Any IT/ computer geniuses out there who can tell me why Microsoft's desktop gadgets for currency rates and weather/temperature haven't worked for 2 days? Everything else online is fast and no probs. If it was just local weather/temp, I'd say a local situation, but international currencies as well? I'm in the far north east of Isaan.

I've had a bugger of a time trying to activate Office 2013.

If your widgets are using M$ servers, perhaps they're under a DDOS attack or something.

I've had a bugger of a time trying to activate Office 2013.

If your widgets are using M$ servers, perhaps they're under a DDOS attack or something.

Thanks for the possibility.

Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2719662

The software company has released a security update that shuts off

the desktop feature out of concerns that hackers could get into a user’s

system.

Microsoft has issued a security advisory

urging users to install an update that disables the Sidebar and Gadgets

features on Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems due to a

potential security vulnerability.

The security advisory warns that a hacker could get into a users

system through an insecure Gadget running in Sidebar, execute arbitrary

code and wreak havoc on the system. The Sidebar, as its name implies, is

a section of the desktop real estate that lies to one side of the

screen. Gadgets running in Sidebar are various tools, created with small

amounts of code, which a user can see at a glance while working on

their computer, such as a clock, the local temperature, a news headline

feed or a stock ticker.Gadgets installed from untrusted sources

can harm your computer and can access your computer's files, show you

objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time,

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Microsoft-Disables-Windows-Sidebar-Gadgets-Due-to-Security-Risk-643712/

Strange these announcements go back to Jul 2012. I feel along with many it's a ploy to get more users to upgrade to Windows 8.

They are disabled in Windows 8 because they're insecure, that's the point.

I've taken the easy route round this by installing currency converter and weather info into Mozilla Firefox tool bar.

Whilst I fully understand the disabling of these until the problem is solved I would say that at least with Windowqs 7 the Sidebar functionality was touted as a core feature of windows. It may have been necescarily to disable this till a solution was found as w7 is still within the support period. They prefered to abandon their customers in this case as they want to concentrate on Windows 8 applications. I do not think this would have happened under the old Microsoft management.

My gadgets worked fine until the latest updates for Windows 7 were installed 3 days ago. So it seems Microsoft are now forcing all Windows 7 users to follow what was last year only advice to disable. For sure an excuse to promote Windows 8, without making it clear the new edition has so-called applications, not gadgets. Clever marketing tactics. But, like I said at #8 above, there are effective routes round this without the help of Microsoft.