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A recent topic in the Development forum at Sysinternals Forums contains some information about how to use Visual C++ 2008 to create binaries that run on Windows 9x and NT. For NT, it seems to just be a matter of changing the Subsystem Version to 4.0. One might think to use the /SUBSYSTEM linker switch for this. However, when one attempts to do so, the shipping link.exe reports:

LINK : warning LNK4010: invalid subsystem version number x.y; default subsystem version assumed

In this case, the default subsystem version is 5.0, and NT needs 4.0. One can use an older copy of EditBin.exe to change this (I found the version that shipped with Visual Studio .NET 2003 to work):

editbin /SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE,4.0 c:\path\to\your.exe

The same requirement also exists to get the executable to run on Windows 9x, but one needs to do a bit more work.

Louis Solomon has taken the time and put forth the effort to find what is needed for this, and has documented it at C/C++ EXEs and DLLs created by Visual Studio 2008 don't run on Windows 4.0 (ie, NT4 and Win9x).

XP Security Center Descriptions:

XP Security Center 3.6 (or XP SecurityCenter), claims to be a comprehensive and all-in-one solution to guard against spyware, but itself is a spyware-driven product that screws up your computer and puts your privacy at risk. XP Security Center usually disguises itself as a video codec or ActiveX control plugin, then installs onto your computer with your notice and consent. Not only does XP Security Center degrade the performance of your computer, it invades your privacy and data. It is extremely important to remove all the components of the XP Security Center and all trojans that it might have come together (such as zlob.trojan, trojan.vundo and Trojan.Downloader). To effectively remove XP Security Center Popup, we have created a manual removal instructions which is easy to understand. Make sure you backup all important data before you proceed. Here are the things that you need to do in order to remove XP Security Center.

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility

Manual XP Security Center Popup Removal Instructions:

Unregister XP Security Center DLL Files:
(Learn how to do this)
mp3avi.dll
XunLeiBHO_Now.dll
alisj.dll
VideoMP3.dll
PowerVideo.dll
sysdivx.dll
windivx.dll

Stop XP Security Center Processes:
(Learn how to do this)
XPSecurityCenter.exe

Find and Delete these XP Security Center Files:
(Learn how to do this)
XP Security Center.exe
mp3avi.dll
XunLeiBHO_Now.dll
alisj.dll
VideoMP3.dll
PowerVideo.dll
XP Security Center.lnk
sysdivx.dll
windivx.dll

Remove XP Security Center Registry Values:
(Learn how to do this)
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\XP Security Center.exe
09D72564-27E2-4F12-8AB6-03F83E4567DE
741403DD-46A4-4D58-8FA7-427335C3BBF6
2B659BB5-3E85-4BC6-BAFC-98FEDFF3AE99
0EEDB911-C5FA-486F-8334-57288578C627
F10587E9-0E47-4CBE-84AE-7DD20B8685CC

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility

You can also download Kaspersky antivirus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Products

You can also download the free version of Avira Antivir to remove the spyware (update)

The “31 Days of the Dragon” promotion to give away 31 state-of-the-art HP entertainment notebook PCs is nearing an end with over 16 lucky winners already chosen and only 8 more chances left to win.

Today this site is kicking off its giveaway in a slightly more traditional and chaotic manner with a simple random prizedraw. That’s right, if you were too lazy to write a story, take a picture or make a movie, this is as simple as it gets. But there’s a twist.

The first part of the giveaway is easy. Head over to the giveaway registration mini-site and submit your full name and email in the form provided. One person is only eligible to submit one entry. If duplicates are detected, you will be automatically disqualified. But if you really want to increase your odds of winning, there is a legitimate way.

To obtain a bonus entry in the giveaway, you will need to be using Windows Vista. Why? Because Vista users gets almost no love and are even shunned for using the latest technology instead of its 7-years-old sibling. It’s a shame everyone’s being suckered into a hate campaign devised by media companies to sell more ads.

Without rambling on too much, the bonus entry involves users to voluntarily participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) of Windows Vista. No, this isn’t paid by Microsoft although I wished they did. I’m asking you to enable CEIP because it is really the easiest way for you as a general user to help Microsoft improve Windows (and other applications) without any work on your behalf. I for one have enabled CEIP on all of my PCs.

The data collected is entirely anonymous and secure. Some of the information they collect include performance and reliability metrics (ie. percent of time an application failed, average length of time it takes to complete an operation), usage (ie. number of notifications) and configuration (ie. most common processor speeds, distribution for screen resolution).

An example of an outcome from CEIP are improvements to User Account Control. “Vista used CEIP to track the real world UAC prompt frequency and the top reasons for UAC prompts. This data was used to make design changes that reduce UAC prompts in unnecessary scenarios.”

To claim your bonus entry, you will need to download a run a small 100KB application which verifies you have enabled CEIP. Special mention to Rafael Rivera for making this possible with an undocumented API call in Windows.

This site’s giveaway ends in seven days on the Sunday, June 1 and winner will be announced soon after. Good luck.