Last week there was word of a bug in Internet Explorer that would allow users of Google Desktop to be vulnerable to having the files on their machine viewed from a malicious website. Today, there is news that Google has made changes on thier site that prevent that flaw from being exploited through their software.
Tag: internet explorer
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Microsoft conceds on ActiveX changes to appease Eolas
Microsoft will be releasing an update to Internet Explorer that changes the way embedded ActiveX controls are loaded. The method of loading embedded controls was at the heart of a lawsuit against Microsoft from smaller Eolas Technologies.
Software affected by the patent would include Macromedia Flash, QuickTime, RealOne Player, Acrobat Reader, Sun’s Java Virtual Machine, and Windows Media Player among other applications that embed into Web pages.
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Firefox 1.5 has over 2 million downloads already
OS Dir has the story that Mozilla Firefox 1.5 has already been downloaded more than 2 million times. It was released publicly on the 29th of this month (Tuesday afternoon) and today is Friday… not bad for just a few days. I suspect that the rate will slow now that all the folks that were watching for the release have got the new version downloaded.
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Another IE security flaw this one could lead to data theft
I saw this earlier this afternoon at betanews.com there seems to be a flaw in the way Internet Explorer deals with css that could put your data at risk. According to this article it is a risk combined with Google Desktop. This can be “fixed” by disabling scripting or using Firefox as your primary browser. Currently Microsoft says it is “investigating the problem”…
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Apple Security Update
13 Seperate vulnerabilities are addressed by the latest Apple security updates. 9 vulnerabilites exist in network facing services like the web server, a couple in the web browser, another couple in SSL (secure socket layer) handling. In other words, get updating.
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Mobile browsers also eat into Internet Explorer’s market share
Yesterday there were articles and blog posts comparing the next generation of the big three browsers, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. Among the insightful comments on one of those articles, there was the observation that Firefox’s market share of (up to) 15% (more on tech oriented sites), gave webmasters a reason to abandon a one-browser design strategy. In fact, one reason I think all browsers should be standards compliant is to make web designer’s jobs simpler. What’s interesting though is the further point that Mobile web browsing in some parts of the world exceed PC web browsing and there is wide open competition there for browser market share.
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DoS Exploit for MS-053
Incidents.org has the story on an “in the wild” exploit for MS-053 vulnerability. The patch is out, so if you haven’t already – go ahead with the patching. The vulnerability is entitled “Vulnerabilities in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Code Execution (896424)”. The exploit causes 100% cpu utilitzation on visiting a page with a specially crafted file using Internet Explorer. The “attacking” page could essentially cause a system freeze.
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Microsoft’s unpatched security bugs
George Ou at ZDnet is mystified (as many of us are) at why Microsoft can’t patch ALL their security vulnerabilities. Most of the unpatched vulnerabilities are considered minor (as was the 6 month old bug that in the last week was discovered could be exploited for more than a Denial of Service…) His point is, if small companies (even open source groups) can patch ALL security bugs big and small, then why can’t Microsoft with it’s legions of coders?
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ABC news weighs in on the new browser wars
ABC News has an article weighing in on the renewed browser wars in a comparison of the upcoming release of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. Basically, they say that those with little motivation to move from Explorer will have even less after the release of 7 (the user interface will be similar to the others…tabbed browsing, etc.) He does point out that the other browsers aren’t standing still.
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One alternative to Google Book (formerly Google Print)
Search Engine watch has reported on a less controversial alternative to the Google Book Search (formerly Google Print). Less controversial, of course from the standpoint of Book publishers and those with concerns about Google’s potential for their size and leverage.