Microsoft's next version of Windows will ship with "tons of security features," including one that automatically scans boot drives for malware and a revamped version of the Windows Defender antivirus program, company executives said.

At the company's BUILD conference in Anaheim, California on Tuesday, Corporate Vice President of Windows Planning and Ecosystem Michael Angiulo demonstrated an early version of Windows 8 that automatically scanned an infected USB drive used to boot the next generation operating system. Before the OS was able to load, the computer stopped the process and displayed a warning that the boot volume contained an "invalid signature" indicating it had been compromised.

He was able to get the valid version of Windows to load by turning off the system and turning it back on. The presentation starts around the 1:08 mark in the following video:



The technology making this possible is known as UEFI, short for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. A successor to the BIOS ROM firmware that Microsoft operating systems have relied on since their beginning, UEFI was designed to shorten the time it takes a PC to start up. It was built by Intel, but is designed to work with a variety of CPU architectures.

"It's not just about speed and having a boot that looks better," Angiulo said during Tuesday's keynote, referring to UEFI. "It's about security, too."

Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, went on to say that Windows 8 developers "have taken Defender and we've actually built a whole new range of protection, all the way up though antimalware, antivirus." Users are free to run Defender or security software supplied by another company. In all, the new OS will offer "tons of security features," he added.

The company issued a statement Wednesday saying Windows 8 would include "low-level security features such as Secured Boot to help defeat classes of threats, and user facing features including Windows Defender and SmartScreen" spam-filtering. The statement didn't elaborate.

Windows 8 will also offer a new way to log on to PCs equipped with a touchscreen. Sam Bowne, a security instructor at San Francisco City College, provided a screenshot here that describes the feature this way: "You choose the picture – and the gestures you use with it – to create a password that's uniquely yours."

Bowne and his students have been testing the security features in the new Windows beta, according to a source.

"There is built in antivirus, and it works!" he wrote "It stopped not only thr EICAR test file, but more than a dozen malware items in Metasploit. So it might be time to sell your Symantec stock."

NetworkMiner is a Network Forensic Analysis Tool (NFAT) for Windows. NetworkMiner can be used as a passive network sniffer/packet capturing tool in order to detect operating systems, sessions, hostnames, open ports etc. without putting any traffic on the network. NetworkMiner can also parse PCAP files for off-line analysis and to regenerate/reassemble transmitted files and certificates from PCAP files.

NetworkMiner collects data (such as forensic evidence) about hosts on the network rather than to collect data regarding the traffic on the network. The main user interface view is host centric (information grouped per host) rather than packet centric (information showed as a list of packets/frames).

NetworkMiner can extract files and certificates transferred over the network by parsing a PCAP file or by sniffing traffic directly from the network. This functionality can be used to extract and save media files (such as audio or video files) which are streamed across a network from websites such as YouTube. Supported protocols for file extraction are FTP, TFTP, HTTP and SMB.

NetworkMiner has, since the first release in 2007, become popular tool among incident response teams as well as law enforcement

The new version supports features such as:

• Extraction of Google Analytics data
• Better parsing of SMB data
• Support for PPP frames
• Even more stable than the 1.0 release

You can download NetworkMiner v1.1 here:

NetworkMiner_1-1.zip

Launchy, previously mentioned as a Windows start menu alternative, is a powerful keystroke based launcher for your Windows computer. Using Launchy, you can start programs, view files and folders, access bookmarks and perform other such tasks.

In this post, I’ll talk about how you can use Launchy to stay more productive throughout the day. Trust me, once you get the hang of it, you’ll never touch icons or your start menu again. It just rocks. Before you go about using it, let’s have a look at some basic configuration options that you can alter to make Launchy work better for you.

Installation and Basic Configuration

Just grab the installer from the Sourceforge page, install Launchy and if the installation went smoothly – chances are you won’t see anything new. No system tray icon. No visible windows. Yup, nothing really. Until you press the ALT + SPACE keys together.



You can now right click on the Launchy box and configure Launchy’s behaviour by going to Options. Keep the first option checked if you want Launchy to be shown all the time. I wouldn’t recommend it though, since it’d interrupt your use of other applications/windows. You can, of course, modify the shortcut key to anything you wish – just modify the Hotkey option.

You can also set the transparency levels from the GUI Options. Launchy also provides alternate suggestions if you typed an unknown program name, you can set how many such items should be displayed.

From the Skins tab, you can choose from a number of skins for Launchy to make it blend with your desktop. User-created skins are available on DeviantArt.com and also from the Sourceforge forum.

Configure Indexing

Launchy needs to index your programs before you can actually use it. By default, Launchy indexes your Start Menu folder since most programs are present there. However, if you want to be able to launch your programs or files, you need to tell Launchy where they’re present.



To do this, use the Catalog tab and use the + button to add your commonly used directories to the Launchy index. You also need to specify what files need to be indexed – you might want your music files indexed, but not your .dll files. You can specify using the File Types box.

By checking the Executables option, you’re telling it to index all .exe files (these are generally software programs installed on your computer).

When you’re done with that, just click Rescan Catalog and now Launchy should have got all your program and files info into your index. Pretty quick too!

Using Launchy


Let’s take off with Launchy. First, just press the default hotkey combination. If you’ve modified the hotkey using the settings, press the ones that you’ve opted for. The launch window should popup.

launchy_scrnJust type in a few letters of the app’s name and Launchy should instantly show its icon in the dock. Have a look at the screenshot on the right. I typed fox and it suggested Firefox. I launched it by pressing Enter

launchy_scrn2

In case you typed something and some other program instead of the program you intended to start shows up, just use the “down arrow” key for more programs that match your keyword. For instance, I typed Windows and it showed multiple suggestions.

