You’ve got to give credit to Microsoft for at least coming up with new ways to communicate the effects of counterfeit software, if not, producing these wicked illustrated short movies. For just under a year now, Microsoft has been producing a series of these animated movies, “Genuine Fact Files“, aimed at demonstrating how counterfeit software can have devastating effects on the life of those who purchase them.

The latest of these comic-style movies is called “Dangerous Descent”. It features the story of a pilot who has been pressured by a friend to purchase some Microsoft software from street shops in Shanghai - a story most of us can relate to. Unknowingly, he puts himself, his friends and even his marriage on the line. This suspense thriller will put you on the edge of your seat until the very last second. Rated M for mature.

In case you were wondering, this is the wonderful of creative agency DDB Seattle and illustrator Charlie Griak. Charlie’s work has been officially selected in two international film festivals and featured in many animated commercial. He’s also worked on one other movie in the Microsoft campaign called “Suspicious Cargo” and features a similar tone and illustration style. You can view that on YouTube here.

You can find wallpapers and videos for more of these “Genuine Fact Files” at the Microsoft website.

Read an interesting piece of information about the most likely security threats in 2008 - read it here!

Top Ten Cyber Security Menaces for 2008:

1. Increasingly Sophisticated Web Site Attacks That Exploit Browser Vulnerabilities - Especially On Trusted Web Sites
2. Increasing Sophistication And Effectiveness In Botnets
3. Cyber Espionage Efforts By Well Resourced Organizations Looking To Extract Large Amounts Of Data - Particularly Using Targeted Phishing
4. Mobile Phone Threats, Especially Against iPhones And Android-Based Phones; Plus VOIP
5. Insider Attacks
6. Advanced Identity Theft from Persistent Bots
7. Increasingly Malicious Spyware
8. Web Application Security Exploits
9. Increasingly Sophisticated Social Engineering Including Blending Phishing with VOIP and Event Phishing
10. Supply Chain Attacks Infecting Consumer Devices (USB Thumb Drives, GPS Systems, Photo Frames, etc.) Distributed by Trusted Organizations

The ranked list is created by Stephen Northcutt, Ed Skoudis, Marc Sachs, Johannes Ullrich, Tom Liston, Eric Cole, Eugene Schultz, Rohit Dhamankar, Amit Yoran, Howard Schmidt, Will Pelgrin, and Alan Paller.

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A while back we released a IE 7 blocking tool. It uses a registry key that Automatic update checks. If it is present, IE 7 will not automatically install.

Starting February 12th, IE 7 will begin showing up on Automatic updates, and ignore the special registry key. It will be up to the user to continually reject the install.

It is unfortunate that Microsoft has not decided to extend this date. I know quite a few companies with third party apps - that simply will not work with IE 7.

Beyond the compatibility issue, I personally dislike IE 7 in its present form. It is a slow and clunky interface. Every time I come across a machine that has it - I find myself downloading Firefox.

I will be sad to see IE 6 to go. Even with all of its quirks, it was still far better than IE 7.

The same could be said about Vista and XP :)

At the end of February we will be deleting the IE 7 blocking tool from our website, and removing it from Network Administrator.