[Windows 8 SKU Editions] Comparison Between Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise and Windows RT

First Windows 8 headlines:

• Microsoft confirms that Windows 8 will be the official name of its upcoming OS
• Windows 8 will come in 3 editions for x86 processors: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise
• Microsoft talks about new "Windows RT" edition for ARM processors
• Windows Media Center will be available as add-on to Windows 8 Pro edition
• For China, there will be a local language-only edition of Windows 8
• Windows 8's Server edition will be officially called "Windows Server 2012"

Now the details:

Windows 8 is Official Product Name of Microsoft's Next OS

Today in an official post at Blogging Windows blog, Microsoft confirmed that "Windows 8" is the official product name of company's upcoming OS. If you can remember, same thing happened with Windows 7. Microsoft has started a tradition to keep product's codename and official name same.

Windows 8 SKU Details

Second news, Microsoft has announced Windows 8 SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) details. Microsoft had a tradition to release several editions for every new Windows version such as Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise.
It always confused people in choosing correct edition for them. So many editions were never liked by Windows users and now it seems Microsoft has accepted this fact.
Now Microsoft has simplified Windows 8 editions list and there will be only 3 editions of Windows 8 for x86 processors (both 32-bit and 64-bit):

• Windows 8
• Windows 8 Pro
• Windows 8 Enterprise

All 3 editions will be available for PCs and tablets powered by x86 processors (both 32-bit and 64-bit).

Windows 8:

According to Microsoft, this basic edition of Windows 8 will be the right choice for many Windows users. It will include all basic features currently available in Windows 8 Consumer Preview build such as updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support and the ability to switch languages on the fly,which was previously only available in Enterprise/Ultimate editions of Windows.
Existing Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium users will be able to upgrade to this basic edition of Windows 8.

Windows 8 Pro:

Windows 8 Pro is designed for tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals. It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity.
Following features are exclusive to Pro edition and will not available in basic edition of Windows 8:

• BitLocker and BitLocker To Go
• Boot from VHD
• Client Hyper-V
• Domain Join
• Encrypting File System
• Group Policy
• Remote Desktop (host)

Windows Media Center will be available as an economical "media pack" add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.
Existing Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate users will be able to upgrade to both basic as well as Pro editions of Windows 8.

Windows 8 Enterprise:

As with previous versions of Windows, there will also be an edition of Windows 8 specifically for those enterprise customers with Software Assurance agreements. Windows 8 Enterprise edition includes all the features of Windows 8 Pro plus features for IT organization that enable PC management and deployment, advanced security, virtualization, new mobility scenarios and much more.
Following features are exclusive to Enterprise edition and will not available in other editions of Windows 8:

• Windows To Go
• DirectAccess
• BranchCache
• AppLocker
• VDI Enhancements
• App Deployment

Windows To Go feature allows users to put is a fully manageable corporate Windows 8 desktop on a bootable external USB stick. DirectAccess allows remote users to seamlessly access resources inside a corporate network without having to launch a separate VPN. BranchCache allows users' PCs to cache files, websites, and other content from central servers, so content is not repeatedly downloaded across the wide area network (WAN). AppLocker can help mitigate issues by restricting the files and apps that users or groups are allowed to run.

Windows RT or Windows RunTime

Microsoft also talked about a new edition of Windows which is "Windows RT" or "Windows RunTime". Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family. It will be also known as Windows on ARM or WOA. This single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors and will help enable new thin and lightweight form factors with impressive battery life.
Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.
If you want to get a feature-wise comparison between Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT, following chart will help you:

