Thursday, January 30, 2014

Microsoft Lifts Limit Of Devices For Installing Windows 8 Apps To 81

Windows 8, the latest in the Windows line, for touchscreen devices, was released almost a year ago. And the thing best remembered about it is that it could not meet the expectations users had built up by the time of its release. And while the exclusion of basic features like the Start button was one of the main reasons for the sales debacle, another was the option which let users install Windows 8 apps on no more than 5 devices. Said restriction was based on the number of devices registered under a single user account.

Recently, Microsoft announced that it is going to increase the limit of five machines to 81, for a single account. With such an announcement, it is evident that Microsoft is taking up innovative strategies to revive the sales of Windows 8. Check the statistics and you’ll see there are more people calling up tech support to install Windows 8, than there were for Windows 7. This shows how little Windows 8 has endeared itself. The raise on the limit of number of devices would help the business along, considering the added revenue generated from those apps that are ad-based.

However, the latest announcement from Microsoft has put the developers in a state of concern. According to them, with the broad use of apps across so many systems, more issues are bound to occur. But the Windows apps team explains that APIs would exist that would determine where and how apps can be used. According to a spokesperson representing the Windows support team, "Since we launched Windows 8, we heard growing feedback from many developers and from our most enthusiastic customers that the limit of 5 was not enough for their needs. In response to that feedback… we're increasing the app roaming limit to remove friction from the app installation process. "

It is clear that Microsoft has come up with this venture in order to make Windows 8 more popular, as well as to expand their business. It is yet to be seen how well this’ll turn out.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Microsoft Lures Folks With Stunning Windows 8.1 Features

It is almost three months since Microsoft released the groundbreaking Windows 8.1 update. The Redmond based software giant proved that it is capable enough to retain its customer base and draw new customers through its modern operating system. I am not saying that there are no criticisms about the new operating system. The highlight of Windows 8.1 is its status as an update to the flawed Windows 8 operating system. Folks who have Windows 8 license can upgrade to Windows 8.1 free. Even while Microsoft says that Windows 8.1 is a brand new operating system, the tech giant has released it just like an update to the Windows 8 users.

Windows 8 transfer 

Windows 8 transfer is a new feature that Microsoft has added to the new operating system. Using this feature, users can transfer data faster than usual. The feature would be quite useful when you upgrade your operating system from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.

Windows 8.1 features

The most appreciated Windows 8.1 feature is nothing but the return of the Start button. In fact, the tech giant has received much flak for removing the Start button on Windows 8. In addition to updating the operating system with new features, Microsoft has ensured that most of its default apps such as Office, Bing Search, Bing App, IE web browser and so forth also get an upgrade. The upgraded Bing App on Windows 8.1 allows you to look for other installed apps in your computer or files in your local hard drives instantly. Since the app is featured with a centralized view pane, there won’t be any difficulty in pinpointing your desired files or apps.

Photo Loop

The software giant has incorporated a new feature called Photo Loop, quite similar to the Photo Rewind feature in Blackberry 10. Using this feature, users can rewind an already captured photo and correct the mistakes or problems such as blinking, red eye and so forth.

Lock Screen with Photos

Many complain that they are bored by seeing the same lock screen background in their smartphone or tablets. Well, in Windows 8.1, there is a perfect solution for this. It is equipped with a feature called Lock Screen photos which allows you to enable photo slide shows on lock screen. You can browse through the photos from your hard drive to enable Lock Screen to sport the slide show.
I am afraid describing all the Windows 8.1 features would take a very long time. Hence, I have mentioned only a very few features such as Windows 8 transfer, return of Start button and so forth.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Outlook 13 Ideal For Businesses And Enterprises

As support for Windows XP ends in a couple months, many companies have taken the initiative to upgrade their systems to the latest Windows 8 OS as well as Office 13. Microsoft claims that the new Exchange 13 and Outlook 13 clients have some fascinating new features with better security, enhanced "social networking experience,” and of course touch optimization- thanks to the new touch user interface.
Ankur Kothari, a senior product manager at Microsoft, claims that a new Touch Mode in Outlook 13 allows faster thumb friendly "Quick Actions" for mobile touch devices. Outlook also has a new look with additions like one-touch access to a minimized ribbon, and a brand new online reply feature. In addition, users also get “Quick Peeks” which allows faster access to calendars, tasks and “people” contacts directly from your mailbox.
Kothari also added that Microsoft would be taking advantage of its Yammer acquisition to increase social networking experience for users. The preview edition of Outlook 13 allows users to connect to popular social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn without installing any add-ons. Those who like reading e-news can pull up to five different news and/or weather feeds directly in Outlook 13.
Those who are using Outlook 13 in an Exchange 13 business setting get to access both emails and Microsoft SharePoint documents within a single folder in Outlook.

