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Greetings from The VACM Team,

In this issue:
------------------------------------
- Windows XP not ready for prime time...
Our clients who've bought Windows XP are spending money
trying to make it work with their existing hardware and
software. Is XP good enough for you, yet?

Although this article is not strictly virus-related, Windodws XP
has significant flaws that *ARE* helping hackers to write newer,
deadlier viruses and breaches of security.

As a consulting firm that services a large number of clients
in the Northeastern United States, we have always recommended
to our clients' and end users that they should NEVER undertake a
major upgrade to a brand new product or operating system UNLESS
they are ready to deal with a steady stream of problems and
potential loss of critical data.

In the case of Windows XP, we have once again seen the wisdom of
this advice. As we continue to receive calls for help from
companies who got a "good deal" on systems bundled with
Windows XP, we decided it was time to post this article
for our VACM Subscribers who may be thinking of moving to
Windows XP. Currently, what we are seeing is that Microsoft
is releasing bug fixes for XP every day, and in many cases, the
fix for one thing breaks other thing(s).

****************************************
* The Bottom Line...
****************************************
Should you move to Windows XP? Should you buy a new, cheap system
that comes with XP?

If you are seeing advertisements for "fantastic" deals on PCs that
are bundled with Windows XP and are tempted to "give it a try",
don't do it until you read the rest of this article.

Remember Windows Millenium? Microsoft's most recent nightmare?

Windows XP is essentially the followup operating system to
Windows 98 and Windodws ME.

Windows XP has a plethora of flaws, security holes, lack of
compatibility with numerous software applications and legacy
hardware.

Most industry experts recommend Windows 2000 (SP2) as the operating
system of choice- it is compatible with most everything, it is
STABLE, it enhances productivity by reducing support issues.

*****************************************
* What You Should Do...
*****************************************
If you are being swayed by the Windows XP "hype" or if you
are thinking of purchasing new system(s), don't be fooled by
seemingly wonderful pricing that includes extras, like free printers
and so on. In addition to the decision to go with Windows XP,
you really need to consider the overall system being offered.
Read the fine print-

Is the processor an Intel Celeron or a real Pentium?
------------------------------------------------------
If it's a Celeron, just try to imagine putting a Volkswagon
Beetle engine into a huge Cadillac and you've got the idea.

How much RAM is the system supplied with?
----------------------------------------------
If it's less than 128MB of RAM, you will end up with a system that
runs very much slower than you expect. 128MB of RAM is the absolute
minimum amount of memory you should put into a system running
Windows 98. For Windows 2000 Pro, get at least 256MB of RAM. Same
for Windows XP Home. A system starved for RAM (memory) will run
very much slower than one with sufficient RAM. For instance, if
you buy a new 1.4GHz Pentium system with Windows 2000 Professional
on it and only have 64MB of RAM, you will get about the same
performance as a 500MHz Pentium with 256MB of RAM, except that you
will have paid hundreds of dollars more for the new, 1.4GHz system.

How much are those freebies really worth?
----------------------------------------------------
If you've checked printer prices lately, you know that you can get
a decent color inkjet for about $70. To check prices on printers,
PCs and all other hardware, go to:

http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com AND
http://www.pricewatch.com/ AND
http://buy.com

How much disk space does the system come with?
----------------------------------------------------
With the rock bottom price of huge hard drives these days, many
mail order computer vendors are trying to offload their older hard
drives and other components in order to offer those "fantastic"
bargains. If your new system has a 10GB or 20GB hard drive in it,
you are seeing just such a case. Systems by quality concious vendors
will typically contain at least a 40GB hard drive.

What Operating System are they selling with the system?
----------------------------------------------------------
This is one of the most crucial points to consider. If that
"fantastic" deal of a system is packaged with Windows ME or Windows
XP, our recommendation is to keep looking. If you purchase a system
with one of these operating systems on it, chances are very good that
you will spend more time and money trying to make the system work
properly than you saved by getting the supposed "fantastic" deal.

