Google buying FeedBurner for $100 million

In this context, it is essential to recognize that the aggregation of personal preferences and browsing history of ordinary users is consolidating within the databases of a single company. This aggregation enables the correlation and analysis of vast amounts of private information. While this information is already scattered across the internet, the concern arises from its gradual centralization under the control of a single private entity. The potential consequences for our personal and private data in relation to our browsing experiences are a matter of concern.

One notable outcome of this centralization is the potential for the company to offer more integrated, personalized, and localized services to its users. This aspect is particularly intriguing in the current landscape of internet search dominated by companies like Google.

Wired writes Google To Drop $100 Million On Feedburner here. BetaNews reports Google to Acquire Feedburner for $100 Million here.

Can Google and Linux Topple Microsoft?

The Federal Aviation Administration's CIO, David Bowen, is considering replacing Microsoft Windows and Office with Linux and Google Apps Premium for cost and compatibility reasons. Google Apps offers collaborative tools, but not all functionalities of Microsoft Office. Concerns exist over data security with third-party servers. Microsoft argues that costs are not solely dependent on software and addresses compatibility issues. The FAA has not made a final decision yet. Here is an article from Route-Fifty.

Amazon to offer DRM-free music downloads

Great news awaits music enthusiasts worldwide, and it is expected to be warmly embraced. The current Digital Rights Management (DRM) policies governing the usage and distribution of music files are characterized by unjust and unfriendly restrictions that neglect the rights of purchasers or consumers. It is evident that such DRM policies were inherently doomed to fail indefinitely. When a customer acquires a piece of music in digital format, it is illogical to impose restrictions on the number of digital devices on which it can be transferred. The recent shift away from these restrictive policies is a positive development. It is hoped that the legal music industry will witness a substantial increase in sales as a result, minimizing losses to pirated content providers. Here is a ZDnet article.

Yahoo! Messenger is now available inside Web Browsers

This development brings positive implications for Yahoo Messenger users as it eliminates the need to install an additional application on their local machines. This enhancement greatly enhances convenience, especially for individuals who frequently utilize the application from cyber cafes, a common practice in India where a significant proportion of internet users access the web from such establishments. Notably, Yahoo holds the second position globally in the Instant Messaging (IM) space, boasting 88.5 million users according to audience measurement firm comScore Inc. However, it is worth mentioning that AOL's AIM holds the top spot in the United States, while Microsoft's MSN/Windows Live Messenger remains the most popular globally. Here is an article on Reuters.

Google Surpasses Microsoft as the World's Most Valuable Brands

Google has surpassed Microsoft as the world's top-ranked brand, with General Electric, Coca-Cola, and others following. Factors like corporate responsibility and expansion into emerging markets contributed to brand recognition. China Mobile topped the list for non-U.S. brands. The rankings were based on financial data and interviews with a million consumers. Google's rise highlights its word-of-mouth promotion approach, while Microsoft slid despite a massive marketing campaign for Windows Vista. Apple and Starbucks saw significant improvements, while Intel, Home Depot, and Dell declined in the brand rankings. A Reuters article is available here.

Call to WTSQueryUserToken() gives ERROR_PRIVILEGE_NOT_HELD in Windows Vista

2007-04-17 Here I will describe an error called ERROR_PRIVILEGE_NOT_HELD that I faced from a call to WTSQueryUserToken() using Visual C++ on Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2.

I have used the WTSQueryUserToken() function to obtain the primary access token of the logged-on user whose session-id I had obtained from a call to WTSGetActiveConsoleSessionId().

Now, here is my problem. After the call to WTSQueryUserToken() from inside a DLL that is running under the Print Spooler service, GetLastError() returns error number 1314 which means: A required privilege is not held by the client. I am logged in to Windows using an administrator account. The Notepad.exe application that is invoked at the end of the code also doesn't start.

In MSDN I see that what I'm getting is the error ERROR_PRIVILEGE_NOT_HELD which means: The caller does not have the SE_TCB_NAME privilege. How should I go about getting that privilege now?

Print Spooler (SPOOLSV.EXE) runs under the SYSTEM username account, i.e., the LocalSystem account. A quick look up in the Windows Task Manager shows that the Image Name SPOOLSV.EXE is running under the SYSTEM username.

My DLL is loaded by SPOOLSV.EXE under its own context. My intent is to start the Notepad.exe application under the context of the user who is currently logged in to Windows.

Note: As an aside, note that the SPOOLSV.EXE runs from location C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe. It is the Windows Print Spooler service that loads files to memory for later printing.

Here is my source code snippet:

static STARTUPINFO si;

static PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;

HANDLE hTokenNew = NULL, hTokenDup = NULL;

DWORD dwSessionId = WTSGetActiveConsoleSessionId();

WTSQueryUserToken(dwSessionId, &hTokenNew);

DuplicateTokenEx(hTokenNew, MAXIMUM_ALLOWED, NULL,

                 SecurityIdentification, TokenPrimary,

&hTokenDup);

ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(STARTUPINFO));

si.cb = sizeof(STARTUPINFO);

si.lpDesktop = _T("winsta0\\default");

LPVOID  pEnv = NULL;

DWORD dwCreationFlag = NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS | CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE;

CreateEnvironmentBlock(&pEnv, hTokenDup, FALSE));

dwCreationFlag |= CREATE_UNICODE_ENVIRONMENT;

pEnv = NULL;

ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(PROCESS_INFORMATION));

CreateProcessAsUser(hTokenDup, NULL, _T("c:\\windows\\notepad.exe"),

                    NULL, NULL, FALSE, dwCreationFlag,

                    pEnv, NULL, &si, &pi);

CloseHandle(hTokenDup);

Update 2007-04-25: So, this is how I solved it. There was no need for the WTSGetActiveConsoleSessionId() and WTSQueryUserToken(). Just the CreateEnvironmentBlock() must work properly so that the environment for the process you are going to create is set correctly.