New Anti-Spam protection

Microsoft also released a new anti-spam technology through an update in the Exchange service. The new technology called Exchange Online Protection expands the Forefront Online Protection for Exchange feature present in the current version of Office 365-based Office suite.
Microsoft claims that the new technology improves identifying spam attacks at the zero day level as well as top-ranked spam filtering. In addition, there will also be improved recognition of new spam footprints or patterns that help identify spam attacks almost instantly.
Moreover, corporate IT administrators get to employ the Exchange service to screen out emails and attachments based on human languages and the country of origin of these mails. This E-mail screening by country greatly reduces the risks of spam attacks. Though the Microsoft Outlook price has not been disclosed, it might not amount to much. With these new enhancements, users may not care much about Microsoft Outlook price.

Exchange also takes a new approach for data loss protection as well as “e-discovery”. E-discovery enables electronic information to be saved as legal evidence. The new Outlook 13 along with Windows 8 is a bonus for large enterprises and organizations. 

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Procedure To Unlock A Computer Without The Password

The world’s biggest software maker, Microsoft Corporation has been producing, creating, developing and licensing many computing products and services over the years. Probably, what launched them to the stellar heights was when they introduced their Operating System series known famously by the name ‘Windows’. From there onwards they have not looked back, it is one success story after another. Windows XP edition was probably the most famous considering its longevity and popularity. Windows has become synonymous with people think an Operating System is. For many years people believed if you have a computer, then you must have Windows on it. Only recently did the other OS software makers have started strongly competing with the software giant. Even today, the Windows OS enjoys much of the customer base across the globe.

There are many exciting and useful features provided by this very popular operating system, Windows OS. One of the best features provided in the OS by Microsoft is the password protection feature. This feature is extremely useful in protecting your computer and information in it from unauthorized entry. Sometimes, this amazing facility can turn against you, as many a times you would find yourselves locked out of your own system for some reason. This Windows support article would provide you some simple steps that will allow you to regain access to your system and even reassign a new password. The following instructions will help you unlock the computer and will let you see the user accounts already present in your system and you can then change or delete them once you enter the system and then you can change them when you enter the system.

Windows Support Instructions:

Initially, you need to click on the ‘Start’ button, which you would find in the lower left corner of your computer screen.
You need to click on ‘Run’. After that, you need to type ‘cmd’ (without the quotes) in the empty field. Then, you need to click on the ‘Ok’ button. This will in turn bring up the black DOS command screen.
Then, you need to enter in the administrator account the following command: net(space)user(space) the username(i.e. johndoe or whatever your username is) *. After that, you need to press the ENTER key on your keyboard.
Then, you need to enter a new password in the command screen prompt that asks you to type a password. Then you need to type the new password again for confirmation.

After that, you need to type ‘Exit’ (without the quotes). This will in turn bring you back to your login screen. Now you can enter the new password that you have selected.

Outlook Issue: Unable To Reply Or Send In Outlook 2007

Microsoft Outlook is undoubtedly one of the best email applications available in the software market. This great email application is replete with amazing features. Basically it is a personal information manager which is used to manage emails; send/receive messages, allocate tasks, schedule interviews, set events, etc. Apart from the basic features, there are many others, which can be used to customize Outlook the way it suits a user. Microsoft Outlook, functions like a chameleon while adjusting to user preferences. Outlook is brilliant when it comes to its customizability and flexibility.
Outlook 2007 is Microsoft Corporation’s best email service. In case you are unable to reply or send messages or emails in Outlook 2007, then troubleshooting the application is the best way for Outlook Repair. It is possible to fix the application very easily. The Outlook problems can be because of bad Internet connection, and could be because your Outlook files are corrupt. Whatever may be the cause of the problem, or malfunction, the moment you determine the cause of the problem, you can then work towards a solution. There could be multitude of reasons why Outlook is irresponsive. Here are the instructions for Outlook repair.

Instructions
  • You need to check the Internet connection for making it absolutely sure that it is active. After that, you can open your Internet browser, and visit a website for seeing if you have a connection. Then unplug the cords from the modem for at least 15 minutes. Then you should plug the cords back into the modem. After that launch Outlook. For that, you can go Start button, which is located in the lower-left corner of your computer screen. Then select All programs. In All programs, go to Microsoft Office, then click on Microsoft Outlook from the list of applications. When the Outlook is launched, you can attempt to reply or send an email.
  • After that, click on Help and click Office Diagnostics. Then, click on Continue and click on Start Diagnostics. Then, allow the tool to detect and repair the problem. After that, you can restart Outlook once the process is complete. After that, you can attempt to reply to or send an email.
  • Then, you need to press the Windows key. After that, type the Programs and Features in the Search field and the press the Enter key. Subsequently, you need to select Microsoft Outlook 2007. Then, you can click on Change, Repair and then Continue.
  • You need to restart the tool once the process is complete. Attempt to reply or send an email.
These are the steps to take if you find you can’t reply to or send a message in Outlook 2007.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Microsoft Will Soon Fix All The Outlook Vulnerabilities

Security issues are quite common irrespective of the functioning of the software. The security issues faced by different Microsoft products like Outlook, Internet Explorer and SharePoint have been fixed by Microsoft. All together about 47 different security issues were fixed so far.

