added it did not believe that the "small number of complaints" were "a fair reflection of the experience of thousands of iPhone customers who have received insurance advice in our stores".

The findings come just a year after Carphone Warehouse was fined £245,000 by the Financial Services Authority for breaking the rules on selling insurance.

Commission

Viewers complained to Watchdog that they'd been told if they lost their iPhone, they'd have to buy an entirely new 18 month contract - at a minimum cost of £630.

But that is not true. Customers would have to buy a new handset but the contract itself would continue.

In three out of five stores visited by Watchdog, researchers were told the same.

And at one store, they were also told insurance offered by O2 - the only other UK mobile retailer authorised to sell the iPhone - would not offer as much cover as much, which again was untrue.

Staff at the stores receive commission on all insurance and phones they sell.

Firefox 3.0 hits beta

New security features have been included in the just-released Firefox 3.0 beta, although Mozilla has warned that most users should stick to Version 2.0 for the moment.

"We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Firefox 3 Beta 1 milestone release,"

Mike Beltzner, the company's interface designer, said on Mozilla's website.

"It is intended for testing purposes only."

But while the official word was for users to stand clear, Beltzner's personal recommendation was a lot less intimidating.

"It's a preview release, so use with caution and don't expect your add-ons to work without some magic; but between you and me, I've been running on this 'developer preview' for at least three months, and have never looked back,"

he said on his own blog.

Beltzner touted several improvements in Firefox 3.0, including new security features, a redesign of bookmarking and history, but said they all require more testing and user feedback. The company has posted a more complete list of new features in the release notes on its website.

On the security side, Firefox 3.0 adds malware checking, an anti-phishing feature that warns users of suspicious URLs; one-click site information that displays site ownership; fixes for vulnerabilities in plug-in updating; and integration with anti-virus software and Windows Vista's parental control settings.

Mozilla also claimed that it has fixed more than 300 individual memory leaks and added a new cycle collector to eliminate other memory issues. Firefox has a reputation for consuming large quantities of memory the longer it's left running, and ultimately slowing down the computer, even though some of its developers have contested the claims, and even pegged the problem as one of perception.

Most current Firefox plug-ins will not work with Firefox 3.0, a stumbling block for some who might otherwise want to test the preview.

"Users of the latest released version of Firefox should not expect their add-ons to work properly with this beta,"

the beta's release notes read.

Firefox 3.0 Beta 1 can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in 21 language versions from Mozilla's site.

Mozilla has not set a deadline for delivering the final edition, and apparently does not intend to.

"The final version of Firefox 3 will be released when we qualify the product as fully ready for our users,"

its release notes said. Mozilla is more than three months behind it own schedule schedule, in part because it extended the alpha-testing stage to encompass eight versions.

This summer, Mozilla pegged Beta 1's release for late July with a second beta in September, both to precede a final release by the end of the year. The company is now shooting to deliver a second beta before the end of the year, with more betas possible before producing one or more release candidates in a run-up to the final code.