By Scott Dunn

Windows’ Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature provides important protection against malicious code, as I described in my May 3 article.

But additional free tools reported by our readers make the feature even more accessible to users of Windows XP.

Finding hardware DEP support in XP

Richard Wilcox has important information that will be of interest to XP users:

• "Windows XPSP2 does indeed support hardware DEP, if you have an AMD or Intel processor with this feature, according to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article."
  

As Richard points out, this feature was first introduced with XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Note, however, that the Data Execution Prevention tab in SP2′s Performance Options dialog box does not report on your hardware’s DEP capabilities, the way Vista’s dialog box does.



Fortunately, other readers, including Stuartt Cuthill, point out that you can get this information by using a very simple freeware application, Securable, from Gibson Research Corporation.

Detecting DEP settings in XP

A number of readers, including Jeff Kohut, pointed out that XP users can also detect whether DEP is enabled for a particular process by downloading the free Sysinternals utility Process Explorer from Microsoft.

Process Explorer mimics most features of Task Manager and can be set up to display DEP status by choosing View, Select Columns. Check DEP Status on the Process Image tab and click OK.

Windows, not your browser, controls DEP

One reader, identified as "Molotov," also uses Process Explorer and has a number of useful points about DEP:

• " ‘Hacker programs’ are not the only kinds of programs that can utilize the behavior DEP is designed to prevent. Indeed, the technique is so common that Microsoft decided to change the default setting for DEP in XP SP2 from OPTOUT (Enable DEP for all executables, except those specified) to OPTIN (Enable DEP for core Windows system images) because in service pack testing, so many programs were affected by DEP.
  
  "The discussion of browsers and their ability to ignore the DEP settings was interesting to me, as I am running XP SP2 (DEP setting of OPTOUT), and both IE 7 and Firefox run with DEP enabled (On, as reported by Process Explorer for firefox.exe and iexplore.exe) on my system.
  
  "This makes me question the statement, ‘XP users apparently have no way to activate DEP for IE 7.’ IE 7 (as well as IE 6) respect the operating system’s DEP setting. Though I did not try other browsers in these VPC images, I suspect the results would be the same as my findings for IE 6/IE 7 and my experience on my ‘real’ system. Add-ons for the browsers could certainly have an impact on the experience one has with the DEP setting enabled for the browser process, which may lead one to add the process to the DEP exclusion list.
  
  "The statement, ‘IE 7 is not the only program that ignores Windows global DEP settings. Even with DEP turned on globally, Task Manager shows that neither Mozilla Firefox nor Opera support DEP,’ is misleading, in the sense that what Task Manager (or Process Explorer) is really showing is that DEP is or is not ‘enabled’ or ‘turned on’ for the particular process, not that the process does or doesn’t support DEP."
  

As Molotov points out, it’s the hardware and Windows operating system that controls DEP, not individual applications. It now appears that XP does enable DEP for browsers when you choose Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select.

However, this is not the case in Vista, which may be excluding browsers for compatibility’s sake, despite the user’s DEP setting. It remains the case that in Vista, IE7 is the only browser that can have DEP enabled. This requires a setting change in the Internet Properties Control Panel, as described in the May 3 article.

Even more discount programs for MS software

David Hightower points out a great way for home users to get Microsoft software at a terrific discount, if they work for the right employer:

• "Lots of companies have ‘home use’ agreements with Microsoft, including military, civilian employees, and contractors working for the U.S. government. Participation in the Home Use Program (HUP) lets you obtain a licensed copy of Microsoft Office and selected additional desktop applications (such as Front Page, Project, and Visio) to install and use on your home computer for a nominal cost. To participate, go to the HUP Web site and follow the instructions.
  
  "In addition to HUP, Microsoft also offers the Employee Purchase Program (EPP), which is available to government personnel (military, civilian employees, and contractors). The EPP lets participants purchase some of Microsoft’s most popular consumer software and hardware at discounted prices (Office, Windows XP/Vista, Money, etc.). To participate, go to the EPP Web site and follow the instructions."
  

Microsoft’s Home Use program does offer amazing discounts for those who qualify. To do so, however, you’ll have to work for an organization that is signed up with Microsoft’s Software Assurance volume-licensing program. The program is designed to let employees work at home using the same software they do at work.

Consequently, the software available to you depends on what software your organization has licensed. One reader who uses this program, Evan Orensky, wrote to say that he got a copy of MS Office 2007 Enterprise for just a fulfillment fee, which in his case was US$20, plus tax. "The license is valid for as long as you work for the company, and as long as the company maintains its Software Assurance coverage," he adds.

OEM discounts can apply to end users

Some readers thought an interpretation of OEM software licensing terms that we printed in the May 3 newsletter was too restrictive. Michael Sullivan writes:

• "Your article suggests that only ‘authorized dealers’ can sell Microsoft Windows OEM software. I don’t think this is accurate. The OEM license, which you [Susan Bradley] post on your site, and which is also available at Microsoft’s site, makes clear that the license only applies if a ‘system builder’ accepts the license agreement by opening the package. If the package is unopened, the agreement is inapplicable and the owner may ‘transfer’ (i.e., sell) the package intact to another ‘system builder.’
  
  "Are Amazon or Newegg system builders? I don’t think so. Are they selling OEM packages? Yes. Are they bound by any shrink-wrap licensing restrictions on packages they don’t open? No way.
  
  "You are correct in stating that a person opening the package must become a ‘system builder’ by registering with the Microsoft Partner Program, at least to the extent the shrink-wrap license is legally binding, which is by no means clear. This requirement is not stated in the agreement itself, but is incorporated into it through the back door by insisting that the license is only valid if the OS is preinstalled using certain tools that, it turns out, are only available if one registers as a system builder.
  
  "In any event, one doesn’t have to be a system builder on the scale of Michael Dell to qualify. If a computer builder, who can be an individual, registers and uses the tools provided, he or she can legally buy the OEM software from anyone (such as Amazon or Newegg) — not just Microsoft’s half-dozen authorized distributors — and preinstall it with the designated tools on computers for his or her customers."
  

A similar point is made by another reader, Sean Toner, who writes to point out that the OEM license agreement actually defines a system builder more broadly than one might assume. It states that a system builder is "an original equipment manufacturer, an assembler, refurbisher, or pre-installer of software on computer systems."

Still another reader, Poul Andeersen, cites a Microsoft posting on the Small Business Community Blog stating that "OEM system builder software packs … are not intended for distribution to end users. Unless the end user is actually assembling his/her own PC, in which case, that end user is considered a system builder as well." [emphasis added]

Such a statement suggests that hobbyists who are assembling or refurbishing a system may legitimately buy OEM system builder products.

More deals for Australian students

Finally, Lyn Hancock writes in with another way for Australian students to get software through an academic discount.

• "The most surprising deal that I have seen for university students is from Microsoft itself! Check out Microsoft’s Unistudentoffer site as well as their It’s Not Cheating site. The offer of a perpetual license for Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 is unbelievable!
  
  "Basically, if you have a valid Australian university e-mail address, you can purchase either a 12-month license for this bundle for AU$25 (about US$21) or a perpetual license for AU$75 (US$62). The only catch is that the offer is valid for only three months, which ends on May 28."
  

Thanks for the tip, Lyn!

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