(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)
Alex Kochis, Microsoft's director of Genuine Windows, posted a blog late Thursday addressing the "leak of a special product key" of Windows 7 RTM (release to manufacturers). This confirmed the rumor on Tuesday that an ISO file of Windows 7 RTM sent to Lenovo that contains a master key--a number used to verify the authenticity of the software--was leaked to the Internet.
According to the blog, "The key is for use with Windows 7 Ultimate RTM product that is meant to be preinstalled by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) on new PCs to be shipped later this year. As such, the use of this key requires having a PC from the manufacturer it was issued to. We've worked with that manufacturer so that customers who purchase genuine copies of Windows 7 from this manufacturer will experience no issues validating their copy of Windows 7. At the same time we will seek to alert customers who are using the leaked key that they are running a non-genuine copy of Windows. It's important to note that no PCs will be sold that will use this key."
This means the hacked key will still work, though it will likely be identified, presumably when the computer with this version of the hacked Windows 7 OS installed connects to download updates from Microsoft.
Kochis said Windows 7 includes an improved capability to detect activation exploits and it should be able to alert the customer when the leaked version or other hacks are used to install Windows 7 on a PC.
He added, "Our primary goal is to protect users from becoming unknowing victims, because customers who use pirated software are at greater risk of being exposed to malware as well as identity theft. Someone asked me recently--and I think it's worth noting here--whether we treat all exploits equally in responding to new ones we see. Our objective isn't to stop every "mad scientist" that's out there from dabbling; our aim is to protect our customers from commercialized counterfeit software that impacts our customers' confidence in knowing they got what they paid for."
Personally, I don't see what Microsoft can do now that the key and the ISO is out in the wild, other than wait for a system installed with that copy of Windows 7 to connect to its update servers. In the meantime, it can issue another key to OEMs to make sure they don't use they leaked key and hope that consumers will buy its genuine product and, of course, pay the full price for it.
It's safe to say that we probably have to wait for a service pack of the operating system to be sure that this leak is fully addressed. In the meantime, this leaked key could still pose a big problem if the hackers are able to alter the ISO and sell it as counterfeit retailed package of the OS. In this case, customers will only find out that they don't have an genuine copy, if they ever do, when it's too late.
Thanks to garysimmons on Twitter who pointed to a Lifehacker article from the awesome Gina Trapani on how to force your old add-ons to work in the beta version of Firefox.
Big warning! You're removing a safety net when you do this. Be prepared to deal with bugs, crashes, and security risks if you do this.
OK. Here's how to do it.
Go to the Firefox address bar and type about:config.
Click the button promising to be careful.
You're promising to be careful...RIGHT?
Right-click anywhere on the screen, choose new, then Boolean.
Name your new preference extensions.checkCompatibility. Press OK. Then set it to false and press OK again.
Now right-click again anywhere choose New and Boolean and make the name of this one extensions.checkUpdateSecurity and set the value of that one to false.
Great! You've just instructed Firefox not to check the validity of the extension and to tell update security to go take a flying leap.
If you're sure you want to do that, restart Firefox.
Now all your add-ons should load quite nicely. At least if they don't crash the whole browser. Don't forget you turned off the capability to ensure secure updates. So do be careful.
One last tip, several people wrote to me about the Add-on called Nightly Tester Tools. It allows you to use otherwise incompatible add-ons in beta versions, although it doesn't seem to get Firefox 2 add-ons to work in Firefox 3.
(Credit:
CNET)
I read about a new term today for iPhone application fans that hits a little too close to home. The term is "Appnoxious," and describes iPhone owners who are always whipping out their iPhone to show their friends, family, or coworkers their favorite new app. Ahem.
I apologize to everyone, but I believe I might be just that: Appnoxious. In my defense, it's my job to seek out and find new iPhone apps, so I'm hoping at least some of the people I know will give me a pass? Maybe I should just embrace it...
This week's apps include a funny, yet surprisingly deep synthesizer program and a dungeon crawler game similar to one of the greatest classic hack-and-slash RPGs of all time.
Switch presets, access synth controls and effects, and save your customized robot sounds.
(Credit: CNET)Bebot--Robot Synth ($1.99) brings up a cute little robot in a tuxedo on your screen. Touching different areas of the screen causes the robot to move and "sing" while it produces realistic synth sounds. If you double-tap the arrow in the lower right part of the touch screen, you open up a side menu offering several ways to tweak your sounds. You can choose a different scale, make the touchscreen display lines for auto-tuned notes, and add effects to your sounds.
At first glance, Bebot seems like a simple and cute robot toy, but I quickly came to realize that the ability to choose from several different synth sounds, scales, and effects like Chorus and Echo, make this more of a musical instrument than I thought. You also can save your settings so the next time you launch Bebot, you can start right where you left off.
