Improving security out of the box: Change Internet Explorer’s default homepage

When purchasing a new computer, or reinstalling Windows, one of the first things I do is change Internet Explorer’s default home page. By default, Microsoft sets the home page to MSN, which has had its fair share of security risks in the past. I always ask myself, why take the extra risk when I haven’t … Continue reading Improving security out of the box: Change Internet Explorer’s default homepage →

Release of IE 9 Garners 2.35 Million Downloads in 24 Hours

At 12:00AM EST Tuesday I was sitting in front on my computer eagerly awaiting my install of Internet Explorer 9 RTW. After several months of beta testing and even more months of testing the Platform Previews for IE 9, I was thoroughly excited about finally getting my hands on the final product. In fact, I … Continue reading Release of IE 9 Garners 2.35 Million Downloads in 24 Hours →

Yahoo! to Blame for Windows Phone Data Leaks?

Earlier today, Rafael Rivera, Windows hacker and Windows 7 Secrets co-author, may have found the reason for Windows Phone data leaks that have been discussed recently around the web. The reason: Yahoo! seems to be sending and receiving far more data than it really needs to. In fact, on Rafael’s count, it sends roughly 25 … Continue reading Yahoo! to Blame for Windows Phone Data Leaks? →

IE 9 Tip: Using Software Rendering versus Hardware Rendering (for older PCs)

One of my favorite features of the new IE 9 Beta is support for hardware rendering. This feature takes advantage of a modern computer’s GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) in order to render web pages versus the old, less efficient manner of rendering pages virtually or via software rendering. Using hardware rendering, the pages are processed … Continue reading IE 9 Tip: Using Software Rendering versus Hardware Rendering (for older PCs) →

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0

Yesterday, Microsoft released the next version of its Microsoft Security Essentials software. It’s been a number of months since Microsoft first unveiled the beta on the Microsoft Connect site, and most recently the revised beta or RC version. However, months of beta testing has led to an even better and more refined product since the … Continue reading Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 →

How To: Disable Windows Live Messenger from Windows Start-Up

One of the annoyances that I’ve found with Windows Live Messenger is the fact it automatically starts up with Windows when you install it and without asking you if it’s okay (frankly, Microsoft isn’t the only company that does this, but I wish more companies would offer the option if users want their products to … Continue reading How To: Disable Windows Live Messenger from Windows Start-Up →

Bing Visual Search: Find Your Favorite WP7 App

The other day, the Windows Team Blog offered up five new ways in which the Windows Phone team is trying to promote development for Windows Phone. My favorite feature of the five that they listed was the Bing Visual Search feature which allows users to simply find a Windows Phone app that they enjoy, visually. … Continue reading Bing Visual Search: Find Your Favorite WP7 App →

Microsoft Axes Drive Extender Functionality in Windows Home Server “Vail”

In an unprecedented move, Microsoft announced today via a blog post that it would be removing its Drive Extender functionality from its next version of Windows Home Server, currently known as codename “Vail.” This has come to a shock to both consumers and Microsoft followers alike. I would have never guessed this move myself, and … Continue reading Microsoft Axes Drive Extender Functionality in Windows Home Server “Vail” →

Microsoft Updates IE 9’s Feedback Tool and Improves Reliability

Earlier today I noticed my computer had a few updates sitting in standby. As usual, I perused the Windows Update dialog box to find out what these updates entailed. Microsoft was, of course, publishing these updates out of band from normal so I was curious as to what these updates were. Come to find out, … Continue reading Microsoft Updates IE 9’s Feedback Tool and Improves Reliability →