User Account Control (UAC) is a feature introduced in Windows Vista to improve the security of Windows by limiting applications to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase in privilege level. For instance, you’ll see a notification like this every time you run an EXE file.

While it could be an useful security feature for inexperienced users, there have been complaints that UAC notifications slow down various tasks, such as new software installation when the user sure that the installation file is 100% safe.

To disable UAC, first go to Control Panel\User Accounts, then click on “Turn User Account Control on/off”

Un-tick the check box and proceed by clicking OK

And finally, you’ll be asked to restart the computer, the usual way of how Windows works :-)

After that, you’ll be able to enjoy the level of freedom and convenience you had in Windows XP, of course you must still practice caution and prevent any malicious files from running on your system.

Open up a command prompt:

1. Start | Run | type cmd | Enter
2. Type netstat -aon | findstr “[port number]“
3. Take note of the numbers on the last line. This is the PID or Process ID.
4. Type tasklist | findstr “[PID]“ and this will return the application corresponding to that PID.
5. Once PID is determined, you can now kill it in Task Manager or kill it typing tskill at the command prompt.

For example:

1. I type netstat -aon | findstr “8080″ at command prompt (I’m on a proxy by the way)
2. I see that the PID is 3624
3. I type tasklist | findstr “3624″ to find what PID 3624 is and it points to msnmsgr.exe which is MSN/Live Messenger.
4. I can now kill MSN Messenger from Task Manager or type tskill 3624

First off all, download the plugin from here and extract the content to your root of your UltraVNC folder (defaulted to “C:\Program Files\UltraVNC”). Note: extract to the root of the folder and not the plugin folder (that’s just a container).

Server Configuration
Now on your UltraVNC Server and you should see MSRC4Plugin in the DSM DSM plugin drop down box.

Check Use and hit the Config button.A MSRC4 Plugin Configuration window will pop up.

You will notice that there aren’t any encryption plugin keys present(naturally since we haven’t created any) so make your first key. Select the default 128 bit hit Gen Key.The configuration tool will close after generating the key and this key will be used from now on on every client computer to allow you to view your server running on that specific key-based encryption. You will notice a new file in your UltraVNC installation folder called rc4.key.

Important: Make sure you bring along this key file (rc4.key) along with your UltraVNC or the client will not be able to interact or see the server.

Client Configuration
Copy this rc4.key to your UltraVNC client’s root directory as with the steps in the Server. When you launch your UltraVNC client, check the box called “Use DSMPlugin” and enter your server’s IP address. Click on connect, enter your password.Done!

Part One
By now you should have VNC installed and you’d be able to connect via LAN. Make sure you register the VNC Server as a system service if you want it to run automatically on Windows start-up.

Now lets expand this control over the Internet. To control your PC over Internet you’ll have to;

1) Know your IP address. If you’re on a static IP then all’s well, if you’re given a dynamic IP by your ISP then you will need;
a) take note of your IP whenever you leave home.
b) register with any of the numerous free dynamic DNS services. What this service does is offer a service to keep a domain name linked to a changing IP address on those who are on dynamic IPs via a dynamic update client that runs on your local computer and updates the dynamic DNS service site. Logging into the site will give you your ip.

2) Permit traffic on the SSH port 22 on the server (the pc you want to control) and if you’re on a router you need to port forward the VNC traffic to your server in which VNC Server is listening. How this is done depends on which firewall and/or router you are using. eg. in Windows XP SP2′s Firewall, go to Start | Control Panel | Windows Firewall | Exceptions tab | Add port | port name SSH, port 22, TCP.

If you’re behind a router or your bridge-modem is in router mode, you’ll need to forward TCP port 22 to the server. This means that any traffic coming in through port 22 (the SSH port) will be passed through the router and directed to the server. Here’s a useful site detailing on how to port forward on popular routers.

This is what port forwarding looks like on my Linksys AM300 modem/router.

Part Two
Because access to a VNC Server allows access to your whole computer, security is of upmost important. VNC is inherently unsecure, thus the need to encrypt the traffic moving between both machines (client and server) as encryption in VNC is only used when the initial connection (when you login). Once connected, all VNC data is unencrypted, and a malicious user could snoop your VNC session with a number of scanning programs available that will scan a subnet looking for PCs listening on any ports which VNC uses.

The purpose of VNC + SSH is to remove this security risk. SSH, or the Secure Shell, allows secure (encrypted and authenticated) connections between any two machines running SSH. The wide variaty of connections supported by SSH include file transfer protocols, TCP/IP port forwarding, terminal sessions et cetera. SSH is capable of using a number of encryption algorithms like AES-256, TripleDES, and-so-forth (I think that’s enuff tech jargons to throw around). By tunnelling VNC over a SSH connection, you will be able to acces the host and have all traffic strongly encrypted.