As you are aware, Microsoft releases security patches for its product line for fixing virus and spyware attacks. These patches are meant for protecting the operating system along with the product line of Microsoft from malicious threats. These updates are released from time to time and about 13 security patches had been released by Microsoft recently and they are all meant to treat critical vulnerabilities.

MS13-068 is one the patches released by Microsoft and it is meant to protect Microsoft Outlook and according to Microsoft, “A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Outlook parses specially crafted S/MIME email messages. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system”.

To deliver email messages securely, Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions are used widely. You would find the information about MS13-068 vulnerability in a blog post issued by Microsoft. This vulnerability just take holds of the use’s computer completely and they do this task by taking advantage of some errors with the preview pane in Microsoft Outlook. Some of these errors in fact could lead to file corruption and other problems.

The MS13-068 vulnerability has been given a rating that is critical according to Microsoft and they find the same difficult to be exploited. According to Microsoft Security Response Center engineer Jinwook Shin, “In fact, we’re not certain that the issue is exploitable at all, but out of an abundance of caution and because attack technology improves over time, we are issuing the security update today”.

The vulnerabilities would be making some changes in the Outlook email setup and might be causing problems. Hence, Outlook email setup would be given priority and patches for the same would be released. According to Andrew Storms, “Unlike other Outlook vulnerabilities that require the user to open an email or an attachment, simply having the default configuration or preview pane enabled can launch a weaponized email message. The good news is that a workable mitigation technique will be to disable the preview pane.”

Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope that our computers will not be affected by this critical vulnerability.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Tips For Creating A Bootable Windows 8 Recovery Tool

Windows 8 is the most recent operating system released by the Redmond based Company ‘Microsoft’ and is characterized by its outstanding features and functions. Usually, some problems in the Windows OS can be only addressed with the help of recovery media. However, in the new Windows 8 OS, Microsoft is providing two features called as Refresh and Reset that will help the users to solve issues that usually require a recovery disk.
Both Reset and Refresh buttons play a vital role in troubleshooting issues with Windows 8 computer. The Refresh button is capable of reinstalling Windows without altering the settings, data and programs of Windows. Whereas, the Reset option will help you to reset your machine to the factory settings. Both the features do not require any extra drive, media or disks.
However, a bootable recovery tool is required when your machine does not boot and the Windows 8 OS provides an easy option for it. Kindly read the below given points to solve such Windows 8 problems by creating a recovery tool.

Instructions

Given below are the instructions for creating a bootable Window 8 Recovery tool with the help of a blank disk or a flash drive.
  • Start the procedure by navigating to the Windows 8 Start screen and then type the word Recovery in the appropriate field and hit the Enter button.
  • Now, in the computer screen, you will be seeing a window showing the search results. From there, click the Settings and thereafter click the option that says Create a recovery drive.
  • If you see that the option is not grayed, then it is needed to put a check mark against the box marked Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive. Following that, you need to click the button tagged as Next.
  • Now, this will help you to know how much space is required for the backup of data. Usually, a bootable flash drive is used for this purpose. However, because of some reasons, if you do not have one or if you did not insert one, then, you can select an option that says Create a system-repair disc with a CD or DVD instead.
  • Now, you can complete the process by following the prompts that are seen in the computer screen. Once the process is over, you can give a name to the drive that you have made. 
The above-described instructions will help you to create a bootable Windows 8 recovery tool using a flash drive or a blank disk. To know more on the Windows 8 problems, contact our tech support center.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Bypassing The Login Password In Windows Vista

The Redmond based company Microsoft is successful in delivering products related to computers since decades. Likewise, Microsoft introduced many operating systems for the computers and each operating system has its own features and functions. One such operating system released by Microsoft for the Windows users after Windows XP is Windows Vista. Windows Vista offers high security, performance, and reliability than XP.

Another feature associated with the OS is that when you start your Vista computer, it will ask you to enter your login password. This will make your Vista computer more secure from hacking and unauthorized logins. Typing the password every single time you start your computer will be annoying for many users. However, there is no need to worry, as there are simple set of instructions given by the Windows Vista help team to make your Vista system to log in automatically once you start it.

