Microsoft Malware Protection Centre

What? It's a sneak preview of what is going to be officially launched in July 2007. The Microsoft Malware Protection Centre Portal is for you to access to see what is going on with Microsoft Security products, problems and solutions. In July you will also be able to submit suspicious files for analysis.

Microsoft want to know what you think, so please make sure you give them some feedback on what you like, what you don't like and what you think could make it better.

KidRocket - Safe Web Browser for Kids

I was meandering around the internet last night (as you do) when I came across KidRocket... quite by chance. I can't believe I haven't heard about it before.. what a fantastic idea!!

It's a browser for kids, but unlike conventional browsers it effectively locks the internet out. Nothing can get in and nothing can get out apart from a small list of kid friendly sites that have been tested by KidRocket and have no 'outside' links. More information on the FAQ's here

What does this mean? Well it means that your children can only go to the sites that have been tested and approved by KidRocket. It means that you don't have to be constantly hovering over them and you can leave them to click and play to their hearts content. Although this doesn't mean that they don't need to be supervised, all young children should be supervised when using computers or any electrical equipment... but it does mean that you won't have your heart in your mouth every time they click.

The browser can be locked down, so it can't be minimised. Effectively banning the kids from all those interesting icons on your desktop.

There is also a small support forum for parents.

There are also learning tools on KidRocket., number flashcards (you can set the difficulty yourself) word and letter puzzles and colour games. Plus you can limit the amount of printing your child does... they do tend to get carried away with the print button.

KidRocket doesn't have a search engine (yet), but they do recommend W3kids.com Strictly speaking it's more of a collection of kid friendly sites under various headings.. so if you have a favourite then get it submitted.

I'm really impressed by KidRocket., it's free and it's safe and it is an ongoing project, so it can only get better.

Malware Stopper & Malware Panacea

A new Spysheriff, PestTrap, PestCapture variants have been found. They go by the name of Malware Stopper & Malware Panacea. These are just more fake antispyware programs that get installed by the zlob trojan. The web sites malware-stopper.com and malwarepanacea.com that should be avoided and will be added to the block lists soon I'm sure.

There's no new instructions on how to remove these two pests, so using the regular spyware removal instructions should be enough.

WinPatrol 2007 Build 3

I've pinched the title of my post from BillP as I couldn't think of a better one. Winpatrol 2007 has been updated and a few bugs have been ironed out... unfortunatley Scotty still doesn't woof in Vista... but that doesn't mean that he is any less effective!

See Bits From Bill for full details of the bug fixes and a download link.

I think I'll give a little 'did you know' everytime I post something about Winpatrol... so here goes;

Did you know.... that you can manage your cookies from within the Winpatrol interface, just double click on Scotty in the task bar and then click on the cookies tab.. you can either clean up your cookies manually or set keywords for cookies that you know you won't want to keep.
Have a look and if you aren't sure just what Winpatrol can do with cookies then click on the help icon on the top right hand corner.

Storm Worm With a New Twist

It's a bit like the proverbial bad penny isn't it? Yes the Storm Worm is doing the rounds again, only this time it is trying sneakier tactics. In the past it has come as an exe attachment to and email with an interesting sounding subject line. Any self respecting anti virus application will eat a bad exe before it even lands in your inbox. So the purveyors of this latest round of nasty stuff have placed the infector in a password protected zip.

Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks reported this on Thursday and as always has given us an excellent and thorough write up on the subject.

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that if you are interested in current news then go to the news sites, don't click on attachments in emails. As much as we would like to think that we have a secret admirer our there somewhere, but we probably don't... and anyway, any self respecting secret admirer certainly wouldn't send you an email with an attachment. And a customer support centre robot should and would know better than to send an email out of the blue like that, but if you are in any doubt then ring your ISP to check.

Vista Compatible Firewalls

Recently I've seen quite a few questions on the forums relating to Vista and third party firewall software. Luckily for us, Corrine has added a list of compatible, free and paid for, firewalls on her Windows Vista Bookmarks blog.

While you are there, why not have a good look around to see what other useful information you can find and add it to your bookmarks for a regular visit.

It is worthwhile having a good look at the Windows firewall that comes with Vista, unlike the XP firewall it is a two way firewall and will monitor inbound and outbound connections. There is an excellent guide on how to configure your Windows Vista Firewall at Dozleng.com.

MS Security Bulletin, Advance Notification for April

Microsoft have released an advance notification for the normal monthly updates that are due to be released next Tuesday.

Don't forget to prepare for the updates as I've outlined in an earlier entry - How To Prepare for Patch Tuesday.

On 10 April 2007 Microsoft is planning to release:

Security Updates

• Four Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Windows. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. These updates will require a restart.


• One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Content Management Server. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. These updates may require a restart.

Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

• Microsoft will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Download Center.Note that this tool will NOT be distributed using Software Update Services

(SUS).Non-security High Priority updates on MU, WU,WSUS and SUS

• Microsoft will release two NON-SECURITY High-Priority Updates for Windows on Windows Update (WU) and Software Update Services (SUS).


• Microsoft will release four NON-SECURITY High-Priority Updates on Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
  
  Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification/

Microsoft will also be hosting a webcast on Wednesday February 14th 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada), for attendees to ask questions about the bulletins and get answers from the security experts.

Patch Tuesday A Week Early

Microsoft are releasing a security update tomorrow rather than next Tuesday.

On Tuesday 3 April 2007 Microsoft is planning to release:

Security Updates

• One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Windows. The highest
  Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will require a
  restart. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security
  Analyzer.
  
  Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal
  Tool
  
• Microsoft will not release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows
  Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Download Center on Tuesday 3 April 2007.
  
  Non-security High Priority updates on MU, WU, WSUS and
  SUS
  
• Microsoft will not release any NON-SECURITY High-Priority Updates for
  Windows on Windows Update (WU) and Software Update Services (SUS) on Tuesday 3 April 2007.
• Microsoft will not release any NON-SECURITY High-Priority Updates on
  Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on Tuesday 3 April 2007.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

Microsoft will also be hosting a webcast on Wednesday April 11th 11:00 (GMT -08:00) AM Pacific Time (US & Canada), for attendees to ask questions about the bulletins and get answers from the security experts