Here is the source that worked for me. The code snippet below shows the Notepad application being launched. The DLL in which I used this code runs under the Print Spooler service - basically it is a Print Monitor. You need to add your own validity checks - what's listed below is bare-bones.

#include "userenv.h"

// Global Typedefs for function pointers in USERENV.DLL

typedef BOOL (STDMETHODCALLTYPE FAR * LPFNCREATEENVIRONMENTBLOCK)

             (LPVOID  *lpEnvironment,

              HANDLE  hToken,

              BOOL    bInherit);

typedef BOOL (STDMETHODCALLTYPE FAR * LPFNDESTROYENVIRONMENTBLOCK)

             (LPVOID lpEnvironment);

void InvokeApp()

{

    // Local Variable Declarations

    HANDLE hToken    = NULL;

    HANDLE hTokenDup = NULL;

    STARTUPINFO si;

    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;

    ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(STARTUPINFO));

    ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(PROCESS_INFORMATION));

   

    si.cb = sizeof(STARTUPINFO);

    si.lpDesktop = _T("Winsta0\\Default");

   

    DWORD  dwCreationFlag = NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS | CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE;

    LPVOID pEnvironment = NULL;

    LPFNCREATEENVIRONMENTBLOCK lpfnCreateEnvironmentBlock = NULL;

    LPFNDESTROYENVIRONMENTBLOCK lpfnDestroyEnvironmentBlock = NULL;

    HMODULE hUserEnvLib = NULL;

    hUserEnvLib = LoadLibrary(_T("userenv.dll"));

    if ( NULL != hUserEnvLib ) {

        lpfnCreateEnvironmentBlock = (LPFNCREATEENVIRONMENTBLOCK)

        GetProcAddress(hUserEnvLib, "CreateEnvironmentBlock");

       

        lpfnDestroyEnvironmentBlock = (LPFNDESTROYENVIRONMENTBLOCK)

        GetProcAddress(hUserEnvLib, "DestroyEnvironmentBlock");

    }

    OpenThreadToken(GetCurrentThread(), TOKEN_DUPLICATE, TRUE, &hToken);

    DuplicateTokenEx(hToken,

                     TOKEN_IMPERSONATE|TOKEN_READ|

                     TOKEN_ASSIGN_PRIMARY|TOKEN_DUPLICATE,

                     NULL,

                     SecurityImpersonation,

                     TokenPrimary,

                     &hTokenDup);

    RevertToSelf();

    CloseHandle(hToken);

    if (NULL != lpfnCreateEnvironmentBlock)

{

        if (lpfnCreateEnvironmentBlock(&pEnvironment, hTokenDup, FALSE))

{

            dwCreationFlag |= CREATE_UNICODE_ENVIRONMENT; // must specify

        }

        else

{

            pEnvironment = NULL;

            OutputDebugString(_T("CreateEnvironmentBlock() -- FAILED"));

        }

    }

    else

{

        OutputDebugString(_T("FAILED - GetProcAddress"));

    }

    CreateProcessAsUser(hTokenDup, NULL, _T("c:\\windows\\notepad.exe"),

                        NULL, NULL, FALSE, dwCreationFlag,

                        pEnvironment, NULL, &si, &pi);

   

    if (NULL != lpfnDestroyEnvironmentBlock)

        lpfnDestroyEnvironmentBlock(pEnvironment);

 

    if (NULL != hUserEnvLib)

        FreeLibrary(hUserEnvLib);

   

    CloseHandle(hTokenDup);

}

What did I fix? The issue I was facing was that the application I wanted my Print Monitor to launch using CreateProcessAsUser() was not getting the logged-on user's environment. The after-effect was that, because of this reason, when my application used to show the File Open common dialog box, it would behave strange while trying to browse to the Desktop in it. This was in Vista.

In Windows XP, the File Open dialog would let you browse to the Desktop folder but the object icons on the Desktop would not appear right in it.

Note that if you don't use CreateEnvironmentBlock(), and the application you launch uses things like the Windows Common Dialog boxes, you may find file dialog boxes working erratically.

Refer this and this.

Google pays $3.1bn for DoubleClick

Google acquired DoubleClick, a pioneer in online advertising, for $3.1 billion in cash, making Google a major player in online display advertising. Despite DoubleClick's revenues being estimated at $300m-$400m, the high price reflects intense competition in the online advertising market. Google aims to cross-sell DoubleClick's services to its existing search advertising customers. The deal allows Google to expand its advertising market as its core search advertising business slows down. The integration of search and display advertising is a significant benefit of the acquisition. DoubleClick's private equity owners profit handsomely from the sale. Here is an article from the Financial Times.