Summary: This set of new links says it all

● Installing Windows 7 with some Linux help

I've been working with Windows 7 for some months now, and while 7's not for netbooks, I vastly prefer Windows 7 to Vista. So, when it came time to try out the release candidate, I didn't expect to have any trouble. I was wrong.

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This time, when I booted up from the Windows 7 RC DVD, the installation routine immediately found the partition and installed Windows 7 on it. So, thanks to Linux, I'm now running Windows 7 on that system.

Even if you don't run into this particular problem, you'd be well advised to get a copy of SystemRescueCD. No matter what operating system you run on a daily basis, I've found that SystemRescueCD is a great repair-kit for those times when you run into serious PC problems.

● Speed Test: Windows 7 May Not Be Much Faster Than Vista

Though Windows 7 edged out Vista in our lab tests, you may not notice much of a difference.

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If these test results remain consistent with those for the final version of Windows 7, the news will likely be disappointing to many Windows users. One of the major complaints about Windows Vista was the fact that it was consistently slower than Windows XP. If Windows 7 doesn’t significantly improve that situation, it may fail to convince people to move away from Windows XP.

● Intel playing virtual silly buggers

You're supposed to be able to run an x86 app on any Intel x86 (or AMD x86) processor. That's what x86 compatibility means, right? Wrong: Windows 7 XP Mode won't run on many multi-core Intel processors because Intel is arsing about with its Intel VT feature.

For a PC to run Windows 7's XP Mode, the system must support either Intel Virtualisation Technology (Intel VT) or AMD Virtualisation (AMD-V) and have such support enabled in the BIOS. Several, in fact many, Intel multi-core CPUs don't support Intel VT despite other CPUs in the same family supporting it.

● XP mode a no-go on some AMD chips too

AMD says all of its CPUs with the exception of its very low-end Sempron and Turion K8 Rev E processors will include AMD-V, the firm's hardware-based virtualisation technology needed to support XP mode.

● While I’m discussing Vista, why do WHQL drivers suffer from an alarming lack of quality?

You would think that Microsoft would at least do enough testing to make sure that the obvious crap in WHQL drivers was ironed out: But apparently not, because the driver for my Linksys WMP54G v 4.1 wifi card offered to me through Windows Update turned out to be the culprit in some freakish crashing. I ended up tracking it down to certain websites where pressing the “upload” button would simply freeze Vista requiring me to do a hard reset (press the power button for 5 seconds). And I’m pretty sure this was tripping up Azureus and causing the crashes with that. (Though curiously not uTorrent…)

● Disable Windows Vista spyware/harassment nag screen.

If you go to use Windows Vista, you may see a window like this pop up...

● Windows 7 is 'insecure', warns F-Secure

The new operating system's Windows Explorer file manager still misleads users about the true extension of a file, said Patrik Runald, chief research advisor at Helsinki-based F-Secure.

● Experts: Windows 7 at risk from legacy flaw

For example, malicious code writers could name a 'virus.exe' file as 'virus.txt.exe' or 'virus.jpg.exe', he said. Windows Explorer would then hide the .exe part of the filename, meaning that the user would only see 'virus.txt' or 'virus.jpg'. Additionally, virus writers would change the icon displayed with the file in Windows Explorer so it looked like the icon of a text file or an image. Users might then click on the disguised file.

● Win7 can still be exploited by hackers

"People typically look at the icon to know what the file is," Runald told ComputerWorldUK. "If it looks like a Word doc or a PDF file, there's an implicit trust in it, and users are more likely to click on those files, even if they are actually an executable."

● Hackers hold US medical data hostage

The PMP contains details of medical patient’s drug prescriptions and was intended to be used to stop people abusing their access to medicines.

However, on Thursday the site was taken over by hackers and the following announcement posted on the web page.