• Date: November 14th, 2007
• Author: Greg Shultz

Windows XP Pro comes with a LAN-based messaging program called Microsoft Chat, which is a handy addition to your technical support toolbox. Microsoft Chat provides you with a real-time messaging program that you can use to help remotely troubleshoot problems on a small business network.

By default, Microsoft Chat is hidden in your Windows folder, and the services that it depends on are disabled. Here’s how to start the Services and then uncover the program’s executable file:

1. Right-click My Computer and select Manage.
2. In the Computer Management window, open the Services And Applications branch in the left pane, and click Services.
3. In the Services pane, locate and double-click Network DDE and then double-click Network DDE DSDM.
4. In the Properties dialog box for each Service, set the Startup Type setting to Automatic, click the Apply button, click the Start button, and then click OK.
5. Close the Computer Management window cialis jelly and then restart Windows.
6. When the system comes back up, Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
7. Type Winchat.exe in the Open box and click OK.

You can now see the user interface. You can initiate a call by clicking the Dial button on the toolbar. When you do, the Select Computer dialog box will appear; select the name of the network computer to which you want to establish a connection. On the other computer, the recipient responds by clicking the Answer An Incoming Call button on the toolbar. Upon connection, both parties will see a Connected To message in the status bar and can immediately begin typing messages back and forth in real time. When you’re finished, click the Hang Up button on the toolbar.

Note: This tip applies only to Windows XP Professional.

November 2nd, 2007

The list, available here (registration required), focuses on popular, widely deployed Windows programs that are often very difficult for an IT department to locate or patch and, as Bit9 explains, “represent unexpected and unquantified vulnerabilities in an enterprise IT environment.”

[Gallery: Ten free security utilities you should already be using ]

Yahoo’s standalone IM client, which has been riddled with security holes all year, is #1 on the list. The buggy Yahoo Widgets software also makes an appearance at number 9.

Apple’s QuickTime media player and iTunes music download software also feature high on the list.

Strangely, Microsoft does not feature heavily on the Bit9 list. In fact, a Microsoft product appears only once on the list — Windows Live MSN Messenger at #4.

The Bit9 explanation:

The reason most Microsoft software doesn’t make the list is because by now most companies have a pretty good process in place for identifying, patching, and fixing vulnerable Microsoft software. The same cannot be said for apps cialis generic brand like Firefox, iTunes, and other packages.

That does make sense but it’s hard to imagine Internet Explorer 6, the world’s most widely used — and heavily targeted — browser, not making an appearance on this list.

I could also make the argument that Microsoft Word, which has struggled with zero-day attacks and multiple code execution hole, should be high on any list of most-vulnerable Windows apps.

Here’s the top-ten from Bit9:

1. Yahoo! Messenger 8.1.0.239 and earlier
2. Apple QuickTime 7.2
3. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6
4. Microsoft Windows Live (MSN) Messenger 7.0, 8.0
5. EMC VMware Player (and other products) 2.0, 1.0.4
6. Apple iTunes 7.3.2
7. Intuit QuickBooks Online Edition 9 and earlier
8. Sun Java Runtime 1.6.0_X
9. Yahoo! Widgets 4.0.5 and previous
10. Ask.com Toolbar 4.0.2.53 and previous

As I always recommend for Windows users, be sure to scan your system for security holes and apply all the necessary patches. Secunia’s free Web-based software inspector is a great place to start. A downloadable version is also available.