Getting & Installing OpenSSH
There’s two ways to go about this. You can either get the standalone installation file of OpenSSH here or download Cygwin and grab the relevant OpenSSH packages. Cygwin is a powerful *nix API emulator which has many uses that can replace the usual cmd.exe of our windows. What this means is it allows *nix programs/binaries (or bin) to be run in Windows. Maybe a tutorial for this will be up next on the power of Cygwin.

After downloading Cygwin, hit the Set-up exe file. Cygwin is actually an installation and update utility that retrieves the bin packages from the Internet. As you can guess, the package we’re interested in is called OpenSSH and can be found in the Net category. After Installation is complete you need to add Cygwin environmental variables to your server to add the OpenSSH service and point to the bin file. Do this by right clicking on My Computer | Selecting Properties | going to the Advanced tab and hitting the | Environment Variables button and;

1. Add the variable CYGWIN and ntsec tty by using the Add button.

2. Add C:\cygwin\bin (or whatever your installation directory is, for me it was C:\Program Files\Cygwin\bin) to the at the end of the existing line of the PATH environment variable by using the Edit button. (Warn: Don’t remove the existing lines, just append this line to the end of the line or you’ll screw your paths)

3. Configure OpenSSH on Cygwin by typing ssh-host-config at the prompt with the following answers;


“Privilege Separation?” Yes
“Create local user SSHd?” Yes
“Install SSHd as a service?” Yes
“CYGWIN = ” enter ntsec


4. We can now start the SSH daemon (thats service to you Windows folks) by either typing net start sshd within Cygwin, typing cygrunsrv.exe -S sshd or simply rebooting the machine. You can check if SSH is runningby by typing netstat -a in the command prompt and look for the line with ssh. To stop the SSH service type net stop sshd

Connecting to VNC thru SSH
Adjust the VNC server settings.

1. Select allow loopback connections on the VNC server.

2. Create a local forwarded tunnel using the command ssh -p 5900 admin @60.49.120.110 -L 5900:127.0.0.1:5900 command to forward port 5900 (the default VNC port if you haven’t changed it to another, if so replace this with your specified value instead) on the client where the public IP of your router is 60.49.120.110. The loopback interface address (that’s 127.0.0.1 to you) must be used.

Connect to the VNC server over the SSH tunnel
To complete the procedure, start the VNC viewer on the and point to the server at 127.0.0.1:0:5900. At this point, the connection is forwarded from the client machine to the VNC server over SSH and you should receive the VNC authentication prompt. All network traffic is transparently encrypted by the SSH tunnel.

Troubleshooting Checklist
Since this involves multiple setups and an unususally long guide, here is a brief troubleshooting checklist should you run into problems.

1) If you can SSH from the server to the server (SSH locally) = SSH server is functioning.
2) If you can SSH from a computer over LAN to the SSH server = IP and LAN connection is functioning.
3) If you can SSH from a computer over WAN (i.e. on the other side of the NAT router) to your SSH server, then you know that the router’s port-forwarding is working.

The same rules apply to VNC.

Securing UltraVNC is much easier but that’s for another article. :)

Sporting a similar interface to Windows Update, Microsoft Update not only is able to do the job of finding updates for Windows but also for other Microsoft software on your computer such as the Office suite or Visual Studio if you’re into software/web development using Microsoft technologies.

Once installed, Microsoft Update integrates into the standard Windows Automatic Update which most users would have been prompted to enable once you have Windows set up and running. There aren’t any additional settings or changes once it’s installed so there’s no added complexity, if you’re worried on that. ;)

Unfortunately, not long after installing it, my laptop started freezing up for prolonged periods on start up (which was extremely annoying since it reduced my battery life by a lot). I originally blamed WGA for it, but the problem recurred after I removed WGA and found the symptoms listed in the MS knowledgebase.

If you have installed Microsoft Update and are experiencing these symptoms, you could either persevere with it, disable it or install the hotfix listed here. I decided to disable it instead of installing the hotfix, so I can’t say for sure the hotfix works, but disabling it does. Here are the steps, followed by the screenshots:

1. Go to the Microsoft Update page.
2. Click on ‘Change settings’.
3. Scroll down the page, check ‘Disable Microsoft Update software and let me use Windows Update only’ and click on ‘Apply changes now’ button.

If you do decide to disable Microsoft Update but still want to keep your MS Office up to date, you can use Office Update instead. ;)

Clueless about what was the real culprit, I did a google and finally came across a program called “ProcessExplorer“. This useful utility is similar to the good old “Windows Task Manager” but it has some extra goodies that allow me to drill down to another level to see what programs are making use of the generic system processes like explorer.exe and svchost.exe, and even to kill it on the spot. This actually helped me to identify the culprit – Automatic Update was the service that took away all my CPU resource and I’ve eventually set it to “Manual”.

