Microsoft is Ending Support for Windows XP in 2014: What You Need to Know

MICROSOFT GETS READY TO PULL THE LIFE SUPPORT ON WINDOWS XP...

YesCon Tech - Today marks the first day of the last year of Windows XP’s long and storied life.

On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will officially stop supporting Windows XP, meaning there will be no more security updates or other patches. When April 2014 rolls around Microsoft will have supported Windows XP for nearly 12 years.

Should you chose not to upgrade before next year, you will be, in Microsoft’s words “at your own risk” in dealing with security vulnerability and any potential malware designed to exploit them.

According to NetMarketShare, just over 38 percent of PCs connected to the web are still running Windows XP. Given that current XP users have already ignored three OS upgrades, it seems reasonable to assume a significant number of XP diehards still won’t upgrade even now that Microsoft is no longer issuing security updates — all of which adds up to a potentially huge number of vulnerable PCs connected to the web.

Starting around this time next year expect black hat hackers to have a botnet fire sale.

With so many suddenly vulnerable PCs on the web, it’s really only a matter of time before unpatched vulnerabilities are identified and exploited, which could mean a serious uptick in the amount of botnet spam or worse — imagine even a small percentage of those 38 percent of PCs being harnessed for distributed denial of service attacks.

For individual users upgrading Windows XP shouldn’t be too difficult, barring a dependency on software that’s never been updated. If Windows 7 or 8 aren’t to your liking there’s always Linux (I suggest starting with Mint Linux if you’re new to Linux).

Upgrading enterprise and government installations is somewhat more difficult. Microsoft puts the matter quite bluntly on the Windows blog: “If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late.”

The Windows blog post contains quite a few links designed to help anyone looking to upgrade, but at the enterprise/government level it may well be too late anyway. “Based on historical customer deployment data,” says Microsoft, “the average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case through full deployment.”

Windows XP isn’t the only Microsoft product that will be getting the heave-ho this time next year. Internet Explorer 6 on XP, Office 2003, Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (newer service packs of Exchange Server 2010 are still supported) will all be cast adrift. It’s also worth noting that this affects virtual machines as well, so if you’ve got a Windows XP virtual machine for testing websites, well, be careful out there.

If You Still Need XP

You shouldn’t keep using XP. It will become more and more unsecure over time as more security vulnerabilities are found and not patched. Finding new hardware that supports XP will be difficult if your current hardware breaks down or needs to be upgraded. New software may stop supporting XP and you may be stuck with older, outdated, and also unsecure versions of software. Current versions of Mozilla Firefox no longer support Windows 98 – Firefox users on Windows 98 are using an unsecure version of Firefox.

If you have old software that only works on XP, you should consider upgrading to a modern version of Windows and running Windows XP in a virtual machine. Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 include a “Windows XP Mode” feature for easily running a Windows XP virtual machine. This will help increase your security by allowing you to use a modern, supported, secure operating system on your computer while confining the unsecure, unsupported XP to a virtual machine.

You should already be using antivirus software on your Windows XP systems, but this will become even more important when Windows XP starts to become the security equivalent of swiss cheese. Some security companies may jump in with solutions to secure increasingly vulnerable legacy XP systems, but you’re much better off upgrading.

If your organization has a Windows XP deployment, you should already be working on migrating to a new version of Windows. If you’re a home user, you should be looking at upgrading, too. Most longtime Windows XP users generally agree that Windows 7 is a worthy upgrade (Windows 8 is more controversial), and Microsoft will be supporting Windows 7 until 2020.

Let’s be honest: You won’t find an operating system vendor that supports their desktop operating system for as long as Microsoft supported XP. But, if you’re really upset, you can always switch to Linux instead. Just leave XP behind!

The article above was originally published on, Microsoft is Ending Support for Windows XP in 2014: What You Need to Know  by How-To Geek and Scott Gilbertson of webmonkey.com

Image Credits: How-To Geek, Microsoft and webmonkey

Microsoft mandates Windows 8.1 upgrade

Applies existing support policy to Windows 8: Customers must upgrade within 24 months to continue receiving patches and fixes.

Computerworld - Microsoft today said that Windows 8.1, slated for release this fall, will use the same lifecycle support timeline as 2012's Windows 8, meaning that it will be supported until early 2023.

