Microsoft rolls out long, long-awaited Windows update to disable AutoRun for USB drives

It’s already changed the behavior in Windows 7, and Microsoft has now finally rolled out an update for earlier versions of Windows that prevents a program from executing automatically when a USB drive is plugged into a PC. That behavior has been blamed for the spread of malware in recent years — including the infamous Conficker worm — and Microsoft had actually already made it possible to disable the functionality back in November of 2009, albeit only through an update available from its Download Center website. It’s now finally pushed the update out through the Windows Update channel, though, which should cause it to be much more broadly deployed (particularly in large organizations). As explained in a rather lengthy blog post, however, Microsoft has decided to simply make it an “important, non-security update” rather than a mandatory update, as it doesn’t technically see AutoRun as a “vulnerability” — it was by design, after all. That means you’ll have to look for the option in Windows Update and check it off to install it — if you choose, you can also re-enable it at anytime with a patch.

Microsoft rolls out long, long-awaited Windows update to disable AutoRun for USB drives originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Everything USB  |  sourceMicrosoft  | Email this | Comments

Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update now coming in March?

If you don’t have a Windows Phone 7 device, you may have assumed that first major update with copy and paste support had been released to end users by now — and we wouldn’t necessarily blame you. If you do have a Windows Phone 7 device, however, you know how very untrue that is… and the latest rumors suggest that you won’t be on track to get it this month. To be fair, Microsoft never promised that we’d see the update on handsets in February in any official capacity, but rumors at one time had suggested it’d happen; of course, they also suggested January, so you see how that goes. Anyhow, both Neowin and ZDNet‘s Mary Jo Foley are liking March 8 as a possibility, citing the difficulties in getting carriers and manufacturers on board for a coordinated launch of a firmware update that they’re all accustomed to having more control over. Since early last year, Microsoft had said it’d be controlling platform updates pretty tightly — certainly more tightly than in the disjoint Android world — and we can imagine that takes a little bit of adaptation for the likes of LG and Samsung. Anyhow, here’s hoping everyone’s up to date on the 8th, eh?

Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update now coming in March? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus won’t get updated to webOS 2.0

We had a chance to sit down with Jon Rubinstein after HP’s webOS event today, and he confirmed some unfortunate news for us: older Palm devices like the original Pre, the Pre Plus, the Pixi, and the Pixi Plus won’t receive that previously promised update to webOS 2.0. Jon was pretty candid with us, saying that Palm had “missed a product cycle” in the midst of its financial troubles and subsequent acquisition by HP last year, and that the older products simply don’t have the horsepower to properly run webOS 2.0 and beyond. That said, it’s clear that he wants to do right by customers — he told us that HP would do “something special” for owners of older hardware when the Pre 3, the Veer, and the TouchPad hit the market. We’ll see what that entails — and whether or not anyone actually sticks it out on webOS 1.4.5 until the new gear ships sometime this summer.

P.S.- We have lots more from our talk with Jon coming up — including some actually good news — so keep an eye on this space.

Original Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus won’t get updated to webOS 2.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color

Is it spring already? Nikon has just assaulted us with no less than nine new Coolpix models, freshening up its consumer offering with a litany of hot new shades, touchscreens and hardware updates. We’ll let you dig into the press releases after the break for the full details, but the two new Performance range cameras, the P500 and P300, are worth discussing in more detail. The P500 improves on Nikon’s P100 by a few orders of magnification, touting a voyeur-friendly 36x optical zoom, while also offering a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080 / 30p video plus stereo sound recording, max ISO of 3200, and an 1100mAh battery. The back is also adorned with a tiltable display, sized at 3 inches diagonally and fitting 920k dots. Yours on March 3rd for $400, €464 or £400, depending on your local currency.

The P300 is cheaper at $330 / €348 / £300, however it might well be the more appealing option for image quality obsessives as it boasts a lens with an aggressive F1.8 aperture and 4.2x optical zoom. It shares the same backside-illuminated sensor as you’ll find in the P500, but benevolently permits its user full manual control to let him or her capture that perfect shot. Rapid-fire shooting at 8fps for up to seven frames is available, but we’re loving the fact it can also do 1080 / 30p with continuous autofocus and the ability to both capture images and use its optical zoom while recording. If Nikon is to be believed, the P300 is basically the P7000 that came out last year, but shrunken down to the size of a compact. It really is a very diminutive and attractive — it has that intentionally understated matte black finish that huskily whispers the word “prosumer” in your ear — compact camera. It lands on March 17th.

