Yes,
The newest build is here. December's CTP will be made available to about 500,000 developers and IT professionals through Microsoft's technical beta, MSDN and TechNet programmes.
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Microsoft has made available a new Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.
The new release includes several new features in the areas of security, performance and the user interface, said Shanen Boettcher, a senior director with Microsoft's Windows Client Group in a conference call with reporters.
The preview offers an updated version of Windows Defender, formerly known Windows anti spyware. The tool offers improved detection and removal of spyware and malware and features a new user interface. It will also run for users on a standard user account where previously it required them to run in administror mode.
Microsoft has also make available an updated version of its firewall software that now features bi-directional filtering. This enables the software to monitor the data that a system is receiving from the internet as well as data that it is trying to send, potentially blocking worms or spyware from connecting to their masters.
Internet Explorer is set to start giving better notifications when a user visits a spoofed website that is set up to steal confidential information such as credit card numbers. Microsoft had already revealed that the browser will use a list of know spoofing websites and turn the address bar red when a users visits such a website.
Boettcher said that Internet Explorer also will look for uncommon characters in the website's URL, based on the system's language settings. The software for instance will warn when an English user visits a website with an o-umlaut.
For enterprises, the software adds support for the IPSec standard for data encryption or authentication. Another feature courting enterprises enables IT administrators to control or block the use of USB memory keys inside organizations through group policies.
"This has been a great concern of these folks in terms of data leakage, in files being copied on to these devices and then taken home or potentially lost, " Boettcher said.
Consumers meanwhile can start testing the software's new parental control features that enable parents to monitor and control their children's computer usage by blocking certain websites. It can also prevent access to games based on the ratings set by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and allows parents to set a timer for the maximum time of computer usage.
The December CTP will also introduce a new feature dubbed Bitlocker, which uses a technology that Microsoft refers to as secure startup. Bitlocker will encrypt the contents of the hard drive on a laptop computer, preventing data leaks when a laptop is lost or stolen.
New performance features include the inclusion of Superfetch. Unveiled at the Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles last September, the technology will use external memory including USB memory keys or flash memory chips to boost system performance by preloading commonly accessed data and application onto the memory.
Testers can also expect to start seeing some of Vista's new designs for the user interface, including window transparency and an updated interface for Media Centre editions.
December's CTP will be made available to about 500,000 developers and IT professionals through Microsoft's technical beta, MSDN and TechNet programmes.
Windows Vista is the first version of Microsoft's operating system where the company is using its Community Technology Previews. Microsoft promised the monthly updates at PDC in September, although it skipped the November release. Each CTP is centred around a certain them, indicating to testers when they can expect to start looking at certain functionalities.
Microsoft issued a first beta of Windows Vista last July. A second beta has been promised for early 2006 and the final product is scheduled to become available in the second half of 2006."
[VNUnet]
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