Windows Vista

Sure, Windows 7 has garnered plenty of accolades since its release. But that doesn't mean that people haven't been annoyed at some of its new or unexpected behavior. The good news is that most of what ails Windows 7 can be remedied with a little know-how or an add-on program here or there. Read on to find out more.

Q: Where is Windows Movie Maker in Windows 7? I relied on this program in Windows Vista.

Some Windows PC users may hope the Energizer bunny didn't keep going and going. It turns out the Energizer DUO USB battery charger is a vehicle for attacks on PCs, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team.

US-CERT researchers said Friday that the software that installs with the Energizer charger contains a Trojan horse that gives malicious hackers a back door into Windows machines.

Although Windows 7 has been out for some time, many are just now thinking about upgrading. And that's when the questions begin. The existence of multiple editions, different upgrade options, restrictions on how a PC may be upgraded, the packaging of 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system in the same box, and volume pricing are enough to confuse even experienced techies. Read on for some help.

Dell Inc. said Thursday its net income fell 5 percent in the last quarter despite early signs that businesses may be starting to buy new computers again.

Consumers snapped up low-cost laptops and smaller netbooks over the holidays, pushing Dell's PC shipments up 29 percent. Those products are less lucrative, though, and Dell's revenue and profit in the consumer PC division grew much more slowly. Dell's profit margin was below expectations, and its shares fell 7 percent in Friday trading.

Unlike politicians, operating systems (OS) don't get a honeymoon with the general public. Windows 7 has been on the market for [about] 100 days now, so -- as in politics -- it's a good time to review how the software has performed so far. The results are largely positive.

Last year, millions of consumers flocked to netbooks, the stripped-down machines viewed as low-priced alternatives to laptop computers. If you were one of the netbook converts, a few minutes with the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 laptop might make you backslide.

Like many of Lenovo's business-focused ThinkPad laptops, the T410 is nothing special to look at. Don't be fooled by the matte-black industrial shell that evokes the ThinkPad's IBM lineage.

After a light start to the year, Microsoft is getting ready to dump a heavy load on the shoulders of IT administrators. On Patch Tuesday next week, Microsoft will release 13 patches.

Five of the bulletins carry the maximum security rating of critical. Seven are rated important and one is rated moderate. The bulletins address 26 vulnerabilities.

When Microsoft releases Office 2010 later this year, will it be an upgrade worth pursuing, or will it, like Office 2007, be one that you can easily let pass? That's a question that's no doubt on the minds of many existing Office users -- as well as more than a few executives at Microsoft.

Office 2010 can easily be seen as analogous to Windows 7 in that it represents Microsoft's latest chance to convince people that they've really been listening to their concerns.

Microsoft released a rare out-of-band patch Thursday morning. The emergency patch fixes the Internet Explorer zero-day security vulnerability that hackers have used in several high-profile targeted attacks, including the recent Trojan.Hydraq cyberattacks waged against Google and other large U.S. companies.

Microsoft released a rare out-of-band patch Thursday morning. The emergency patch fixes the Internet Explorer 6 zero-day security vulnerability that hackers have used in several high-profile targeted attacks, including the recent Trojan.Hydraq cyberattacks waged against Google and other large U.S. companies.