March 2010

German Gov't Warns About Firefox

First they warned about IE. Now the German authorities are warning users to beware of a Firefox exploit that will only be fixed with the release of version 3.6.2 towards the end of this month. Details from the Beeb here. Time to use Opera!

Adobe is the Winner!

Microsoft Word has been dethroned as the most likely point-of-entry for rogue software.

Files based on Reader were exploited in almost 49 per cent of the targeted attacks of 2009, compared with about 39 per cent that took aim at Microsoft Word. By comparison, in 2008, Acrobat was targeted in almost 29 per cent of attacks and Word was exploited by almost 35 per cent.

So, either use an alternative such as Foxit Reader or for a quick 'n dirty fix: Open Adobe Reader, click onEdit, Preferences, JavaScript, and uncheck the enable JavaScript box.

Opera 10.50 Released

You know it, you love it. More likely you have never heard of it. It's an Internet browser and does the same thing as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari except Opera renders it faster. It's also very safe and customizable. Download it here: http://www.opera.com/browser/download/, install it and give it a try.

Internet Explorer F1 Key Flaw

If you use any of the last several versions of Internet Explorer you are advised to not press the F1 key if prompted by any web site. A flaw has been discovered that could open up your Windows machine (except Vista, way to go Bill!) to evil-doers. The Microsoft Security Advisory (981169) is here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/981169.mspx

The quote from Microsoft below:

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires that users assist the exploit by pressing the F1 key on their keyboard. Our analysis shows that if users do not press the F1 key on their keyboard, the vulnerability cannot be exploited.

Consequently, malicious Web sites may attempt to persuade users into pressing the F1 key. Such a Web site could invoke an endless loop of dialog boxes that tell the user to press the F1 key to end the loop, or offer information such as pricing information or help to be revealed through the F1 key.

Users are advised to avoid pressing F1 presented by Web pages or other Internet content. If a dialog box appears repeatedly in an attempt to convince the user to press F1, users may log off the system or use Task Manager to terminate the Internet Explorer process.