Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56 A bug in Microsoft's software gives hackers a way to exploit virtual Windows machines which would be attack-proof if they were running on real hardware, a researcher said today.
The flaw is in some of Microsoft's virtualization software, including Windows XP Mode, the free add-on for Windows 7 that lets users of the newer OS run older applications in a virtual machine.
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
Mary Jo Foley: Thereâs been a lot of new (and sometimes conflicting/confusing) information shared this week about Microsoftâs Windows Phone 7 platform at the Microsoft Mix 10 conference.
Microsoft officials admitted that the phone team made a conscious decision to eliminate cut-and-paste functionality from the initial Windows Phone 7 platform. (They wonât say if or even whether Microsoft may add cut-and-paste to the phone platform, despite the fact that Windows Mobile currently has that capability.) This just in: Microsoftâs latest statement on the lack of cut-and-paste: âWeâre always listening to feedback and will continue to improve our feature set over time based on what we hear.â (So Iâll take that as a maybe itâs coming sometime, but not in the initial versionâ¦.)
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
Today, Microsoft is
announcing Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. Detailed information regarding SP1 will be released over the next several months; but today Windows Server 2008 R2 is announcing that SP1 will deliver two important new features that directly affect Microsoftâs desktop virtualization stack: Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX.
Dynamic memory is an enhancement to Hyper-V in R2 and allows IT administrators to pool all the memory available on a physical host and dynamically distribute it to virtual machines running on that host as necessary. That means based on changes in workload, your VMs will be able to receive new memory allocations without a service interruption. For a deeper look at Dynamic Memory check here.
RemoteFX is the latest addition to Microsoftâs desktop virtualization stack. Using this new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2, youâll be able to deliver an even richer and more user-transparent desktop virtualization experience. RemoteFX functions independently of any graphics stack and supports any screen content, including rich content like Silverlight or Flash. Because it uses virtualized graphics resources, RemoteFX works on a wide array of target devices, which means you can deploy it over both thick and thin client hosts and a wide variety of network configurations. For some more information on RemoteFX check here.
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
Microsoft is making a slew of virtualization-related announcements on March 18 â including one that will be welcome by customers whoâve been stymied by the chip-level virtualization requirements for running Windows 7 in XP Mode.
Effective immediately, Windows XP Mode no longer requires hardware virtualization technology, Microsoft officials said today. XP Mode is a feature of Windows 7 Professional or higher that allows companies to run XP applications that are incompatible with Windows 7 in a virtual environment.
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
Just days after winning Round 1 of its patent-infringement case against Microsoft, VirnetX has filed another patent-infringement case against the Redmondians. This time, VirnetX is taking aim at Windows 7.
The new case, which came to light on March 18, again alleges that Microsoft is using VirnetXâs virtual private networking (VPN) patents without paying for their use. VirnetXâs original case against Microsoft, filed in 2007, cited Windows Server 2003, XP, Vista, Live Communications Server, Windows Messenger, Office Communicator and various versions of Office as infringing on two of VirnetXâs patents. The new pleading focuses on Windows 7, claiming it infringes on these same patents.
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
Jeff Woolsey: Iâve had the pleasure of talking with customers in the last few months and the Hyper-V R2 reception has been nothing but unequivocally positive. Whether itâs been folks in small, medium or the enterprise, they appreciate the new capabilities in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. At the same time, weâre always listening to our customers to better understand their business requirements and requests so we know know what to build for subsequent releases. Today, weâre pleased to announce new capabilities that will enhance both virtualized server and virtualized desktop deployments:
- Remote FX: With Microsoft RemoteFX, users will be able to work remotely in a Windows Aero desktop environment, watch full-motion video, enjoy Silverlight animations, and run 3D applications within a Hyper-V VM â all with the fidelity of a local-like performance. For more info, check out Maxâs blog here.
- Hyper-V Dynamic Memory: With Hyper-V Dynamic Memory, Hyper-V will enable greater virtual machine density suitable for servers and VDI deployments.
Date: 20 March 2010 - 12:56
The update to Windows Virtual PC to support running on systems without hardware virtualization is now available for download. You can grab it here:
You can also read the full KB article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977206
One thing to note: While Microsoft supports the use of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 on Windows Virtual PC â when running on systems without hardware virtualization support we only support the use of Windows XP.
