Microsoft Vista

After a record-matching February that flooded corporate security departments with 13 bulletins to address 26 flaws, Microsoft's March Patch Tuesday cycle will be more manageable for IT administrators. On March 9, Microsoft will ship two security updates to fix eight vulnerabilities in Windows and Office.

In its monthly advance notification, Microsoft gave a sneak peak into the bulletins. Both are marked important, Microsoft's second-highest severity rating.

Some owners of Windows 7 machines are complaining that the newest Microsoft operating system may be causing battery problems. Microsoft said it's investigating the issue.

On the Microsoft support site and elsewhere, there are a variety of battery-related complaints, and many commenters believe the cause is Windows 7.

'Related to System Firmware'

The problems include batteries that are prematurely drained or reported to be so, batteries unable to hold a charge, warning lights indicating a battery needs to be replaced before it should need to, and more.

You can run the majority of existing commercial applications under Windows 7. But finding free programs that work well with Microsoft's newest OS is a bit more challenging. They're out there, though -- tools ranging from simple synchronization applications to full-fledged interface makeover kits. Read on to learn more.

Q: I like the Windows 7 interface better than Windows XP. But I still prefer the Mac. Is there an application out there that will make Windows 7 feel more Mac-like?

Microsoft will release a patch for Internet Explorer 6 on Thursday morning that addresses the so-called Aurora exploit used in the China-based cyberattacks against Google and other companies.

"Given the significant level of attention this issue has generated, confusion about what customers can do to protect themselves, and the escalating threat environment, Microsoft will release a security update out of band for this vulnerability," Microsoft's George Stathakopoulos said Wednesday.

Is Microsoft Internet Explorer too dangerous to use? In the aftermath of news that hackers exploited security holes in IE to break into Google's systems in China, the governments of France and Germany are taking the unprecedented step of recommending users stop using Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8.

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security recommended "temporary use of alternative browsers" because of a "critical security hole" in Internet Explorer that allows hackers to remotely run malicious code on Windows PCs.

Q: I'm having problems picking up any networks that are in a new location. Any networks I've previously been on will work, i.e. at my parents' house, at the hospital, etc. But at any new location, such as when I was at the beach, the computer will not connect to the network. I never see that the new networks are available; the computer just won't show them. I'm running the Windows Vista operating system.

You've had sound reasons for postponing the purchase of a new computer for much of 2009. The economy is in shambles. You wanted to make sure any kinks were addressed before taking the plunge on machines with new operating systems from Microsoft and Apple.

But months after their arrival, there've been no major blowups with Windows 7 or OS X Snow Leopard. And while your budget isn't exactly overflowing, you're finally thinking about replacing your Vista clunker or aging Mac.

Next week will be a busy one for IT administrators. Microsoft plans to release six patches for December's Patch Tuesday -- three rated critical and three important. The patches will address 12 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office.

The coming week will be a busy one for IT administrators. Microsoft plans to release six patches for December's Patch Tuesday -- three rated critical and three important. The patches will address 12 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer isn't talking turkey when it comes to the software giant's newest operating system. At a shareholder meeting Thursday in Bellevue, Wash., Ballmer told investors that Windows 7 sold double the number of copies in one month as its previous Windows Vista operating system.