Brief Description
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses key feedback from our customers. SP1 addresses specific reliability and performance issues, supports new types of hardware, and adds support for several emerging standards.
Quick Details
File Name: Windows6.0-KB936330-X86-wave0.exe
Version: 936330
Knowledge Base (KB) Articles: KB936330
Date Published: 3/18/2008
Language: English
Download Size: 434.5 MB
Overview
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues; supporting new types of hardware; and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone version can be installed on systems with any of the following language versions: English (US), French, German, Japanese, or Spanish (Traditional).
Read the overview of Windows Vista SP1, including what’s new, technical details, guidelines and notable changes.

Read the Deployment Guide for Windows Vista SP1. This guide includes technical information, procedures, and recommendations for installing Windows Vista SP1 in a business or corporate environment.

DO NOT CLICK DOWNLOAD IF YOU ARE UPDATING JUST ONE COMPUTER: A smaller, more appropriate download is available on Windows Update.

NOTE: Customers running Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) Store Operations and Headquarters are advised to install this hotfix prior to installing Windows Vista SP1.

To download the Standalone version of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 please follow the directions below in the Instructions section.

Before installing SP1, please visit the Windows Vista TechCenter and read the page “Things to Know Before you Download Windows Vista SP1″

Download From Microsoft site

Brief Description
A remote code execution security issue has been identified in the Graphics Rendering Engine that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system and gain control over it.
File Name: WindowsVista-KB912919-v1-x86-EN-US.EXE
Version: 912919
Date Published: 1/13/2006
Language: English
Download Size: 1.2 MB
Overview
A remote code execution security issue has been identified in the Graphics Rendering Engine that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Longhorn (Windows Code Name)

Instructions

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Do one of the following:

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To copy the download to your computer for installation at a later time, click Save or Save this program to disk.

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But does patching beta code make sense?
August 17, 2006 (IDG News Service) — Microsoft Corp. has released two patches for its Vista operating system, saying that it too is affected by flaws that were disclosed during the company’s Aug. 8 security updates.

The patches, which were released for download earlier this week, fix critical flaws described in Microsoft Security Bulletins MS06-042 and MS06-051. They fix bugs in Internet Explorer and the Windows kernel, and were described Tuesday in a blog posting by Vista Product Manager Alex Heaton.

Vista is not affected by the most-scrutinized vulnerability in this month’s patches, a Windows Server service flaw that is already being exploited by some hackers. This bug prompted a rare warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week.

The latest patches raised some eyebrows, because Microsoft had not previously acknowledged that these bugs also affect Vista.

Microsoft has issued this type of patch for beta software in the past — it released a January security update for Windows Vista Beta 1 — but the company does not provide information about beta products in its regularly scheduled monthly updates, said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager with Microsoft’s security response center. “Beta products are not listed in the security bulletins as they are still under development and not intended to be used in production environments,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Vista, however, will be “the first major Microsoft product release that will be serviced with security updates throughout the beta process,” Heaton wrote.

One Microsoft observer was cool on the idea.

Microsoft is setting a bad precedent by agreeing to these security updates, because it muddies the difference between supported products and those in beta testing, said Russ Cooper, a senior information security analyst at Cybertrust.

He said Microsoft is “dead wrong to commit to providing patches of any kind for Vista beta testers, in any forum other than official beta tester channels.”

The updates do provide Microsoft with one benefit, however, Cooper said. They preempt reports on security flaws in Microsoft’s beta software like those issued by Symantec Corp. in recent weeks. “They’re avoiding more of that stupid Symantec publicity that says that Vista has security holes,” he said.

Joanna Rutkowska, a Polish researcher, showed how it was possible to bypass security measures in Vista that should prevent unsigned code from running. The security expert displayed her research to a packed room and christened her malicious software “Blue Pill”. Matrix reference anyone?

A spokesperson for Microsoft was on hand to provide an official reaction:

"Microsoft is investigating solutions for the final release of Windows Vista to help protect against the attacks demonstrated. In addition, we are working with our hardware partners to investigate ways to help prevent the virtualization attack used by the Blue Pill."

Rutkowska was quick to quell suggestion that Vista was fully compromised however:

"The fact that this mechanism was bypassed does not mean that Vista is completely insecure. It’s just not as secure as advertised. It’s very difficult to implement a 100 percent-efficient kernel protection."

There has also been the suggestion that the hacker was sponsored by Intel to perform the work. Everything was developed whilst using AMD technology however she insisted that this was not the case.

Microsoft is coming away from this with a positive outlook. It remains to be seen whether other hackers will be optimistic now that it is clear that Vista can be hacked or whether Microsoft will be able to patch up all the vulnerabilities exposed at this meeting.

Microsoft are taking a fresh approach to working out security problems in anticipation of the release of Windows Vista, by inviting hackers to come and pick holes in their system.

Microsoft has consistently received criticism at the lack of resources they put into protecting their products. This attempt is aimed to rectify all that; people like Jon Callas, chief technology officer at PGP Corp, describing the stunt like this:

"They’re going directly to the bear in the bear’s lair. They are going to people who don’t like them, say nasty things and have the incentive to find the things that are wrong."

The suggestion is circling that that those who don’t like Microsoft would thus ignore this invitation to help them. Or worse still, hackers invited to the event, may research all the most notable security vulnerabilities and wait until the product is fully released before subsequently releasing their own viruses and who knows what other nasties.

The conference surely is a representation of how confident Microsoft is about their new product with Mike Janosko, a security expert from Ernst & Young, describing the event as a “bold statement”. Perhaps Microsoft believes that the latest operating system will prove too difficult for the hacker to exploit. At least the Blackhat Project is full of mostly respectable people.

We’ll let you know whether this event turns out to be a success for Microsoft or whether it turns out to be a bit of an embarrassment

Author:Wil HarrisPublished: 2nd January 2007

With some clever Registry trickery, hackers have found a way to permanently delay the activation of 32-bit Windows Vista.

A previous hack last month involved setting up a spoof key server to generate faked license keys for the corporate version of the OS. This hack, which is rather simpler, avoids running the key server entirely.

In fact, it doesn’t even require the input of any keys at all.

Vista runs, out of the box, fully functionally, for 30 days without requiring activation. This new hack stops the countdown timer at 30 days and makes sure that it never goes further - thus giving the eager pirate a fully functional version of Vista.

The hack, covered by Engadget, probably won’t work on 64-bit Vista, thanks to the security improvements MS has made in that version of the OS. You can also bet that Microsoft isn’t going to be sitting around with this exploit in the wild - expect the first batch of Vista Windows Updates to address this.