***************************************
* The Operating System Issues
***************************************
The remainder of today's article will deal with Microsoft's latest
operating system offering: Windows XP, and whether it's ready for
prime time, or not. We do virus, security, pricing and other
research on a daily basis in order to send you accurate info in
the VACM Alert emails. Here is a collection of excerpts from
our research into Windows XP issues...

--- XP ARTICLES---

**********************************************************
Automatic Updates Give XP Users New Headaches
By Peter Galli

(relevant excerpts)

Microsoft Corp. has been issuing security patches and other updates
for Windows XP over the past few weeks-only to have those fixes
cause new problems. XP users said the updates cause systems to
become unstable and some device drivers to stop working.

"The patches are coming with such unbelievable frequency these days
that it's very hard to tell exactly what is being changed and which
patch is causing the problems," said Jason Perlow, president of
Argonaut Systems Corp., a systems integrator in Tenafly, N.J.,
that runs and deploys XP for companies.

Perlow's company advises users to turn off XP's automatic update
system and set it to only notify the user when an update is available.
The Automatic Update feature in XP allows users to set up their
computers to automatically download critical operating system updates
and security fixes. "Microsoft could be releasing patches to patch
the patch-who knows what they're doing at this point," Perlow said.

He added that Microsoft's patches do not contain sufficient information
about their nature. "They could be modifying core DLL files and not
telling you," Perlow said.

As a result of the automatic downloading of the updates, Perlow said
he had seen device drivers stop working for USB (Universal Serial Bus)
devices and other things as well as a lot more crashes and lockups.

"My Windows XP workstation ... had been working problem-free for about
two months now, but after an automatic software update, my Microtech
USB CompactFlash/Smartmedia Card reader stopped working," Perlow said.

"People look to me for help. I'm not supposed to get stumped by trivial
problems like this," Perlow said. "As an IT professional, I feel helpless
and in an out-of-control situation and, as an end user as well, that
sure doesn't feel good."

Another IT professional, based in California, who runs Windows XP systems
for testing purposes, said that after installing the latest batch of XP
security patches on four systems running XP Professional, all the
systems became unstable.

"I'm seeing system failures requiring a reboot about once a week on each
machine," said the user, who requested anonymity. "Before this latest
batch of patches, I hadn't had to reboot any of these boxes. They were
as stable as Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or my Linux 2.4 systems."

**************************************************************
Windows XP Sparks a War of Words

When his upgrade went wrong, a former Italian president took his
complaints directly to Bill Gates.

Philip Willan, IDG News Service
Monday, December 10, 2001

(excerpt)

New software programs are always likely to encounter teething
problems, but it's better if they don't happen to your most
high-profile customers.

In Italy, that category includes Francesco Cossiga, a former president,
a technology buff, and a pungent polemicist. It was therefore
unfortunate that Cossiga's personal computer froze last month, shortly
after the installation of Microsoft's new jewel, Windows XP Home.

Cossiga has served as prime minister and in the defense and interior
ministries and cultivates a passion for espionage issues. Accustomed
to the low blows of the Italian political arena, he is a lively
orator with a withering sense of irony who always relishes a ruckus.
So it was little surprise when he promptly wrote to Microsoft's founder
to inform him of his technological contretemps.

"Advised by the experts of the Senate, of which I am a life member,
I had your new program Microsoft XP Home installed on my very
powerful personal computer, which went into tilt after two days,"
he protested in a fax to Redmond. "Neither my friends nor the
Italian subsidiary of Microsoft can solve the problem, with the
risk that the computer's hard disk will have to be reformatted with
the loss of all the data it contained."

Straight to Mr. Gates
Cossiga wound up his letter, addressed to Bill Gates in person,
with a word of advice: "Perhaps, my dear, young Mr. Gates, before
putting your new products on the market with so much publicity you
should have them tested for longer and with greater care."

He was still in a belligerent mood when he was interviewed by
La Repubblica on November 23. Reports that it was a hardware rather
than a software problem and that the difficulty had been resolved
were untrue, he told the Rome daily.