Windows 8 users will also be required to upgrade to 8.1, and presumably in the future to newer versions of the OS, to continue to receive security patches and other bug fixes, just as they have been obligated to keep up with past editions of Windows.

"The lifecycle of Windows 8.1 will remain under the same lifecycle policy as Windows 8 with support ending 1/10/2023," said Erwin Visser, who heads Windows marketing to businesses, in a Tuesday blog.

Microsoft's current support life-cycle for Windows 8 pegs the end of "Mainstream" support on Jan. 9, 2018, and "Extended" support's end on Jan. 10, 2023. Under mainstream support, Microsoft patches security vulnerabilities and provides non-security bug fixes. Extended support is limited to security-only updates.

For the first time, the company also confirmed that it will manage Windows 8 support the same way it has previous editions of the operating system.

"Windows 8 customers will have two years to move to Windows 8.1 after the General Availability of the Windows 8.1 update to continue to remain supported under Windows 8 life-cycle," Visser said.

"That's key," said Rob Helm, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, ranking the importance of the clarification to enterprises.

With previous editions, Microsoft cut off support for the initial build of Windows, known as RTM for "release to manufacturing," two years after the release of the first service pack. If it shipped a second service pack, it stopped supporting the first 24 months after the follow-up's debut. Service packs have historically been free, just as Windows 8.1 will be.

But Microsoft has done away with service packs for Windows 8, instead adopting a faster-paced development and release schedule that will ship a new version about once a year.

Helm had expected that Microsoft would make Windows 8.1 mandatory, just as the firm demanded customers upgrade from Windows 7 RTM to SP1.

"Windows 8 has a relatively small base at the moment [and] Windows 8.1 is free, so it's not insanely onerous to require users [to upgrade]," said Helm.

If Microsoft had changed its life-cycle policy for Windows 8.1, it would have been forced to maintain an increasing number of versions. "This makes sense because under its faster-release schedule, if it didn't pull up the carpet, there would be too many different versions to support," Helm said.

Visser also announced the availability of a preview of Windows 8.1 Enterprise -- the version designed for Microsoft's volume license customers -- in the same blog today.

"In general, Windows 8.1 is a much better target for migration than Windows 8," said Helm, echoing other analysts who have said the same. "We've been recommending Windows 8.1 as the alternative to Windows 7 to clients getting off Windows XP."

Helm cited Windows 8.1's new enterprise-oriented features for that recommendation, including "workplace join," which will allow trusted devices to access secured data on a company's network, and mobile management additions such as limiting access to a single "Modern," née "Metro," app.

"The renewed focus on mobile management will make it much easier for enterprises to handle BYOD," Helm added, referring to the "bring your own device" trend where businesses support workers' choice of hardware. 

Also a big plus in Helm's book was Microsoft's renouncing its stubborn insistence that it knew what customers wanted. "Just the overall fact that Microsoft took the time to understand what enterprises needed, and delivered on those features, which we really could have liked to see in the initial release," has been encouraging, said Helm.

The enforced upgrade to Windows 8.1 is the strongest signal yet that Microsoft will offer future versions in the Windows 8 line -- Windows 8.2, for instance, or even 8.3 -- free of charge, just as it has service packs in the past. Deviating from free without also eliminating the upgrade requirement for continued support would likely trigger a revolt by customers, or at least a hue-and-cry that Microsoft would find hard to silence.

When Microsoft first announced it would speed up Windows releases, many experts assumed that the company would dispense free Windows 8 upgrades for several years running before launching an entirely new edition, perhaps titled Windows 9, that would come with a price tag.

Microsoft has not yet set a ship date for Windows 8.1, or as Visser put it, the version's General Availability. When it does, the 24-month clock will start ticking: An October launch of Windows 8.1, for example, means customers will have until October 2015 to finish their upgrades.

Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview can be downloaded from Microsoft's website. The sneak peak will expire Jan. 14, 2014.

This article, Microsoft mandates Windows 8.1 upgrade, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.

Leap Motion Controller review: A touchscreen interface without the touching..

It's 'Minority Report' meets Microsoft Kinetic as virtual interactivity comes to the PC. Cool, yes, but does it have any practical value?

