Windows XP is a popular home for rootkits

Free antivirus software provider Avast has released information from a six-month study which reveals that Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system is home to 74% of their customers’ rootkit infections.

Data gathered from over 600,000 Avast customers pointed to Windows XP as the most vulnerable desktop OS for rootkits. XP, which was released in 2001, is the most widely used operating system to access the Internet according to w3schools.

The dated OS was installed on 49 percent of tallied Avast customers. 38 percent of users in the study were running Windows 7 while 13 percent had Vista installed. In contrast, only 12 percent of rootkits were detected on Windows 7 machines and 17 percent were found on Vista installations.

The problem doesn’t necessarily stem from the use of Windows XP itself, but from how end users obtain and install the operating system.

“One issue with Windows XP is the high number of pirated versions, especially as users are often unable to properly update them because the software can’t be validated by the Microsoft update,” said Przemyslaw Gmerek, the Avast expert on rootkits and lead researcher.

Rootkits are malicious tools that are installed before the operating system and anti-virus software are loaded, making them very difficult to detect and remove. Attackers use rootkits to steal data and install other programs without the user even knowing anything is wrong. Other types of rootkits present bogus antivirus warnings in an attempt to swindle credit card information from the user.

Most antivirus programs are useless in detecting rootkit installations. Users who suspect they might be infected are encouraged to try rootkit-specific removal tools such as TDSSKiller or ComboFix.

Microsoft adds RAW file support to Windows 7 and Vista

Microsoft released a new camera codec package on Wednesday that supports over 100 RAW photo file formats. Once installed, RAW image files can be previewed from within Windows Explorer and Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011.

RAW image files are similar to a negative from a film-based camera. Like a film negative, these digital negatives must first be processed before they are ready to be used. As the name suggests, RAW files contain all of the information from a single photo where as a JPEG or similar compressed file loses a lot of valuable information in order to minimize file size.

Most professional photographers prefer to shoot in RAW as it offers many advantages over standard compressed formats. Some of these benefits include bypassing a camera’s automatic noise reduction and sharpening features, which can often create unwanted effects. Other benefits include the ability to fine-tune white balance, hue and saturation as you see fit, rather than relying on the camera to decide what it thinks is best for your picture.

"This new update unlocks the power of every photo on your computer so that your PC is capable of organizing, viewing and editing your digital memories, whether they were shot with a camera phone, point-and-shoot camera, or a higher end DSLR," said Brad Weed, Group Program Manager, Windows Live.

Prior to this update, viewing and editing RAW files meant you had to use a third-party application like Adobe Photoshop or FastPictureViewer. Needless to say this was a pretty painful and time-consuming process, especially if you have thousands of RAW photos on file like I do.

The codecs are available in both 32 and 64-bit versions and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft’s website. Windows 7 and Vista Service Pack 2 are supported under this release

Recover deleted files in Windows

Many people are unaware that deleting a file from the Recycle Bin dosen't really "Delete" the file from the Hard Drive.
Infact, when a file is deleted, Windows marks the file for deletion and removes it from the File System Database.
The space occupied by the file is marked as free space for new data, but the old file is still present.
If some new data is written in the same part where the old file existed, the old file may become unrecoverable.
So, an immediately deleted file has good chances of recovery.

There are tools available to recover deleted files. Following are some of the Free tools:

1. PC Inspector File Recovery. (Freeware) (download)

PC Inspector recovers lost files and finds partitions automatically, even when the boot sector of your drive has been erased of damaged, or the file's header information is not available. You can save the recovered files in your machine. Files are recovered with the original date and time stamp.
I personally use PC Inspector.

2. Restoration. (Freeware) (download)

You can read more about Restoration here.

3. VirtualLab Data Recovery Software. (Free to try) (download)

Read more about VirtualLab Data Recovery Software here.