"That's not the case: until a few minutes ago my computer was still
out of action and for a fault in the program, not in the hard disk,"
the ex-president insisted. Cossiga said he feared he was going to
lose his entire archive and would take legal action against Microsoft
if that happened.

************************************************************
Why Windows XP won't excite PC sales

Nov 7, 2001 | Gartner | E-Mail
© 2002 TechRepublic, Inc. | Archive

By M. Margevicius and C. Smulders

(excerpt)

PC makers usually enjoy a healthy sales jump every time there's
a new operating system (OS) from Microsoft. Windows 3.x, Windows 95,
and Windows 2000 did wonders for sales. Windows XP is available
in two versions, but it is, by and large, a consumer-focused
rather than a business-focused release. Features such as a new
user interface, multiple logons, fast user switching, better
stability, and enhanced digital editing support make it a
reasonable replacement for Windows Millennium Edition, an
entirely consumer-oriented release. For enterprises, though,
Windows XP provides little in the way of productivity features
that are not also available in Windows 2000 or Windows 98.
Windows 2000 has proven to be very stable, with many enterprises
adopting it as their standard OS. In fact, Gartner doesn't believe
that many enterprises will upgrade Windows 2000 clients to
Windows XP. We recommend against it unless there is a quantifiable ROI.

*****************************************************************
Businesses should go with Win2K Pro and ignore XP

Jason Hiner MCSE, CCNA
© 2002 TechRepublic, Inc.

(relevant excerpts)

Recently, Gartner analyst Michael Silver recommended that organizations
that have not yet begun their upgrade to Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional during the first half of this year should simply skip
Windows 2000 Pro and go straight to Windows XP Pro. However, I would
argue exactly the opposite. Organizations should upgrade all
Windows 95, 98, and NT 4 machines to Win2K Pro this year and should
simply ignore Windows XP Pro.

Let's take a look at the technical and strategic reasons for this
course of action.

Sorting out the Windows name game
-----------------------------------
Microsoft originally referred to the successor to Windows 2000 by
the codename "Whistler." However, in recent months, it has split
Whistler into two product lines and given the products their
official names. It has dubbed the client version Windows XP, as
in eXPerience. This product has two versions. Windows XP Professional
is the successor to Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000
Professional. Windows XP Home Edition is the successor to
Windows 95, 98, and Me. The server version of Whistler has been
dubbed Windows 2002 Server, and this product line also includes
the Windows 2002 Advanced Server and Windows 2002 Datacenter editions.

Technical reasons
---------------------
First and foremost, there are several important technical reasons
for choosing Windows 2000 Pro over Windows XP Pro. Here they are:

Win2K Pro is stable. Windows 2000 Professional has been a solid
product since its early beta releases. It has been hardened by
two Service Packs, and it is much more stable than
Windows 95, 98, Me, or even NT 4.0 Workstation (which is much more
stable than the other three). For numerous organizations,
Win2K Pro has dramatically reduced the number of OS-related support
calls. Windows XP Pro does not automatically inherit this stability.
In fact, in testing Beta 1 and Beta 2, I found installation problems
and some general sluggishness in Windows XP Pro. This fact combined
with XP's new interface could mean that supporting it will be
considerably more expensive than supporting Win2K Pro.

Win2K Pro has compatible applications. A wide range of thoroughly
compatible business applications for Win2K Pro is available.
Software companies have had almost two years (if you count Win2K's
beta period) to tweak and refine their applications to run on
Win2K Pro. Windows XP will sport "Compatibility Mode," which is
designed to run software in one of four modes (Windows 95,
Windows NT 4.0 SP5, Windows 98/Me, or Windows 2000) if an application
is having problems running natively in Windows XP. Nevertheless,
there will inevitably be bugs and hang-ups with some applications
in Windows XP, as there are with every new OS.