Sometimes quests involve finding the right switch to open locked doors.
(Credit: CNET)Underworlds ($2.99) is a dungeon crawling RPG that's a lot like the original Diablo from Blizzard. There's a basecamp above ground where you can buy and sell weapons, but most of the game is spent down in the dungeon, hacking and slashing your way through hordes of crypt-dwelling monsters. You'll find NPCs as you explore who will send you on quests to kill evil wizards, save people lost in the crypt, and other similar adventure game fare. The graphics are exceptionally good for an iPhone game and the interface makes it easy to check inventory, track your current health, and use special abilities you gain from leveling up. When you need to sell items, simply use a teleport to get back above ground, buy and sell items, then head back to the crypt.
Underworlds manages to be a very challenging and fun game even though I wonder how much time people will want to spend playing a game of this scope on their iPhone. The controls, consisting of an onscreen gamepad and a fairly solid system for using abilities and skills can nevertheless be a little difficult to handle at times. I mostly was able to get my warrior to do what I wanted. Overall, if you like Diablo and were waiting for a game of this type on the iPhone, Underworlds is definitely a worthy option.
What's your favorite current iPhone app? Are you as surprised as I am by the depth of the seemingly silly Bebot? Is Underworlds the hack-and-slasher you've been waiting for? Most importantly, are you Appnoxious? Let me know in the comments!
Video search and identification tool VideoSurf has a new script for Greasemonkey users that lets you see VideoSurf-enhanced results on Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. If a result has been indexed by VideoSurf you'll see its timeline, along with links to each segment which skip you straight to that part of the video.
VideoSurf is advertising this as a way to see video results before you click on them, similar to some scripts and extensions that show you site thumbnails straight from search results or on-site links (like Snap). I found it to work particularly well on mainstream content, although videos that have not yet been processed by VideoSurf won't show up.
If you're a Greasemonkey user I'd say this is definitely worth a go. The same goes for any users who frequently click on videos in search results, only to be disappointed by what they end up being. VideoSurf's scene-by-scene analysis puts an end to any surprises.
Previously: VideoSurf demo nearly lives up to pre-show hype
VideoSurf's Greasemonkey extension puts scene-by-scene analysis in your search results--that is, as long as it's a mainstream piece of content.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The Firefox 3 honeymoon is over.
It is indeed awesome, but it could use a little tweaking to keep your surfing a high-speed affair, right? You're in luck, because there are some easy tweaks.
The other day, we pointed you toward how to get rid of the updated address bar's new features completely, but why not just tweak what you see, instead? Here are some tips to bail you out.
1. Control how many listings you're getting. The default number of sites that show up on the Smart Location Bar, or "awesome bar," of the nwe Mozilla browser is 12. Changing that number works the same way as getting rid of the sites altogether.
Just type about:config into your address bar, hit the "okay" button when the security warning pops up, then paste browser.urlbar.maxRichResults in the open box, and hit the Enter key.
Double-click the result, and it'll let you change that digit to whatever you want. One thing to note, though, is if you add more results, it won't make the list any longer than six at a time, so you'll still have to scroll.
2. Keep bookmarks off the address bar. You save a bunch of sites, but you don't want them showing up when you're typing, right? This extension will keep the church-and-state line of browsing history and bookmarks from being crossed ever again.
This probably isn't useful, if you only have a few bookmarks, but it can be very helpful if you've got a huge collection that requires you to scroll down the list to find the site you're looking for, effectively killing any time saving the bar was meant to do.
3. Keep certain sites from showing up altogether. Got a site you'd rather not have others see when they're using your machine? Unless you've got browser history turned off, and the site isn't bookmarked, you're generally out of luck.
There's currently not a way to keep specific sites from showing up or right-clicking to remove them from the list, which is why we have to recommend using Apple's Safari for it's "private browsing" feature. When toggled, it won't save any of your information, clicks, or cached data for anyone else to find.
If you don't feel like switching browsers (even though Safari is pretty darn good), there's an extension called Distrust (download here) that emulates the same thing, deleting only the bits of data from that session. Just don't be surprised if your significant other or kids ask why there's an eyeball in the corner of your screen.
Got any of your own tips? Share them in the comments.
I know that 90 percent of Mozilla Firefox (download it for Windows or Mac) users who read this post will think I'm nuts. I can hear you now: "I love my Firefox search engines! How will I search Amazon?!"
Well, I love my search engines, too, but that silly Search box in the Firefox toolbar simply takes up too much room for my liking, especially because you can use all of the functionality of your favorite search engines directly from the Firefox location bar (also called the "address bar" by people like me). I'll show you how. ... Read more
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