Other than that, there are plenty unique capabilities of ProcessExplorer for handling leaks, troubleshooting, and provide more insight into the way Windows and applications work. What’s more, the installation of ProcessExplorer is effortless (it doesn’t need installation at all, to be precise), and it also supports the latest Windows Vista.

ProcessExplorer can be downloaded here, and for your reference, please checkout the screenshot above for comparison between conventional Task Manager and ProcessExplorer.

Microsoft’s flagship product – Windows Vista and productivity suite Office 2007 were officially launched in Malaysia at Lowyat Plaza today. It was pretty grand and in fact the atmosphere was greater than I expected.

If you want to see more, I’ve posted some footage here, hope you guys enjoy it :)

While this review is obviously not as complete or professional as other articles that you could find elsewhere, it gives you my very own and neutral opinions on this Microsoft’s flagship product.

Introduction

Windows Vista is the first major OS product from Microsoft since the release of Windows XP, more than 5 years ago. During this period, OSes like MacOS X and some Linux distros have been released and offering much more than what Windows XP is capable of, and because of this, the release of Windows Vista is often being considered “over-hyped”. However, the hype given to Windows Vista is understandable, as Microsoft is still the biggest software company in the planet, and Windows is still the most popular operating system around.

In this article, I’ll concentrate on the improvements compare to its predecessor (Windows XP), rather than comparing it with other OSes such as Linux or MacOS X. It will also not cover each and every aspect of the OS, but only the functions that deserve a mention IMO.

My Windows Vista is being tested with the rig specified here

User Interface

With the introduction of new stuff like Aero, Flip 3D, higher resolution icons, Windows Gadgets (to be further discussed) etc, Windows Vista is indeed an eye candy. Whether or not Windows is copying the idea from other OS (you know it), doesn’t appear to be a problem to me (who cares?) The most important thing is, those functions are eye-pleasing as well as practical.

Anyway, the eye-catching user interface comes with a hefty price (literally), it requires relatively higher hardware requirements. To check whether your system is ready for Windows Vista, you can download the upgrade advisor here. With a low-end graphic card like Nvidia GeForce 7300GS, it only gives me a 3.7 experience index in “Graphics”, however, I’m still able to run Aero smoothly.

For those who are complaining the hardware requirements are too overly high, or Windows Vista is taking up their system resources especially their precious RAM, you always have the option to disable Aero or Flip3D, it’s not like you have no choice. To enjoy the bells and whistles, you must pay for the price, simple as that.

Windows Sidebar Gadgets

Despite the claim that this is a rip off from MacOS X, it is probably a good news for Windows-based Desk modders, since they don’t have to use third party software from Stardock anymore, as it has been integrated into Windows itself.

Windows Gadgets are basically small applications that can be attached to the sidebar, like RSS feeds, calculator, calendar, CPU meter, weather and whatnots.

I personally think this is a great and definitely a nice to have function for users with good system spec (high RAM, to be precise). It’s not only just visually appealing, but some of the gadgets like calendar and clock are also practical to be used.

What’s more, you can always download extra gadgets from the Internet for free, and the installation of gadget is nothing but just a mouse click. This gives users some kind of flexibility.

Security

With the widespread of Internet access, security has become a major concern not only to business users, but also to home users. Microsoft has definitely learned the lessons in WinXP and IE6, and has substantially improved its security in Windows Vista by offering Windows Defender, IE7, a proper Firewall, Bitlocker* and Encryting File system* (in Business and Ultimate version only). However, unlike Microsoft’s previous plan, no Antivirus is bundled with the OS, meaning to say, you’ll still have to look for a third party antivirus elsewhere.

While Microsoft’s effort in improving security is much appreciated, they might have overdone it. By default, Windows is asking the user for confirmation each and every time an executable file is being executed. I understand that this function is good for inexperienced users as well as preventing EXE files from being executed automatically, it does not change the fact that most of the experienced users find it extremely annoying. Anyway, this can be easily gotten rid of, by turning off the UAC (even though Windows Vista doesn’t recommend it)

Compatiblity

The main reason why I go for 32-bit is that, it really takes a long long time for 64-bit to get common. But still, due to the fact that Windows Vista is a new OS, and compatibility issues is inevitable.

Anyway, most of the things work well, I’ve managed to install these applications without any problem (all are latest version to date):

7-Zip, K-lite Mega Codec pack, Paint.NET, Avast!, CCleaner, Flashget, Firefox, OpenOffice, Skype

However, I was facing some problems with my D-link USB Wireless adapter, and the onboard soundcard. It took me a really long time to get those issues resolved (you know, those minor issues).

And also, while there are wide range of free antivirus to choose from, Avast! is probably the only free antivirus that works well in Vista as of now.