WinXP Pro hogs even more resources than Win2K Pro. One of the things
that many of us have liked the least about Win2K Pro is that it
requires a lot of resources. Generally, most administrators would
not load it on anything less than a machine with a 300-MHz Pentium II
(or equivalent) processor and 128 MB of RAM. However, WinXP Pro
requires even greater resources. IT professionals who have
tested XP even more thoroughly than I have say that in a production
environment, you would not want to load XP on anything less than
a 500-MHz Pentium III (or equivalent) processor with 256 MB of RAM.
So a far more significant hardware investment is required. It's
ridiculous to have to allocate this much power to end users who
simply access a couple of productivity applications and a couple
of line-of-business applications.

**********************************************************
XP's Gotchas

Scott Spanbauer
From the January 2002 issue of PC World magazine

(relevant excerpts)

Windows XP is selling briskly, but the patch parade is already in
full swing. Here's a guide to the top upgrade glitches--and their fixes.

Though there's no good method of telling in advance how easy--or
nightmarish--upgrading to Windows XP will be, here's some advice
that applies to almost everybody: Prepare to patch.

In the weeks since Microsoft launched its new operating system--to
a fairly cordial reception, judging from reports showing early sales
approaching those of Windows 98--we have encountered or heard about
dozens of glitches and pitfalls. In some cases, the fixes began
rolling out along with the OS itself. Other problems will almost
certainly be addressed in an initial service pack (though at press
time, Microsoft had yet to announce a date for SP1).

On October 25, the day it shipped the new OS, Microsoft posted
multiple bug fixes, compatibility updates, and enhancements on its
Windows Update Web site--more than 18MB of them, all told.
The same day, Microsoft's Knowledge Base support site also listed
hundreds of confirmed bugs found in Windows XP, most of which
still don't have patches or solutions. And the company's
general-purpose Windows XP newsgroup continues to receive thousands
of new posts every day.

Some of the updates are important. The 1.9MB Windows XP Update
Package, October 25, 2001, for example, includes fixes for bugs
in such new and vaunted XP features as its CD burning software,
the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, Remote Assistance, and
Windows Messenger's audio and video tools. Separate updates to
the CPU drivers for mobile Pentium III-based systems and Athlon-based
systems enable those chips' power management features to function
under Windows XP.

Not all of the updates are essential--or even desirable--for every
Windows XP system, however. The fine print describing most of the
patches warns that you should download and install them only if
you're experiencing the problem described. Consequently most of us
will probably opt to skip the 3.3MB update to Windows Movie Maker,
which is recommended only for people who want to capture
higher-quality digital video.

For many users, however, problems within the OS itself are less
pressing than compatibility problems with hardware devices and
with third-party software.

Programs, Problems, Fixes
--------------------------------
CD burning: CDs recorded using Windows XP are unreadable or are missing
files or folders when read in Windows 95/98 or in an MP3 player.
Update available from Windows Update.

Power management: Pentium III and Athlon power management features are
not supported, resulting in shorter-than-expected notebook battery life.
Update available from Windows Update. See details for Pentium III and Athlon.

Shutdown: During shutdown, the computer occasionally freezes when the
screen displays a 'Saving your settings' message. Update available
from Windows Update Product Catalog. (Look in Start, All Programs,
Windows Update, choose Personalize Windows Update, and click Display
the link to the Windows Update Catalog.)

AOL 6.x: Some versions are incompatible with Windows XP. Upgrade to
AOL 7.0 or to a compatible version of AOL 6.0x.

Ghost 2001: Program is incompatible with Windows XP. Upgrade to
Ghost 2002 ($50).1

McAfee VirusScan (through 5.21): Program is incompatible with
Windows XP. For versions 4.5 through 5.21, download the application
compatibility update from Windows Update (compatibility not verified
by product manufacturer). Earlier versions must upgrade to
version 6.0x ($40).1

Outlook Express: Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (for migrating
to XP from an older Windows PC) loses account data or overwrites
an existing account; or when run on the Windows 9x/Me PC, it
corrupts the message store. Update available from Windows Update.