Launchy can also be used as a simple calculator and it can peform basic arithmetic operations.

Portable Launchy

If you’ve got a USB drive and it’s loaded with portable apps, then the portable version of Launchy is something you shouldn’t miss to check out. Just activate the Portable Mode option from the Options dialog (please see the first screenshot in this post).

Then, copy the Launchy folder from C:\Program Files and put it on your USB Drive. Launchy will now store its configuration files in your thumb drive and will act as a portable launcher.

Plugins

Launchy supports plugins, and a few basic plugins are already present and can be activated. For instance, the Weby plugin indexes your Firefox and IE bookmarks so that you can open them quickly from Launchy.



You might find some more useful plugins for Launchy here.

Are you tired of poor battery life from your Windows laptop? If so, we're here to help. Our battery-saving tips will help you get the most out of your laptop's battery, so you can leave the power adapter in your bag a little longer.


1. Use Windows power plans (schemes)
Begin with the most aggressive battery-saving options and customize the power plan as you go. In Windows 7, start with "Maximum Battery Life" and adjust the settings to your preferences. These settings will tell Windows to adjust the brightness when running on battery, when to dim the display, when to turn off the display, and when to put the computer to sleep.


2. Advanced power settings
While adjusting power plans, click on "Change advanced power settings" and set the period of inactivity before Windows turns off the hard disk. Also, enable hibernation so when you walk away from your laptop for an extended period of time, your laptop will turn off. Hibernation differs from sleep in that hibernation saves your work to the hard disk and actually shuts off the computer. Sleep saves your work to RAM and turns off the display and hard disk, but draws more power so it can be quickly resumed. We recommend experimenting with the other advanced settings to get the best results for your needs.



3. Disable networking
If you're not using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, turn them off. Most laptops either have a physical button or a key combination that will allow you to quickly enable or disable them. If your laptop doesn't have a shortcut button, the Windows Key + X keyboard shortcut will bring up the Windows Mobility Center. The WMC provides quick access to some mobile settings, including Wi-Fi.


4. Reduce CPU usage
Turn off automatic tasks and programs to keep the processor from running things you don't need. A really good program for disabling startup programs is called AutoRuns for Windows. You can also use MSConfig, which is already included with Windows. Just type "msconfig.exe" in the search box of Windows Vista/7 or in the run box of Windows XP.


Also, try to keep the laptop's vents clear of dust or other obstructions so the processor doesn't overheat. Blankets and pillows are notorious for overheating a laptop, so try to find a flat surface to use your laptop on. If the CPU overheats, the laptop will use more power to run the fans that cool it.

5. Reduce hard disk usage
The more your laptop's hard disk has to work, the more power it will have to use. Defragging the hard disk will reduce the time it takes to find files, thus minimizing disk usage. Also, to prevent your system from using the hard disk for virtual memory, consider maxing out the memory in your laptop. Lastly, if you can afford it, consider upgrading to an SSD drive. An SSD drive consumes less power than standard hard-disk drives, weighs less, and will also give your laptop a considerable performance boost.



6. Battery maintenance tips
About every 2 months, try to clean the metal contacts on the battery and your laptop with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol. This will help prevent dirt and corrosion from affecting battery performance. If you own a laptop with a NiMH battery, recalibrate the battery every now and then by letting the battery run all the way down, then charging it all the way up. Lithium ion batteries don't have the same memory effects as nickel metal hydride batteries so there's no need to condition one. In fact, manufacturers encourage users to top off a lithium ion battery frequently and to avoid completely discharging it.


7. Optical drives and USB ports
If you have an optical drive in your laptop, disable it in Device Manager. Optical drives, even when they're not spinning discs, are power hogs. If you want to watch movies on your laptop, try getting a digital copy onto your hard drive instead. Watching a movie directly from the hard disk uses less power than watching a DVD from the optical drive. Finally, avoid using expansion slots or USB ports, when trying to conserve battery life. Remove all unused peripherals, including external hard drives, keyboards, and mice, which all draw power from your laptop.


That's it. The next time you're in class, at a meeting, or sitting in an airplane, keep these battery-saving tips in mind. Better yet, implement some or all of these tips beforehand, so you'll be ready to go.

1. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center
2. Under Change your networking settings, click Set up a new connection or network
3. Select Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network
4. Enter your Network name, and enter a Security key if wanted
5. Check the box for Save this network and click Turn on Internet connection sharing on next page

1) Open Network and Sharing Center
2) Go to Change Adapter Settings
3) Find the adapter for the default internet connection (it was a PPPOE in my case)
4) Right click on that -> Cancel as Default Connection
5) Right click -> Properties -> Sharing tab
6) Uncheck "Allow other network users to connect ..." if it is not
7) Setup the ad-hoc as cocaine explained in the previous post, the Turn on Internet connection sharing should appear

Oh, I almost forgot to tell that Internet Sharing won’t work unless you’ve a wifi enabled laptop. PCs don’t have any built in wifi. But don’t worry, you can buy a portable wifi for PC from your nearest shop.
So, then I hope you’ll not face any problem after my detail tutorial. But don’t worry, I’m not running away ! If you still face any problem, don’t hesitate to ask...just by leaving comments.