Computerworld - Anyone who's ever stood in front of a Kinetic-equipped Xbox knows the fun of virtual control, of using your hands to manipulate what you see on the screen without touching anything but air.

The Leap Motion Controller endows your PC with that same air-powered interactivity, allowing you to bypass mouse and keyboard in favor of hand-waving control of apps, games and even various PC operations.

The Leap Motion Controller sits between keyboard and monitor.

It's a cool concept, and Leap Motion pulls off the execution reasonably well -- for the surprisingly low price of $80. But it definitely raises a few questions, starting with: What would you actually use this thing for? And does it have any practical business value?

Plug and playtime

Not much larger than an average flash drive, the Leap Motion Controller has a glossy black top with a silver band wrapped around the sides. It's attractive and surprisingly compact, which is good considering it's designed to sit below your monitor (or, if you're using a laptop, in front of the keyboard). A USB 2.0 cable provides both power and connectivity. Leap Motion supplies both short (two feet) and long (five feet) cables to accommodate various computing configurations.

I tested the Leap Motion Controller with a Lenovo IdeaPad U310 Touch laptop and Samsung Series 9 ultrabook. Although the controller itself didn't get in the way, I disliked the look of the USB cable snaking around the side. This thing really begs for a rechargeable battery and wireless connection, which would emulate the somewhat disingenuous promo video where you see only the sensor, not the cable.

But installation couldn't have been much simpler. After loading the Windows client (it's also available for OS X) and plugging in the controller, I raised my hands and instantly saw their movement reflected in the introductory visualizer app. As a regular Kinect user, however, for me the effect was less "Wow!" and more, "Okay, it works."

Even so, when I tried the calibration process, during which you point the top of the controller at a reflective surface (a glossy screen is recommended) and move it around, I found it nearly impossible to achieve the required "pass" score of 80. Eventually I managed it with the IdeaPad, which has a glossy display, but I never hit 80 on the matte-finished display of the Series 9. The sensor still worked as expected, but I couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't operating optimally.

Space oddity

The controller generates a kind of virtual-space bubble in front of your PC, one large enough to accommodate your two hands (though many apps require only one). Imagine a 10-point multitouch interface, like you'd find on a touchscreen, but in three-dimensional space. The sensors track not only the positions of your hands and fingers, but also their movements. Thus you're able to "interact" with onscreen objects without actually touching anything.

Let me just pause right here to note that any business user hoping for a Leap Motion-powered productivity edge will be disappointed. You cannot design industrial components a la Tony Stark in Iron Man, nor can you sift through virtual files like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. We are a long, long way from that.

Apps for air

The Leap Motion Controller runs on apps, and there's already a decent collection of them in the Airspace Store -- about 75 as of this writing. These run the gamut from games to drawing tools to music makers, with a smattering of productivity apps for good measure. Some are free, while others cost a couple of bucks. A few will seem familiar to anyone with a tablet or smartphone, including Cut the Rope and Google Earth.

I started with Cyber Science - Motion, which displays a photorealistic model of a human skull and lets you rotate it, zoom in and out and remove individual pieces -- all through a combination of hand and finger motions. It's really cool, and one could see where a student -- one studying anatomy, anyway -- might find this a helpful educational tool.

At a Glance

Leap Motion Controller

Leap Motion
Price: $79.99
Pros: Compact, inexpensive, easy to set up
Cons: Little productivity value, it's challenging to use some apps effectively

Google Earth, on the other hand, proved an exercise in frustration. Unless you maneuver your hand with slow, exacting precision, the globe spins hopelessly out of control. That's because it responds to every single hand movement: toward the screen, away from the screen, up, down, tilted left, tilted right and so on. Without considerable practice, it's impossible to get where you want to go -- or even just take a simple flight across the mountains.

Then there's Touchless, which effectively turns your hand into a mouse. You can click, drag, zoom, scroll and more, all via a couple of fingers mirroring what you'd do on a touchpad or touchscreen. It works, though air taps and drags can be difficult to pull off, and the lack of any tactical feedback makes for agonizingly slow navigation.

A just-announced app, DexType, will create a virtual keyboard for two-fingered air typing. It's a neat concept, and potentially a boon for someone who's physically impaired (although I expect it will be slow compared with a traditional keyboard).