PowerQuest Drive Image: Program is incompatible with Windows XP.
Upgrade to Drive Image 5.0 ($50).1

PowerQuest PartitionMagic: Program is incompatible with Windows XP.
Upgrade to PartitionMagic 7.0 ($50).1

QuickTime 5: Program doesn't launch automatically to play associated
clips embedded in Web pages. Download an IE 6 compatibility plug-in
from Apple.

Remote Assistance: Remote Assistance fails when the system requesting
help has more than one network connection (such as a network adapter
and a modem) with Personal Firewall enabled. Update available
from Windows Update.

Roxio Easy CD Creator: Program is incompatible with Windows XP. For
version 5.0 Platinum, download the free version 5.1 update from
Roxio's Web site. For version 5.0 Basic, download the 90-day trial
of 5.1 Platinum, and use it until the Free 5.1 Basic upgrade appears.
For version 4.02, download Windows Update (compatibility not
verified by product manufacturer).

Norton AntiVirus 2001: Program is incompatible with Windows XP.
Download the application compatibility update from Windows Update
(compatibility not verified by product manufacturer) or upgrade
to Norton AntiVirus 2002 ($30).1

Symantec WinFax Pro 10: Program is incompatible with Windows XP.
Upgrade to WinFax Pro 10.02 ($50).1

Symantec pcAnywhere 10.0: Program is incompatible with Windows XP.
It may appear to function after you install it, but will cause
unpredictable changes in Windows XP's stability and functionality.
Symantec offers (?) an XP compatible upgrade for $99.

Windows Messenger: Voice and video chat modes are incompatible
with Internet Connection Sharing and/or ICS Firewall. None.

Windows Messenger: Audio is marred by popping and echoing.
Update available from Windows Update.

ZoneAlarm Pro: Some versions block all Internet access or cause
the computer to reboot spontaneously. Update to version
2.6.357 or later by clicking the Configure button and then
Check for Updates.

Like previous Windows upgrades, Windows XP lacks support for many
legacy devices, particularly printers and scanners. Windows 2000
drivers available from manufacturers' Web sites work well in
many instances, though not in every case. But even when
Windows XP does support a particular device, the driver may be
capable of only bare-bones performance or compatibility (especially
if it's a driver for a graphics adapter). That's why it's always
a good idea to check Windows Update or the manufacturer's Web
site for more-recent XP-compatible versions after you upgrade.

Though most 32-bit Windows programs do run under Windows XP, a
few of them--notably, antivirus software, CD-burning tools, and
drive-partitioning and -imaging utilities--won't work with
Windows XP unless you upgrade them. As we went to press, a
handful of major programs remained partly or completely
incompatible.

Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5.0 is among the most notable examples.
Even though Roxio itself wrote the CD-RW driver built into
Windows XP, the company had not yet posted the promised XP-compatible
update for the basic version that ships with many new PCs (though
an upgrade for the Platinum version sold in stores finally appeared
in early November).

Complicating the issue are Microsoft's own application compatibility
updates. One of Microsoft's October 25 patches was a 2.2MB download
that made XP compatible with applications such as McAfee's
VirusScan 4.5, 5.16, and 5.21; Roxio's Easy CD Creator 4.02
(that's right, Microsoft made a fix for the earlier version but
not for the later one); and Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2001.
The update also solved a heartbreaking problem for young media
hounds: In its shipped form, Windows XP is unable to play
Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs DVD (a problem that
to Microsoft's knowledge does not affect other DVDs).

Though most compatibility upgrades are free, some are not.
And if you rely on Symantec's WinFax Pro 10.02, pcAnywhere 10.0,
PowerQuest's PartitionMagic or Drive Image, or a few other
programs that need costly upgrades, your software bill for
achieving Windows XP compatibility could run hundreds of
dollars beyond the cost of the OS itself.

