Tuesday, June 30, 2009

How to change the listening port for Remote Desktop

This post describes how to change the port that Remote Desktop listens on.You can use the Remote Desktop feature in Microsoft Windows XP Professional to connect to your computer from another remote computer.It provide technical support to change the listening port for Remote Desktop Computer.

Note The Remote Desktop Connection Client for the Mac supports only port 3389. 3389 is the default port.

Follow the Steps
1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\PortNumber
3. On the Edit menu, click Modify, and then click Decimal.
4. Type the new port number, and then click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor.

Note When you try to connect to this computer by using the Remote Desktop connection, you must type the new port.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Microsoft's free anti-malware beta to arrive next week

Microsoft will launch a public beta of its anti-malware service, Microsoft Security Essentials, on Tuesday as it phases out its Live OneCare suite in favor of a simpler free consumer security offering.

Microsoft Security Essentials, which will run on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, will be available in the U.S., Brazil, and Israel in English and Brazilian Portuguese. A public beta version for Simplified Chinese will be available later in the year.

The service works like traditional antivirus products in which client software monitors programs on a PC. When something changes on the computer, such as files being downloaded or copied or software trying to modify files, the system checks against a set of malware signatures in the client program to see if the code matches the signature for known malware. If so, it blocks it from getting downloaded.

If no signature match is found, the system will ping the server-based Dynamic Signature Service to see if any new signatures are available and, if so, it removes the malware. If it appears to be new malware, the Dynamic Signature Service may request a sample of the code in order to create a new signature.

The service updates its anti-malware database constantly and publishes new antivirus signatures to Microsoft Update three times a day, Alan Packer, general manager of Microsoft's Anti-Malware team, said in an interview on Thursday.

"The hope is that people who install Security Essentials and enable auto updates in their Windows configuration will be protected" automatically, he said.

The service also includes new technologies that help protect against rootkits, programs that are designed to hide the fact that a PC has been compromised, and is also designed to run efficiently by scanning when the PC is idle and conserving on memory usage.

If you already have antivirus software installed you probably don't need this service. Security Essentials doesn't detect if you have security software installed but does provide a message upon install that says two antivirus products aren't necessary and could interfere with each other, Packer said.

Microsoft announced in November that it was dropping its Live OneCare service in favor of a slimmed-down free offering designed to encourage more people, particularly those who don't want to pay for it and fear it will slow down their computer, to use antivirus software.

The new service lacks features like managed firewalls, performance-tuning, backup and restore, printer-sharing and multi-PC management that the OneCare service offered.

"We don't see Security Essentials as a direct competitor to other free products and suites," which try to "upsell" users, or get them to eventually pay for a product, Packer said. "We're targeting people who aren't protected" already.

A spokeswoman for AVG, likely the main rival to Microsoft's service, said AVG offers a free Internet security suite that has advantages because it is operating system agnostic and was developed by a company that specializes in security products.

Asked what Microsoft's strategy is for mobile, Packer said he couldn't comment on what the Windows Mobile team is doing.

"In general, the way we look at mobile from a security standpoint is that you are better off preventing the malware from getting on a mobile device rather than trying to run anti-malware or antivirus support software," he said. "We haven't targeted mobile antivirus software because we felt that's not the right approach."

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Windows 7: Internet Explorer can be disabled

Microsoft explained before the U.S. antitrust laws and injunctions of the European Commission. A simple manipulation will disable the Internet Explorer browser. It is also the case with many programs, including Windows Media Player.

The handling was already available in the 7048 build of Windows 7, today confirmed it will be possible to uninstall Internet Explorer like any other software using the uninstall tool in Control Panel of Windows 7.

But be careful, disable does not remove Internet Explorer. Indeed, appearances are deceptive, because if the user no longer sees the icon or the browser window, it will remain active because it is somehow driving the Windows interface.

Anyway, this is a big step, or rather an update for Microsoft not being accused of monopoly by its competitors (Opera, Mozila, and recently Google) and consumer associations. Windows is actually available in 95% of machines on the planet, the browser built-in editor is in the firing line of the European Commission and U.S. antitrust laws for years.

In mid-January, this Committee has sent a letter to Microsoft on the objections that the tying of Internet Explorer browser and operating system was contrary to "the EC rules on abuse dominant position (art. 82).

Without doubt pleased with the outcome, the European Commission, has recently release the pressure, but keep an eye on the publisher. With the release of Windows 7, the publisher will go even further, since it is not the only browser that will disable, but a list of programs associated with Windows. This is particularly true of many tools available directly in Windows Media Player Windows Media Player, Windows Search, gadgets, and software for creating DVD Windows DVD Maker