Bottom line

And that's really the key issue here: In what ways is the Leap Motion Controller better than a mouse or touchscreen or keyboard? For the moment, it's not. It's more toy than tool, more science fiction than practical addition.

I do find it impressive that Leap Motion managed to pack so much functionality into such a compact package, especially given the unit's impulse-buy price. But unless you're an app developer, physically challenged computer user or gadget lover, this is one Leap not worth taking -- at least, not quite yet.

Company video demonstrating the Leap Motion Controller.

This article, Leap Motion Controller review: A touchscreen interface without the touching, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Rick Broida has written about technology for nearly 25 years. He pens the popular Cheapskate blog and writes for Computerworld, PC World, Popular Science and Wired.

SIM cards vulnerable to hacking, says researcher

Millions of phones could be at risk due to the use of a 1970s-era encryption standard.

IDG News Service - Millions of mobile phones may be vulnerable to spying due to the use of outdated, 1970s-era cryptography, according to new research due to be presented at the Black Hat security conference.

Karsten Nohl, an expert cryptographer with Security Research Labs, has found a way to trick mobile phones into granting access to the device's location, SMS functions and allow changes to a person's voicemail number.

Nohl's research looked at a mobile phones' SIM (Subscriber Identification Module), the small card inserted into a device that ties it to a phone number and authenticates software updates and commands sent over-the-air from an operator.

More than 7 billion SIM cards are in use worldwide. To ensure privacy and security, SIM cards use encryption when communicating with an operator, but the encryption standards use vary widely.

A mobile communication trade group, the GSM Association, said in a statement that only a "minority" of SIM cards that use older encryption standards would appear to be vulnerable.

"There is no evidence to suggest that today's more secure SIMs, which are used to support a range of advanced services, will be affected," GSMA said.

Nohl's research found that many SIMs use a weak encryption standard dating from the 1970s called DES (Data Encryption Standard), according to a preview posted on his company's blog.

DES has long been considered a weak form of encryption, and many mobile operators have upgraded now to more secure forms. It is relatively easy to discover the private key used to sign content encrypted with DES.

In its experiment, Security Research Labs sent a binary code over SMS to a device using a SIM with DES. Since the binary code wasn't properly cryptographically signed, it would not run on the device.

But while rejecting the code, the phone's SIM makes a crucial mistake: it sends back over SMS an error code that carries its own encrypted 56-bit private key, according to the company. Because DES is considered a very weak form of encryption, it's possible to decrypt the private key using known cracking techniques.

Security Research Labs did it in about two minutes on a regular computer with the help of a rainbow table, a mathematical chart that helps convert an encrypted private key or password hash into its original form faster.

With the private DES key in hand, it is then possible to "sign" malicious software updates with the key, and send those updates to the device. The device believes the software comes from a legitimate source and then grants access to sensitive data.

GSMA said that it has not seen the full details of Nohl's research but that use of the DES algorithm has been "discontinued in over the air (OTA) standards for several years."

Security Research Labs outlined an attack scenario against SIM cards that run some form of Java virtual machine, a software framework for Java applications.

Using the SIM's private key, an attacker could force the SIM to download Java applets, which are essentially very small programs that perform some function. Those applets would be "allowed to send SMS, change voicemail numbers, and query the phone location, among many other predefined functions."

"These capabilities alone provide plenty of potential for abuse," the company wrote.

Possible remedies to the problem including ensuring SIM cards use state-of-the-art cryptography and also using Java virtual machines that restrict applets' access to certain information.

GSMA said it has already provided guidance to network operators and SIM vendors that might be affected by Nohl's findings.

Nohl's presentation, "Rooting SIM cards," will take place at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on July 31.

Report by Jeremy Kirk, Computer World. Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Follow me on Twitter: @jeremy_kirk

What is cloud computing?

Cloud – the buzz word that everyone is saying, and arguably the future for many aspects of IT. So what is cloud computing?

mySchoolBackup - Well fundamentally it’s all about where data is stored. In the early days of computing all your data was stored on your computer’s hard disk drive, or media such as floppy disk or tapes. This included the data that was used to make your computer work – software such as the operating system and programs.  Up until the last few years this was still the way most home users operated.