All you have to do is access the option named Advanced User Controls and make the necessary changes to log in to your Vista computer automatically. The process is simple and can be accomplished within minutes. Read the below given instructions to bypass the password of your Windows Vista computer.

Instructions

  • Start the course of action by clicking the Start button seen at the lower left corner of your Windows Vista desktop screen and type Control Userpasswords2 in the search box seen. Now User Accounts Control Panel window will pop up on the screen.
  • Under the list of Users For This Computer, there is an option to select your User name. Click it to select the user name.
  • Uncheck the check box labeled as Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer. Clearing the check box will make the list labeled Users For This Computer unavailable.
  • Next, you have to enter the password when a dialog box named Automatically Log On opens on the screen. Type the password in the corresponding Password and Confirm password field and continue by clicking the OK button. 
  • Once it is done, restart your Windows Vista computer to bring into effect the changes that you have made. Now, you will see that your Windows Vista computer will log in automatically once you start it. 

The above said instructions given by the Windows Vista help team will help you to bypass the password of your Windows Vista Computer. To know more, contact the Windows tech support center.

Which OS Is Better For Gaming- Windows 7 Or Windows 8

One of the everlasting debates on Windows 7 vs Windows 8 is about the one that is better in providing better gaming performance. Even though many take up different stands in this discussion, the answer for the question is simply straight, Windows 8 would be the best choice for you as all games available for Windows 7 operating system can also be run in the Windows 8 operating system; you will be able to run futuristic new releases on your computer if you have the Windows 8 installed.

As some of the games now available support only the new Windows 8 Metro interface, Windows 8 will be the best choice in the debate between Windows 7 vs Windows 8, as Windows 7 will not be able to run these games. Considering the performance of the games on the two operating systems, they both will run with the same speed on both operating systems as the speed of the game is determined by the hardware components mostly; and not the operating system installed in the system. However, there is a plus point in gong for the Windows 8 operating system, as it allows support for Direct3D 11.1, while Windows 7 supports it only partially.

In a gaming point of view, it does not really matter what operating system you choose, what matters is the type of hardware you have under the hood. However, as stated above, if you want to run 3D games, then going for the future proof Windows 8 will be a wise choice. The catch lying here is that you would have to adjust with the Start screen of the Windows 8 operating system and most of the gamers do not fancy them. Well there is nothing to worry, as an upgrade version of the operating system- Windows 8.1 is promised to release soon with the desktop mode and Start menu in place.

If you really need the original Start menu in place, it will be better to opt for some essential programs like Start 8 that make the original Start menu interface available for you in Windows 8 itself. Even though the game developers may use some of the new features in the Windows 8 operating system for enabling better quality games, you will still be able to run the games in Windows 7 operating system but with reduced graphics quality.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Disable The Windows 7 Firewall Remotely

Viruses and malware programs are the biggest threat that the users face while using a computer. Due to its wider reach, viruses and malware programs find Windows operating systems as their prime target. However, users can keep these viruses and malware programs away by protecting their computer with antivirus programs. Fortunately, there are a plethora of antivirus and anti-malware programs in the market. Even if you have not installed any third party antivirus program in your computer, you can ensure safety of your computer by enabling the Windows Firewall, an inbuilt security application in the Windows operating system. However, this default application may sometimes block the web applications in your computer from accessing internet.
In a Windows 7 computer, users are allowed to access the control settings of his computer remotely and make changes in it, including Firewall settings, to suit his timely requirements. In this article, we discuss how a user can disable the Firewall of his Windows 7 computer remotely. According to the Windows tech support page, a user needs to have sufficient permission to access the computer over a network.

Instructions
  • Go to the Start button and select the Search option. 
  • Enter cmd.exe in the text field and press the OK button. 
  • When the result appears, locate and right-click cmd.exe and choose the option that says Run as Administrator from the dropdown menu. 
  • If Windows requests you to provide the administrator password, type it and press OK. 
  • When the Command Prompt window appears, enter "netsh -r ComputerName -u Username -p Password -c advfirewall set allprofiles state off" Avoid the quotation marks. 
  • Replace the ComputerName with the name of the network or the IP address of the Windows 7 system for which you wish to disable the Firewall. 
  • Likewise, change the Username to the administrator username of your computer. Type the password of your computer replacing password. 
  • After making the above changes, hit the Enter key on your keyboard to execute the command. This will disable the Firewall of your Windows 7 computer remotely. Once the command has been executed, you will be notified. Type Exit in the Command Prompt window and hit the Enter key from your keyboard to exit.
Following the above instructions, you should be able to disable the Windows Firewall of your Windows 7 machine remotely. If you run into any problems during the process or need any other help, contact the Windows tech support.