Microsoft to release update to detect Vista activation exploits
Alex Kochis: [...] Later this month Microsoft will release an update to Windows Vista through Windows Update that will enable Gold and SP1-installed systems to detect the presence of the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS exploits then alert the customer of their presence. The dialog box (shown below) also provides customers with guidance about what they can do to fix it and provides a Web link for more details, so that customers can learn about the particular exploit and learn how to disable and remove it. If they are a victim of software piracy, the linked Web pages will provide information on how to get genuine software
It's important to note that this update does not disable the exploits it finds –it simply alerts customers that exploits exist. When we first release the update that enables Windows Vista to detect the exploits we will also make available a separate removal tool as a download. In the future we will integrate the removal of the exploits with the detection. I'm expecting to see that integration in our next release. We also wanted to minimize any interruption for genuine customers so if a Windows Vista customer does not have an exploit on their system, they won't see any dialog box after the update is applied. It's that simple. (WB: bold emphasis ours)
Endless reboots force suspension of Vista SP1 updates
The reason it's called "beta testing" is to anticipate and isolate problems. But a big problem reported by some -- not all -- Vista SP1 testers is causing Microsoft to take a step back.
The regular update cycle for testers of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 was suspended yesterday afternoon, following multiple reports of downloaders discovering their automatically updating computers stuck in an endless cycle of reboots. This would mark the second time in two months that pockets of testers reported such a problem
The first wave of endless reboots was initially reported on January 27 to Microsoft's forums. "Every time I start the computer it says: Configurating updates: stage 3 of 3 - 0% complete," reads the initial post. "And then reboots, and reboots, and reboots...I had it rebooting for over an hour before I stopped the madness."
Yesterday afternoon on his team's blog, Vista product manager Nick White stopped short of identifying the problem verbally, though he did acknowledge its existence. "Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes," White wrote. "So far, we've been able to determine that this problem only affects a small number of customers in unique circumstances. We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue."
Over a year after the general availability of Windows Vista, drawing the line on the latest Windows client offers a less than Wow conclusion for Microsoft. The video embedded at the bottom of this screen is obviously a parody, but is the "Vista sucks" vote given at the end sad but true? Well, at least for some users it is. At the 2008 International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates pointed to a Vista install base of 100 million users as a sample of the operating systems success. At the same time, Vista failed to outsell XP by two to one in the first year, and in this context, while remaining the fastest selling Windows client to date, it did not live up to the expectations set for it ahead of general availability.
Watch the video VISTA SUCKS (its funny)
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Echostormfury is one Windows Vista user that expressed discontent on the issue of the failed updates and endless reboot loop, but also Microsoft's failure to deal with the problem. "3 hours on the phone with Microsoft Technical Support did not get me anywhere except to a 'professional level technician' that asked me right off the bat to pay $249 for the incident support. After expressing my incredulity at such a ridiculous offer for their own security patch deployment screw up, I asked to talk to her manager and eventually he called back 12 hours later to sympathize with me that he has no idea what is going on from over in Bangladore," Echostormfury wrote on the Vista SP1 TechNet forum.
The first wave of endless reboots was 
Watch the video VISTA SUCKS (its funny)
muBlinder 3.54 (72739)
wpa_registry (16922)