Then came networks – for businesses and organisations networks provide a more efficient way of working.  Instead of each individualmachine in a business (possibly hundreds or thousands) keeping data on its hard drive, data is stored centrally on a server.  This gives advantages of being able to share data easily, backup this data in one place instead of many and much more flexible storage expansion.  Software like the operating system and programs are still stored on individual PCs but can be installed via the central server, rather than manually with disks.

Now the cloud – instead of storing data on a PC or a locally managed server, data is stored in a remote datacenter (a large group of servers in a secure location) run by a cloud provider.  The data is then accessed over the internet from anywhere with an internet connection.  This datacenter is so far removed from the end user that their data appears to be stored in a “cloud” on the internet.

You’re probably already using it – The most common reason most of us have used the cloud is to store our data, either to easily share and sync data between our PCs and devices using a service such as Dropbox, with our music collection on iTunes, our pictures on Flickr or a social network like Facebook.
But it’s not only our data that can sit in the cloud, our applications can as well – Gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail – are all email applications that sit in the cloud, you never have to install them and you can access them from anywhere.

Pacific Northwest electric utilities are handling the energy-intensive loads of data centers owned by Google, Facebook and others. (Photo By: iStockphoto)

So those are the bits of the cloud you’ve probably heard of and used, even if you didn’t know it at the time!  So what else can the cloud do?  Well pretty much anything you can do locally, here’s how cloud services are broken down with some examples:

Software-as-a-service – SaaS – equivalent to programs
Instead of installing software on your computer you log in and use it online, such as webmail, Google Docs and customer relationship management software eg Salesforce.

Platform-as-a-service – PaaS – equivalent to the operating system
This is a base from which software developers can build applications, eg Google Apps or Force.com for Salesforce.

Infrastructure-as-a-service – equivalent to servers
Some things you might just need a whole server for, but why not have that server in the cloud?  Infrastructure-as-a-service does just that, provides virtual servers that you can log into remotely and control in a similar fashion as you would your local server.  Amazon and Microsoft provide such services.

We hope this article has given you a greater understanding of cloud computing, in future articles we’ll look into the benefits of cloud computing, and our area of specialisation, cloud backup.

 By mySchoolBackup

Data Management. Finding Value in Business Outcomes..

A discussion on how having a sound Recovery Management strategy that focuses on Data Protection and High Availability technologies can help organisations avoid downtime, which often impacts productivity, reputation and profitability.

CA Technologies - The cloud file-sharing service Dropbox is immensely popular among consumer and enterprise users – and not because it’s free.

Despite its insecurities, Dropbox is a favorite among 200 million users because it does what it advertises, and it does it well. It’s simple, drag-and-drop functionality makes moving files between users and devices a snap. And, in some regards, it provides data protection against loss and corruption.

Dropbox isn’t the system most enterprises would typically choose. It doesn't have the management features, account administration controls, reporting mechanisms or security most enterprises desire. It doesn't have “feature creep” (the continual addition of features and functions), and it doesn't need them.

Now, I’m not advocating Dropbox as an enterprise solution. But it is a good example of how simple, straightforward IT products and services often have more enterprise value because they do what they’re designed to do with ease.

Enterprise expectations are changing for what technology is supposed to deliver. Notions that IT is about automation and cost savings are evaporating in the heat of need for growth in productivity, revenue and profits.

In other words, enterprises want technology that results in better outcomes.

IT decision-makers are fatigued by the features wars – the escalation of new functions, interface improvements and reporting mechanisms that may improve the look and feel of an application/system, but do little to effectuate net-gain outcomes.

For years, the technology industry has used the features wars to entice customers into upgrading applications and migrating to new platforms. The process worked: Incremental improvements were enough to justify spending. However, enterprises have caught on that these feature wars mean they’re paying for features they rarely or never use.

Instead of new features, enterprises want applications and systems that produce better results, regardless of the underlying interface or discrete feature options. We see this today in backup and data protection systems. The market is flooded with cloud, hybrid and on-premises products differentiated by interface features rather than those that solve real problems, such as recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives.