What we can do is really just wait, as I’m pretty sure that applications and drivers in near future will definitely cater of Windows Vista.

For the full list of applications/games compatibility, please read here.

Stability

Despite Microsoft’s claim that Windows Vista is the most tested software ever from the software firm, the stability of the system has not yet been convincing. I’ve encountered several situations whereby applications stopped responding, and needed to close.

For example, when I’m configuring my mic with WLM and configuring speech recognition at the same time, the system will hang and I’ll have to end the task by going to task manager. I’m also encountering stability problem with VMWare player that I’ve chosen to uninstall it.

While Windows Vista is working fine most of the time, what I’m trying to say is, stability is really something that Microsoft needs to improve and I hope hotfixes will be released ASAP to solve all these.

Windows Search

Yet another major improvements in Windows Vista is definitely its search function. While it probably takes you 10 minutes just to search a file, you can do it instantly in Windows Vista (a.k.a search as you type).

While this function has been offered by other third party software like Google Desktop search, it’s always good to have it integrated in the OS instead.

Windows Anytime Upgrade

Purchased Home Basic edition, but find out that you REALLY need the functions offered by Ultimate edition?

Rest assured, while not denying that it is a marketing strategy from Microsoft, Windows Anytime Upgrade provides you the flexibility of upgrading your current OS to a more powerful version, without having to buy the full version again, and without having to re-install the whole OS.

Just for your information, this function is not available to Malaysian users yet, as of today. But I’m considering upgrading it to Windows Vista Ultimate whenever it is available.

Untested features

Readyboost, Readydrive, Superfetch etc. Feature like Readyboost is pretty hard to test as it requires a really big USB drive and the difference might be too small for me to notice especially when I’m having 2GB of RAM. However, I might post separate articles regarding these features in future if I’ve found a proper way to test them.

EDIT: Added an article about Windows Vista Speech Recognition here

My Final Say

Some of you might be thinking, I’ve just got my OEM Vista yesterday and it only takes a day for me to fully review it? It must be kidding! For your info, I’ve been testing Vista since the Beta stage, and it took me a whole night to explore the improvements in the final build.

My verdict is, Windows Vista is a much better version if compare to Windows XP, however, considering the rather long development and testing duration, Microsoft could have definitely done much better than this. But anyway, the first service pack is scheduled to be released this year itself, and I’d expect it to be more robust and stable OS by then.

If you insist me to rate it, I’d give a 7.5/10 for now :-)

The general availability (GA) of Windows Vista is just around the corner, reviews/articles/rumors/screenshots have been posted in a lot of tech-oriented sites, developers are getting themselves ready, and some Microsoft fanboys just can’t wait for this first major OS release since the good-ol Windows XP.

However, Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, doesn’t look particularly impressed (rather predictable) and refers Windows Vista to as “Over-hyped”. “I don’t actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much,” Torvalds told Computerworld. “I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don’t actually think it is.”

In Sydney for this year’s linux.conf.au Linux and open source conference, Torvalds said the Vista interfaces may look different but it doesn’t really change fundamentals of the operating system “in many ways”. Read the full story HERE

In my humble opinion, it is hard to judge whether it is a case of sour grapes, but I do somehow agree with Linus that undue hype has been given to Vista, probably because of its relatively long development period.

But still, no one can deny that Microsoft is a good marketing company. Remember how Microsoft advertised its IE7′s Tabbed-browsing and RSS support as if those technologies have never existed before? :P

This would be a good setup for those who are working with sensitive data and don’t want to wait for a zero-fill reformat to destroy those sensitive data files. Save a batch file on your desktop right next to your recycling bin, so you can now just drag and drop sensitive files onto the batch file icon to shred them digitally. Use the normal Recycle Bin for file you don’t wanna shred. For those with paws instead of hands I advise caution.

Download, extract and save SDelete.exe to your c:\windows\system32

Open a new notepad and key in the following…

@echo off
echo . --- W A R N I N G ---
echo .
echo .the file(s)/folders(s) will be shredded! Are you sure?
echo .
echo . use CTRL-C to abort or...
echo .
pause
sdelete -p 4 -s %1
pause

and save it as a *.bat file on your desktop. As mentioned earlier, you can now just drag and drop sensitive files onto the batch file icon to shred them digitally.

Please note that shredding digital files, like it’s real world equivalent isn’t a 100% process. As in the real world where people can use a sellotape to paste back the shredded strings and reconstruction the original documents, completely removing traces of the file in all operating systems is similarly unlikely. In NTFS, it is extremely likely that copies of the target file will be made elsewhere in the volume. Also, if there is anything in the I/O stack performing write coalescing, then the file you’re trying to securely erase may only be overwritten on the physical disk once and not x number of times as suppose to be done by the shredding application.