Continue reading Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color

Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kindle gets software update 3.1 with real page numbers, public notes

It’ll still be at least a few more days before it’s automatically pushed out to Kindles around the world, but those looking to get a jump on things can now download an “early preview” of software update version 3.1 for the latest generation Kindle. That update adds a new public notes feature that lets you share your notes with others and view the notes of those you follow, as well as real page numbers that match the page numbers in the print version of a book — those have already been added to “tens of thousands of Kindle books,” and will also be hitting the various Kindle apps in the “coming months.” You’ll also get a new layout for magazines and newspapers that gives you a quick snapshot of the latest edition, and a new “before you go” feature that lets you rate a book as soon as you’ve finished it and share a brief note about it on your social networks. Hit up the link below to download the update and try it out for yourself.

Kindle gets software update 3.1 with real page numbers, public notes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Review Horizon  |  sourceKindle Post  | Email this | Comments

Sonos nabs streaming support for XM Radio, Lithium listeners start a minor mosh pit

Look, we get it. You sunk $87,342.12 into a Sonos whole-home streaming solution, and your buds won’t stop pestering you about its inability to stream XM Radio. Thankfully, the stars have aligned just in time for your impending Super Bowl bash, and it’s just about time for you to start fantasizing about what their faces will look like when they’re ushered into your adobe by Heart-Shaped Box. Thanks to the eagle-eyed Dave Zatz, it looks as if some sort of final blending has gone down between Sirius and XM, with a merging of accounts (presumably) making it possible for Sonos to now stream XM Radio; if you’ll recall, the system has had the ability to stream dedicated Sirius channels for a good while now, but particular XM stations have been left out of the mix prior to this weekend. Hit the source link to find out what password changes are needed to get things in sync, and be sure to try it all out before bragging to said buds — wouldn’t want to eat crow after taking all of that flack, now would you?

Sonos nabs streaming support for XM Radio, Lithium listeners start a minor mosh pit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft rolls out copy and paste update to Windows Phone 7 developers

There’s still no word on a public release, but Microsoft has now finally at least given Windows Phone 7 developers the long-awaited gift of copy and paste. That word comes straight from Microsoft’s director of developer relations, Bandon Watson, who confirmed today’s release on the PPCGeeks podcast last night, and also announced that the Windows Phone Developer Tools software was about to cross one million download mark. In addition to copy and paste, the new update also includes a number of performance improvements that promise to speed up application launch times — here’s hoping the release is also a sign that Microsoft is about to speed up the roll out to Windows Phone 7 users.

Microsoft rolls out copy and paste update to Windows Phone 7 developers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourcePPCGeeks, Microsoft  | Email this | Comments

Nokia releases Symbian update for N8, C7 and C6-01, it’s not the one you’ve been waiting for

What we once knew as Symbian^3 was simplified into “just Symbian” a few months back, ostensibly to make updates faster and easier for Nokia to execute. Well, huzzah huzzah, here’s your first update. Version 1.1 of the new Symbian enhances communications by allowing you to accept meeting requests straight from an email and also integrating maps so that you may view the location as well. Besides that, N8 users get killer new features in Quick Office 6.4 like zooming in and out of Word documents along with three “high quality” games preloaded on new devices (which were already freely available in the Ovi Store). Excuse our overwhelming sense of disenfranchisement, but where the hell is our portrait QWERTY keyboard, split-screen text input, or those much-needed browser improvements? In the rubbish bin next to Symbian^4?

Nokia releases Symbian update for N8, C7 and C6-01, it’s not the one you’ve been waiting for originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNokia Conversations  | Email this | Comments

Google Chrome 9 update brings speed, WebGL, and apps

You’re probably a lot like us: more handsome and socially adept, naturally, but with a similar fear of robots and penchant for living fast and loose with pre-release developer builds. As such, the latest changes to the stable release of the Chrome browser won’t be of much use to you. Nevertheless, Google’s official window to the web was just injected with a speed bump, 3D WebGL graphics, Google Chrome Instant search results, and the Chrome Web Store already available in Chrome’s beta channel. If nothing else, please, we beg you, do the right thing and inform the local luddite.

Google Chrome 9 update brings speed, WebGL, and apps originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CLIQ XT won’t get Android 2.1 upgrade, Motorola’s word as good as dirt

Motorola’s dangled an Android 2.1 upgrade in front of CLIQ XT users for what seems like forever — now it’s putting away the bait indefinitely. In a statement released this morning, the company said that despite months of rigorous testing, the phone will remain on Android 1.5. We first heard promises of an update in June last year, but Motorola quickly reneged. In November, its predecessor got an upgrade, but the CLIQ XT was left hanging. Then in December, the company announced a delay, citing “additional testing,” and when those tests failed to bear fruit, it just plain gave up. Now CLIQ XT users are stuck with a phone indefinitely sporting an OS that’s three steps behind the most up-to-date competition, and unfortunately, that’s all she wrote — Motorola shows no signs of pursuing another upgrade anytime soon. And that, friends, is your cue to pick up a handset made by HTC and situated on Verizon Wireless.

[Thanks, Josh]

CLIQ XT won’t get Android 2.1 upgrade, Motorola’s word as good as dirt originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMotorola  | Email this | Comments