Microsoft Releases Out-of-Band Patch for Aurora
January 22, 2010 by Alan Wilcox
An emergency patch has been released that addresses the security issues exposed by the recent attack on Google, code named Aurora. If you do not have your computer set to automatically update, please use the Microsoft Update feature on your Windows based computer to download and install this important patch.
Concerns About Aurora Spur Safety Tips
Based on an article by Kelly Jackson Higgins at Dark Reading
There are suggestions for locking down your computers against this new threat until Microsoft releases its out-of-band patch to plug this previously unknown vulnerability. But, the first thing I recommend is doing something I have been harping about for years now. Don't click on links in emails or other sources if you aren't sure what they contain. Simple, to the point, and effective. In other words, don't open the door in the first place.
Adobe's Reader and Acrobat; JavaScript Exploit
From Kelly Jackson Higgins at DarkReading
Yet one more reason not to blindly trust emails containing attachments, a new attack comes in the form of a socially-engineered email with an attached, maliciously crafted PDF. Watch for a patch coming from Adobe January 12, 2010.
FinallyFast.com; Another Stop-Sign?
April 17, 2009 by Alan Wilcox
Over the last few days, I have seen several television spots for a service that is supposed to speed up Windows-based PC's. The ads, frankly, smell of scam. So, I went online to see what others were saying.
Really, I was not too surprised to learn there were some problems with the advertiser's claims and some reported the service actually created more problems. This is very much a repetition of the Stop-Sign antivirus application that used to be advertised frequently by E-Accelerate. Just like Stop-Sign, reviewers are reporting that the FinallyFast service actually installs elements identified by other reputable anti-spyware and anti-virus applications as being spyware, malware, and trojans. Even more, others report unexpected billing issues on their credit cards.
For these reasons, I cannot recommend anyone utilize the FinallyFast.com service. Rather, I would suggest you avoid it like the plague.
Finally Fast.com-Fast Scam!
FinallyFast.Com:Scam or Legit?
Ripoff Report:FinallyFast.com Worst Scam EVER
Why the hubbub about Conficker?
March 31, 2009 by Alan Wilcox
Come one, people! There really is no need to be worried about the Conficker worm, set to enable itself tomorrow because I know you all have followed my harping and preaching over the years about keeping your operating system and applications updated. Because I know all of you have set your computers to automatically update, the patch that solves this vulnerability and that was issued by Microsoft wayyyyyy back in October of 2008 is certainly installed on your computer and you are completely protected. Right? If not, today is your last chance to take care of the problem. Get your computer updated.
Quick Review of IE8
March 26, 2009 by Alan Wilcox
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 has arrived and addresses some key complaints, adds new features, and offers an improved graphical user interface (GUI).
I downloaded the final release version and put it through an incredibly scientific battery of tests. Well, okay, I'll admit that my testing so far is limited to using it on several Web sites that I am quite familiar with and comparing the rendering quality and speed with my recollections of using Firefox, Opera, Safari, and previous versions of IE. So, my perceptions might even be influenced by a variety of factors outside of my control, like site traffic and household distractions.
My test bed computer is brand new and runs Vista Business. IE7 functioned just fine, but I also did not transfer any book marks or settings when installing IE8. Be aware, if your computer is not functioning well with IE7, transferring settings, cookies, and all that probably won't help IE8 to run better... you'll simply transfer your problems to the new browser.
Despite other's specific complaints on the Web, I have not experienced any situation where IE8 has broken pages, crashed, or rendered pages somehow differently than I expected. I am a little confused by the complaints anyway because many have been complaining about previous IE versions non-compliance with Web standards and that Web designers needed to cater to it because of its market dominance. If a page doesn't display correctly, chances are the page was designed to display some sort of unique content specific to previous non-compliant IE browsers. Therefore, it seems the page is the problem, not the browser. Web designers simply needed to verify that their sites display correctly in standards compliant browsers. However, for those Web masters that refuse to create standards compliant Web pages, IE8 has a simple button to the right of the address bar users can click to render the page and features like IE7 does and avoid issues with broken pages.
That being said, I found IE8 to function smoothly, its features to work well, and offer a more intuitive feel than IE7 did. Certainly, IE8 continues some similar elements of appearance to IE7, but it adds some nice touches. For example, the address bar subtly highlights the domain name of the site you are on, making it easy to identify. Clicking the "down arrow" in the address bar of previous IE versions only showed a list of sites that were entered into the address bar; IE8 shows a nice, organized list of those plus history and favorites, making the arrow button multifunctional. So far, I also have not noticed the locked page and strangely rendered graphics while a page loads, as sometimes experienced with IE7. Another graphical improvement is the colored tabs when more than one page is open, a simple way to remind the user of those still open tabs.
There are numerous other features available, and many can be set up during the install process. Personally, I kept things somewhat minimal and did not enable accelerators or additional toolbars. I did enable security features during the install, one being similar to the Phishing scanner in IE7. Otherwise, my interest was mostly in seeing how pages loaded and rendered. Over all, I found the browser capable, functional, and attractive. Of course, much of this is personal perception and others may not feel the same way. At present, my favorite browsers have to be Firefox, IE8, followed by Opera as a distant 3rd. Safari? Not even close. But, others will disagree based on personal preference.
Do I recommend downloading and installing IE8? That depends. If you have some critical page you need to access that only seems to render correctly in IE7 or earlier, you might want to verify that it will work with IE8 before committing yourself to it. If you have other browsers available, or another computer with IE7 that you can use (just in case), I wouldn't hesitate to begin using IE8. As usual with any new application or upgrade, you will want to have some sort of backup plan in the event things go awry.
One continuing complaint I have is the lack of support for multiple operating systems like Linux and Mac. I know there are some of those non-Windows users reading this and wincing at the thought of running IE on their machines. As I pointed out earlier, though, much of browser choice is based on perception and preference. If Microsoft wants to continue to maintain market share, they will need to consider making IE8 available to all users, similar to what Opera and Firefox have done. Otherwise, as more users become exposed to Linux and Mac operating systems, browser choice becomes limited by default to everything except IE. Further, IE is not really a free Web browser application if the only way to use it is by buying a Windows operating system.
Check the Strength of Your Passwords
Verify the strength of your passwords using this easy password checker. A small applet is loaded to your browser and shows a graphical representation of your password's strength as you type it in.
Page updated May 12, 2010