Feature Name	Windows 8	Windows 8 Pro	Windows RT
Upgrades from Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium	x	x
Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate		x
Start screen, Semantic Zoom, Live Tiles	x	x	x
Windows Store	x	x	x
Apps (Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, Photos, SkyDrive, Reader, Music, Video)	x	x	x
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)			x
Internet Explorer 10	x	x	x
Device encryption			x
Connected standby	x	x	x
Microsoft account	x	x	x
Desktop	x	x	x
Installation of x86/64 and desktop software	x	x
Updated Windows Explorer	x	x	x
Windows Defender	x	x	x
SmartScreen	x	x	x
Windows Update	x	x	x
Enhanced Task Manager	x	x	x
Switch languages on the fly (Language Packs)	x	x	x
Better multiple monitor support	x	x	x
Storage Spaces	x	x
Windows Media Player	x	x
Exchange ActiveSync	x	x	x
File history	x	x	x
ISO / VHD mount	x	x	x
Mobile broadband features	x	x	x
Picture password	x	x	x
Play To	x	x	x
Remote Desktop (client)	x	x	x
Reset and refresh your PC	x	x	x
Snap	x	x	x
Touch and Thumb keyboard	x	x	x
Trusted boot	x	x	x
VPN client	x	x	x
BitLocker and BitLocker To Go		x
Boot from VHD		x
Client Hyper-V		x
Domain Join		x
Encrypting File System		x
Group Policy		x
Remote Desktop (host)		x

Windows Server 2012

Microsoft has also announced the official name of "Windows Server 8". Windows 8's Server edition will officially be called "Windows Server 2012" and is due out later this year. Windows Server 2012 will be a cloud-optimized operating system.
More information about Windows 8 pricing, limited-time programs and promotions will be shared by Microsoft in coming months, so stay tuned with us...

How Hackers Can Disguise Malicious Programs With Fake File Extensions

File extensions can be faked – that file with an .mp3 extension may actually be an executable program. Hackers can fake file extensions by abusing a special Unicode character, forcing text to be displayed in reverse order.
Windows also hides file extensions by default, which is another way novice users can be deceived – a file with a name like picture.jpg.exe will appear as a harmless JPEG image file.

Disguising File Extensions With The “Unitrix” Exploit

If you always tell Windows to show file extensions (see below) and pay attention to them, you may think that you’re safe from file-extension-related shenanigans. However, there are other ways people can disguise the file extension.
Dubbed the “Unitrix” exploit by Avast after it was used by the Unitrix malware, this method takes advantage of a special character in Unicode to reverse the order of characters in a file name, hiding the dangerous file extension in the middle of the file name and placing a harmless-looking fake file extension near the end of the file name.
The Unicode character is U+202E: Right-to-Left Override, and it forces programs to display text in reverse order. While it’s obviously useful for some purposes, it probably shouldn’t be supported in file names.

Essentially, the file’s actual name can be something like “Awesome Song uploaded by [U+202e]3pm.SCR”. The special character forces Windows to display the end of the file’s name in reverse, so the file’s name will appear as “Awesome Song uploaded by RCS.mp3”. However, it’s not an MP3 file – it’s an SCR file and it will be executed if you double-click it. (See below for more types of dangerous file extensions.)

This example is taken from a cracking site, as I thought it was particularly deceptive – keep an eye on the files you download!

Windows Hides File Extensions By Default

Most users have been trained not to launch untrusted .exe files download from the Internet as they may be malicious. Most users also know that some types of files are safe – for example, if you have a JPEG image named image.jpg, you can double-click it and it will open in your image-viewing program without any risk of getting infected.
There’s just one problem – Windows hides file extensions by default. The image.jpg file may actually be image.jpg.exe, and when you double-click it you’ll launch the malicious .exe file. This is one of the situations where User Account Control can help – malware can still do damage without administrator permissions, but won’t be able to compromise your entire system.
Worse yet, malicious individuals can set any icon they want for the .exe file. A file named image.jpg.exe using the standard image icon will look like a harmless image with Windows’ default settings. While Windows will tell you that this file is an application if you look closely, many users won’t notice this.

Viewing File Extensions

To help protect against this, you can enable file extensions in Windows Explorer’s Folder Settings window. Click the Organize button in Windows Explorer and select Folder and search options to open it.

Uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types checkbox on the View tab and click OK.

All files extensions will now be visible, so you’ll see the hidden .exe file extension.

.exe Isn’t the Only Dangerous File Extension

The .exe file extension isn’t the only dangerous file extension to look out for. Files ending with these file extensions can also run code on your system, making them dangerous, too:

.bat, .cmd, .com, .lnk, .pif, .scr, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .wsh

This list isn’t exhaustive. For example, if you have Oracle’s Java installed, the .jar file extension can also be dangerous, as it will launch Java programs.