I periodically receive Security Bulletins from Microsoft and thought I would share the latest...

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Title: Microsoft Security Bulletin Re-Release Issued: September 27, 2007

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Summary

The following bulletin has undergone a major revision increment.

Please see the appropriate bulletin for more details.

* MS07-042 - Critical

Bulletin Information:

* MS07-042 - Critical

- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-042.mspx

- Reason for Revision: Bulletin Updated: Added Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Expression Web as affected products.

The Bulletin has also been updated to inform customers that a potential reliability issue exists in applications that have installed Microsoft XML Core Services 4.0 on Windows Vista, which can be addressed by applying the download available in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 941833.

- Originally posted: August 14, 2007

- Updated: September 27, 2007

- Bulletin Severity Rating: Critical

- Version: 2.0

The other day a client called me reporting that he was unable to download his e-mail with Outlook 2003. He reported this error:

Now, this is a horrible error.. Really only because it is so vague. Microsoft says this about that error:

Well, this did not remotely work for me. Then I noticed something.... Norton Antivirus was installed. Did I ever mention.... I HATE NORTON ANTIVIRUS!?!?

Ok. On a whim, I disabled Norton. Hit send/receive.. The e-mails started whizzing in! I re-enabled Norton, sent a test message to this account. Hit send/receive.. It failed with the above message.... I ran an update on Norton, sent a test message to that account again and now it worked.

Moral of the story: Don't EVER install/use Norton Antivirus.

Ok... Your PC was FULL of viruses and spyware. Boo!!! But, You've managed to successfully remove them... Hurrahhh!!! Well, upon reboot you now can no longer get to the internet.. Boooo!!!

Dropping to a command prompt and doing an ipconfig returns this wonderfully cryptic information:

I found this solution from: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/lofiversion/index.php/t9743.html This worked very well for me when I gave it a try.

To fix the problem, you have to replace TCPIP.SYS with a good copy. Reinstalling Windows will not allow you to replace it. Starting in Safe Mode Command Prompt won't give you the ability to rename or delete TCPIP.SYS. Starting Windows from the CD and using the Repair Console will also fail unless you follow this set of steps.

1. Get a copy of TCPIP.SYS by searching "TCPIP.SYS" on your machine, looking in hidden files and folders. You'll get a bunch of hits. Right click the files and check the preferences to get the most recent version that has Revision data from Microsoft. The one in C:\windows\system32\drivers is not gonna have any file data associated with it, even though it is exactly the same size as the good file.
2. Put the copy of TCPIP.SYS on the root of your C: drive. I had a problem when I made a folder for it, so I recommend just copying it directly to root.
3. Restart your computer with a Windows XP CD (WIN2000 would also work, I think) and select the Repair console function. Log in as Administrator (better know your administrator password!).
4. Navigate to C:\windows\system32\drivers. You will be able to see the TCPIP.SYS file there is you type in DIR, but you won't be able to delete or rename it.
5. Type in "CHKDSK /P". This runs a disk check on your hard drive and fixes errors whether the System thinks you need it or not.
6. Type "del TCPIP.SYS" and press Return.
7. Type in "CHKDSK /P" and run the disk check again (yes, I tried to do do this without this step the first time and it didn't work).
8. Type in "copy C:\TCPIP.SYS". You should get a message that this completed correctly.
9. Type in "CHKDSK /P" one last time just to be sure (I didn't confirm that this was required, but why waste all the previous effort?)
10. Type in "Exit" and let the computer restart. Your internet access should be restored, the Windows Firewall will work, and ipconfig should be able to config IP.

Good luck, I hope this helps if any of you run into this problem.

I was over at PC World and read an article reporting about a Harry Potter virus that has surfaced online.

Security companies have intercepted an e-mail promising a copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' -- which is not due for release until July 21. But rather than getting a sneak preview of the book, impatient muggles who click on the file will instead find their PC infected by the W32/Hairy-A worm.

"The W32/Hairy-A worm can automatically infect a PC when users plug in USB drives, which carry a file posing as a copy of the eagerly anticipated novel - 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'," said Sophos. "If the users have allowed USB drives to 'auto-run' they will see a file called HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc."

Instead of the full text of JK Rowling's highly anticipated book, the Word document includes the phrase: 'Harry Potter is dead.'

Everyone's seen it... You are surfing the web or working on a project for work when.... Everything Freezes up! AAAAARRRRGGGG... (no, this isnt an ad for Geek Squad!).

What caused it? Spyware? Virus? Cheese? It's really hard to tell. Lots of things can cause the dreaded "Freeze". After cursing furiously, you reboot and continue your work..(if you were a good boy/girl and actually saved it!?) But what caused it????

When this starts happening, think about what may have changed lately.. Did you:

• Install a new program?
• Remove and old program?
• Click a mysterious Pop-Up?
• Add a new piece of hardware?
• Upgrade your memory?

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