Hi-tech criminals are "escalating" attacks on an unpatched bug in the Windows XP help and support system.     Microsoft said it had seen more than 10,000 machines hit by the attack that, so far, it has not found a fix for.   Windows PCs falling victim will have control of that machine handed over to attackers.   Microsoft said the attacks had gone from theoretical to real very quickly and urged users to take steps to protect themselves. 'Nightmare' attack   Microsoft revealed the upt

An Italian Windows site called "Windowsette" has published some purported secret Microsoft documents outlining some design and strategy plans for Windows 8. The Microsoft Kitchen blog has provided some analysis of the documents. The documents appear genuine, and there's lots of interesting information there.     In a big surprise, Microsoft is looking to Apple for inspiration, and these documents contain high praise for Apple's "virtuous cycle" of UI quality and user productivity. They even

As we announced in 2008, support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will end on July 13, 2010. Support for Windows 2000 will end on the same date. Support for Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM) will end on April 13, 2010.   NOTE: There is no Service Pack 3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you are running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2, you are on the latest service pack and will continue to be eligible for support and receive updates until April 8, 2014

Microsoft said on Wednesday that it had sold 150 Million licenses of Windows 7, seven copies every second.   The extraordinary fact was announced on the Windows Team Blog by Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc. "We are excited to announce that Windows 7 has sold 150 million licenses to-date. As I’ve said before, Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system in history with 7 copies of Windows 7 sold every second", said LeBlanc.   Microsoft made the headlines in January when it announced th

Windows Live Essentials beta has already been unveiled and now is available for public testing. The package contains useful tools for everyday use including Windows Live Movie Maker, Mail, Messenger, Writer, Photo Gallery, Sync, and Family Safety.   Windows Live Essentials supports ribbon across many of the programs included, like Movie Maker, Mail, Photo Gallery and Writer. Microsoft has used this ribbon in other software products released including Microsoft Office 2010.   Photo Gallery W

Things may be turning around in the PC market, according to new analysis by IDC.   IDC reported this week that it expects revenue in the 2010 PC market to surpass a peak that was last set in 2008. The main growth driver will come from mainstream notebooks, IDC predicts, based on its June "Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker" report. Netbooks, which IDC calls "mininotebook PCs," will play less of a role in driving PC sales, staying at less than 12 percent of sales, the analyst firm predicts.   The

On the Windows Team Blog, Microsoft has decided to post an inside look into the new Windows Live Essentials and what users can expect. Scheduled for beta release in the coming months, the updated suite will bring a boat-load of new features. Among the touted apps is the new versions of Live Photo Gallery. According to CNet, Microsoft's very own Brian Hall went as far as saying that the new Photo Gallery is "better for photos than a Mac, hands down."     Neowin has previously posted a look i

The latest market share figures from IDC about servers show that Windows is by far the most popular server operating system in terms of unit sales, increasing its market share even further. Linux, on the other hand, saw its market share in the server market sink a little.   I don't really know what to make of these figures, but alas, let's just get them out there. In the first quarter of 2010, Windows had a 75.3% market share in terms of units sold, up from 73.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009.