The Kinks Continue
----------------------------
Microsoft has yet to address several reported bugs. Many upgraders
report that Windows Messenger's voice chat feature fails to connect,
even when other instant messaging programs, such as Yahoo Messenger
or an earlier version of MSN Messenger, work fine. Numerous other
Windows XP users report that the operating system forgets your
Explorer window view preferences (so you have to reenter them
every time you launch Explorer), and that the Taskbar tool tips
(such as the one that shows you the date when you hold the mouse
over the clock) display behind the Taskbar instead of on top,
where they would be readable. Others report that Windows Update
itself is forgetful, offering users patches that they have already
downloaded.

Like many previous Windows versions, XP occasionally freezes when
shutting down. As we went to press, Microsoft's Knowledge Base
reported that an interim fix was available only by calling the
company's product support number. And although the dreaded blue
screen of death has been swept under the rug, Windows XP is not
crash-proof. If a deadly driver or application incompatibility
crashes the computer, the OS simply reboots by default (nostalgic
users can revert to the old blue screen via a Control Panel/System
setting). I met with this problem when I tried running
non-XP-compatible versions of ZoneAlarm Pro and Easy CD Creator.

Early XP adopters have run into a few other glitches that don't
quite qualify as bugs. The most prevalent is a simple problem
afflicting Outlook Express users: In many cases, the upgrade
process fails to transfer existing mailboxes to the XP version.
The mailboxes from the old setup are still on the computer, but
users must either move them to the current message store location
manually or reconfigure Outlook Express to look for the files
where they stand.

Same Old Same Old
------------------------
What do all these pitfalls add up to? A version of Windows that
is starting to look a lot like previous ones, upgradewise.
Interface glitches, incompatible applications, missing drivers,
shutdown problems, crashing--these classic upgrade snafus have plagued
just about every version of Windows that Microsoft has produced.

And just as with previous versions, Microsoft has indicated that
a follow-on to Windows XP is in the works. The ETA: no later than 2003.

Can you say Windows XP Second Edition?

---------------------------
XP Resources
---------------------------
Windows Update for XP:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Microsoft Knowledge Base:
http://support.microsoft.com/

Microsoft Product Support for Windows XP 425/635-3311 (installation
and two subsequent incidents free; $35 per incident for
subsequent calls)

Windows XP newsgroup: (copy and join both lines together)
http://communities.microsoft.com/Newsgroups/default.asp?ICP=windowsxp&sLCID=US&newsgroup=microsoft.public.windowsxp.general

Roxio Windows XP updates:
http://www.roxio.com/en/company/roxio_xp.jhtml

Symantec Windows XP compatibility:
http://service4.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2000011107215039

Creative Labs XP drivers:
http://www.soundblaster.com/support/winxp

Update: Product Activation Hacked
---------------------------------------
Windows XP's antipiracy technology has apparently been hacked.
Officials of the British software security company BitArts Ltd.
say that, within hours of the operating system's launch on
October 25, software to bypass the Product Activation feature
was already circulating on the Internet.

How It Works:
John Safa, BitArts' chief technology officer, reports that
his company has identified two main approaches to hacking
Product Activation. One involves comparing the volume-license
version of XP (which doesn't use Product Activation at all)
to the single-copy code and extracting the other files in the
single-copy versions. The second approach uses a patch to
trick the OS into believing that the user is always only one
day into the 30-day window allowed before an upgrade version
of XP must be activated.

Either way, the user is spared being nagged to activate.
(PC World is withholding technical details of the hack.)

Microsoft product manager Chandler Myrick says that the company
is aware of these attempts to work around Product Activation,
but he believes that relatively few Windows XP upgraders will
locate and use them. "One of the primary goals for WPA was just
to reduce casual copying," Myrick says. "And we think that even
though these circumventions are available, WPA is going to do
what we intended it to do for the vast majority of users."

Safa says it's a shame that Microsoft isn't using antipiracy
technology that really works, because it should in theory make
software cheaper for paying customers.

"You either get it working 100 percent, or you don't bother," he says.

--Yardena Arar

******************************************************
WINDOWS XP WILL PROVIDE FERTILE GROUND FOR
DDoS (Distributed Denial Of Service) ATTACKS

Windows XP Home Edition could launch a nightmare for security experts.