Think about backup for a moment. Cool reporting functions and a slick user interface are good, but they aren't the same as having assurances that RTO and RPO are absolutely achievable. After all, data integrity and availability are paramount to normal business operations and continuity.

The same thing can be said in virtualization. With nearly 60 percent of the server install base virtualized, we’re fast approaching the point where the benefits of this technology are shifting from machine consolidation to operational performance. To the enterprise, performance and outcome are about how well a virtualized environment is backed up, is replicated and fails over. However, many of the tools available in market promote add-ons that don’t always have definable value.

As Stephen Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” believes outcomes still matter. Rather than focusing on what goes into the technology, vendors and solution providers should help their customers achieve higher levels of performance and results. Or, as he succinctly says, “We must always start with the end in mind.”

Making things simple and valuable isn't easy – but making things easier, allowing for technical agility based on business objectives, increasing value and reducing operational costs are more valuable to an enterprise than a new blinking light or colorful dashboard.

Too often, we get caught up in the features rather than the goal. When the dust settles on the current or next hype cycle, we all need to be mindful that we serve one purpose: organizational outcomes.

by Michael Crest

Michael Crest is general manager for the Data Management customer solutions unit at CA Technologies, responsible for the team that develops, markets, sells and supports the company’s ARCserve and ERwin product lines.

IE10 pushes past predecessor to take second place among Microsoft's browsers

If trend continues, IE9 will soon slip under ancient IE6 in user share.

Computerworld - Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) jumped into second place among Microsoft's browsers last month, pushing past IE9 through an enforced upgrade.

IE10's user share climbed from 16.5% to a record 24% of all copies of Internet Explorer in June, according to Web measurement firm Net Applications.

Among Microsoft's five supported browsers, IE10 was the second-most-used, leapfrogging the two-year-old IE9, which shed user share to end June with 20.9% of all copies of Internet Explorer. The 12-year-old IE6 was fourth with 10.9%, while 2009's IE8 remained in first with 40.4%.

IE10's climb has accelerated: June's user share increase was the largest since the browser's introduction on Windows 7 in February. As in previous months, June's jump was fueled by the automatic update from IE9 to IE10 on Windows 7 that kicked in last winter.

Windows 8's gradual if not dramatic rise in user share also contributed to IE10's increase, since that and Windows RT come with IE10: Windows 8's share grew in June by the largest amount since its October 2012 launch.

IE10's climb was mirrored by a large fall in IE9's user share; the browser that once threatened IE8's dominance plunged from 27.5% of all copies of IE to 20.9%. IE9 peaked in February 2013 at 38.8%, but unless Microsoft soon runs out of Windows 7 PCs to upgrade, the browser could be eclipsed by the still-surviving IE6 within a couple of months.

Overall, IE remained flat with approximately 56% of the user share of all browsers, implying that few if any of IE10's gains came from people switching browser brands. About 39% of all Windows users ran a non-Microsoft browser in June, slightly less than in May.

IE8 lost about seven-tenths of a percentage point in June -- the largest decrease since December 2012 -- to end with a 40.4% share of all copies of Internet Explorer. IE8 will remain the most popular of Microsoft's browsers for some time, experts have said, because as the most modern version available for Windows XP it's been made the standard in enterprises supporting heterogeneous environments with both Windows XP and Windows 7 systems.

The rapid rise in IE10's user share has been unprecedented in Microsoft's experience. It has been much more akin to the quick turnover by rivals like Chrome and Firefox, which also automatically upgrade users, than any previous edition of Internet Explorer, showing that the Redmond, Wash. developer can, if it wants, migrate large numbers of users to a newer browser.

But IE10's time as a climber will probably be short lived: Microsoft haspromised to deliver IE11 for Windows 7, which will trigger a downturn in IE10's user share and corresponding rise in IE11.

Other browsers stayed in their long-inhabited positions in Net Applications' measurements, with Chrome exiting June with 17.2%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points, and Firefox dropping by 1.5 points to 19.2%. Apple's Safari and Opera Software's Opera remained flat at 5.6% and 1.6%, respectively.

Credit Microsoft's automatic upgrade of Windows 7 PCs from IE9 to IE10 for the quick climb in the latter's user share fortunes. (Data: Net Applications.)

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address isgkeizer@ix.netcom.com.