How to Force Your Android Phone to Check for a System Update [Android]

You've just read or heard that your phone is due for an update—maybe just bug fixes, or possibly a big version upgrade. But your phone claims there's nothing doing. Dial this keypad combination to force a "checkin" and possible upgrade.

If there's no update available for your phone from your carrier, then this trick won't magically compile and distribute one, of course. But there can be a lag between when a carrier makes an update available and when your phone checks in to see if it's available—even if you hit the Settings menu, choose About phone, and click the "Check for system updates" option. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't—but it doesn't hurt.

To get your phone into the queue right away, dial

View the Original article

Microsoft releases Update to block DLL load hijacking attacks

August 24th, 2010. Filed under:Security. Tags: Vulnerability
Some time back there were reports about a security issue that affected  about 40 different Windows apps. Microsoft has quickly responded to such reports of potential zero-day attacks against such Windows programs by publishing an update or  tool to block such exploits. However Microsoft also clarified that the flaw isn’t in Windows.

Microsoft has issued a Security Advisory (2269637) titled, Insecure Library Loading Could Allow Remote Code Execution.

“Microsoft is aware that research has been published detailing a remote attack vector for a class of vulnerabilities that affects how applications load external libraries. This issue is caused by specific insecure programming practices that allow so-called “binary planting” or “DLL preloading attacks”. These practices could allow an attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code in the context of the user running the vulnerable application when the user opens a file from an untrusted location.”

Microsoft has also released an Update that will block the loading of DLL’s from remote directories.

This update introduces a new registry key CWDIllegalInDllSearch that allows users to control the DLL search path algorithm. The DLL search path algorithm is used by the LoadLibrary API and the LoadLibraryEx API when DLLs are loaded without specifying a fully qualified path.

When an application dynamically loads a DLL without specifying a fully qualified path, Windows tries to locate this DLL by searching through a well-defined set of directories. These sets of directories are known as DLL search path. As soon as Windows locates the DLL in a directory, Windows loads that DLL. If Windows does not find the DLL in any of the directories in the DLL search order, Windows will return a failure to the DLL load operation.

More details & download links at KB2264107.

Anand aka HappyAndyK is an end-user Windows enthusiast, a Microsoft MVP in Windows Desktop Experience since 2007, and the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com & WinVistaClub.com.

View the Original article

From the Tips Box: OS X Applications, Organizing Music, and Apple Software Update [From The Tips Box]

From the Tips Box: OS X Applications, Organizing Music, and Apple Software Update

Readers offer their best tips for installing applications on OS X, organizing your music library, and installing QuickTime on Windows without Apple Software Update.

Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.

About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

View the Original article