XP now includes a full implementation of TCP/IP raw sockets, which will
provide hackers with more deadly tools. The Locksmith details a recent
warning from security guru Steve Gibson.

http://click.online.com/Click?q=8b-SB5BQY0glEqD6J8E6qoZ_Ka4ZdRR

******************************************************
Analysts: Users Slow to Upgrade Windows

Latest study show few companies keeping pace with Microsoft.

Matt Berger, IDG News Service
Wednesday, January 02, 2002

(excerpt)
On the desktop, corporate customers are cautiously upgrading to
Windows XP as they wait for the desktop operating system to become
more stable. Already, Microsoft has released a patch to fend off
a critical hole in the operating system that left users on the
Internet vulnerable to hackers. The patch fixes a problem with
the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) feature, which is built to
recognize peripheral devices such as scanners and printers when
they are plugged into a Windows PC.

*******************************************************
Is Microsoft's Time Warped?

Windows XP gets an adjustment to correct a faulty
time-synchronization feature.

Tom Spring, PCWorld.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Does anybody really know what time it is? Apparently
Microsoft doesn't.

An Internet Time utility built into Windows XP Home and
Professional editions that is supposed to ensure correct system
time instead suffers from intermittent bouts of tardiness,
PC World has learned. Microsoft intends the utility to synchronize
your PC's internal clock via the Internet with the atomic clock
maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The atomic clock is considered the Holy Grail of timekeeping.
It is referenced daily by millions, from the military to stock
market traders and researchers, by means other than Microsoft's
Internet Time utility.

But repeated tests of the Windows XP Internet Time utility produced
a variety of unharmonious results. Compared with the NIST's atomic
clock, Microsoft was repeatedly off by as much as nine minutes.

A day after PC World questioned Microsoft about the time
discrepancies, the company reports it has fixed the problem.
Even so, it could take a week or longer for millions of
Windows XP PCs to be set to the correct time. That's because
the Windows XP Internet Time utility synchronizes your PC's
clock automatically only once a week. If your PC isn't connected
to the Internet at that time, the utility can't make the update.

To be fair, Microsoft figured it was correcting a common problem
with PCs by building in the Internet Time utility because system
clocks on PCs, especially notebooks, routinely get out of whack.
Only Net-connected PCs running Windows XP can take advantage of
the new utility.

Keeping your PC on correct system time is more important than you
might assume. Accurate time is an important factor to ensure data
files and e-mail get the correct time stamps. It is particularly
important if you synchronize data files, because time stamps often
determine which file is more recent. Incorrect time can also make
e-mail look older (or newer) than it actually is, a trick used by
many e-mail spammers who deliberately change their system time.

A computer server that wasn't syncing properly was at the root of
the problem, says Bryan Starbuck, a Microsoft software developer.
The company was previously unaware of the inconsistency. Now,
the Internet Time utility appears to be working correctly.

Getting Win XP on Time:
Microsoft is one of many companies and organizations that host
what are known as "time servers" on the Internet. Each of these
servers mirrors the time (to the second) that NIST hosts on
its servers.

Now that Microsoft has corrected its time server, the
time-sensitive can manually update a PC or modify the utility's
settings to force Windows XP to check the alternate NIST server
for the correct time. Note that Windows XP does not provide
the utilities to PCs on a network domain; such PCs often have
login scripts that synchronize the PCs' time with the network
server's clock.

Under the default setting, Microsoft lists its own
time.windows.com server. However, you can direct Windows XP
to sync directly with the NIST server, or another online authority.
A list of available servers is on the Network Time Protocol
home page.

To adjust the utility in any version of Windows XP, right-click
the time display on the taskbar, choose Adjust Date/Time, click
the Internet Time tab, and check Automatically synchronize with
an Internet time server.

If you want to sync directly with NIST, choose the alternate
server time.nist.gov from a drop-down list. Then click Update Now,
and Windows will synchronize your PC's clock. Or you can enter
one of the other available servers.

If left unattended, Windows XP will synchronize with the time
server automatically on a weekly basis.

Find Your PC's Lost Time:
Microsoft's time synchronization feature is meant to correct a
PC's nasty habit of losing time. Computers can lose as much as
one minute each hour with some PC configurations, say developers
of time-setting utilities. With each PC reboot, Windows syncs
its software clock with a slightly more accurate hardware clock
affixed to your motherboard. Both the software and hardware
clocks, however, are flawed.

A number of software utilities, including ClockWatch and Time
Synchronizer, can synchronize your PC with NIST's atomic clock.

You can always reset your clock manually, but it will again drift
noticeably out of whack in a matter of days.

"Getting the time wrong is a cardinal sin when it comes to time
synchronization," says Skip Singer, president of Beagle Software,
which makes the time utility ClockWatch.

*************************************************************
Windows XP Lags Win 98's Sales Pace

Microsoft's new OS isn't selling as fast as its predecessor
did after two months on the market, study shows.

Sam Costello, IDG News Service
Wednesday, December 19, 2001

(exerpt)

Nearly two months after the launch of what Microsoft called one
of its most important products ever, the Windows XP operating
system has failed to sell more copies than its predecessor did
after its release, according to data from market research
firm NPDTechworld.

Since its October 25 launch, Windows XP has sold about 650,000
copies through retail channels, as opposed to the roughly 900,000
copies of Windows 98 sold in the two months after it was launched,
according to Howard Dyckovsky, vice president of software tracking
at NPDTechworld, a division of the NPD Group. Windows XP tallied
sales of approximately 400,000 copies in October and pulled in
250,000 in November, he said.

So, as we have already mentioned, the rule of thumb that we always
recommend regarding new products (especially from Microsoft) is
to wait until the product has been released for at least 8 to 12
months before considering using it yourself. Microsoft has a nasty
habit of letting its users test their new products. Just look at
how fast and frequently they are releasing patches and bug fixes
for XP....

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is just that.
We sincerely hope that this article will save our subscribers from
excessive headaches and spending of after-the-purchase dollars.

Best Regards,
Marc Deschenes, VACM Editor
The VACM Project at
Automated PC Solutions

*** Be sure to check out the appendix at the end of this alert
if you are having trouble booting your computer into "Safe Mode".
The process is all spelled out for you there.

Why should you be very
concerned about Spyware?

Learn how to avoid Identity Theft and Windows corruption in this
free VACM Video:
VACM-tested #1 AntiSpyware Software

How did they steal my Identity?

Why do I get so much SPAM ?

Why is your computer
running so slow ?

Today, every PC needs just a few protection softwares. Find out what and why. Visit our Links Page to avoid Indentiry Theft and costly computer repairs.
VACM Links to Protection Tools and Softwares

Keep your PC Safe and
Avoid a costly trip to the shop...
with these VACM approved tools.

You need 3 things to protect your PC(s) automatically. Use these links to go directly to the Download and Purchase pages:

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******** APPENDIX - Handy How-To Tips **********

* How To Boot into Safe Mode

Shut the computer down so that the power is off.

Turn the computer on, wait 1 second and begin pressing the F8 key
on the keyboard, once every second repeatedly. Do this until
the Windows Startup Menu appears. If you get a keyboard
error, press F1 to resume and then continue pressing the
F8 key once every second, or your PC may tell you to press another key for BIOS setup.

Select Safe Mode from the Windows Startup Menu, then press
the Enter key on the keyboard.

Windows will then boot into Safe Mode.
NOTE: This may take longer than a normal boot.

At the end of the boot process a dialog box will appear
informing you that Windows is in Safe Mode. Click OK on this dialog box.

Windows is now in Safe Mode.

If you miss hitting the F8 at the right time, Windows will boot
normally and you will not see the "Safe Mode" message. In this
case, start from the top of these instructions until you get the
boot menu screen where you can choose "Safe Mode". This can be
a little tricky the first time you do it.