If you are using Internet Explorer, you may not want to for a while...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7784908.stm
This is a pretty serious one, folks.
Yes, thank you. Just got your email via flwg.us.
Kidding aside, if you're reading this right now in IE, you owe it to yourself to at least try Firefox or Opera...
A good browser and AVG are all I've ever needed to keep my machines clean and secure.
The challenge her is that some ecommerce sites don't work and play well with anything other than IE, including a lot of banks, though that has been easing since people have started getting on the connected phone bandwagon.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Get the Adblock Plus add-on and disable pop-ups and Java script and you're golden.
(I personally still use and prefer FF2, but that is because a couple of my add-ons aren't supported in FF3)
Note: there are one or two advanced features on eServices that require IE - mostly report generation where its couting
on an active server page that fails to execute in FF, otherwise, no issue. (just light up IE for that function, or get the
FF add-on called "IE Tab" that renders pages with the IE engine in an FF tab)
http://www.opera.com/
I used to be a paying Opera customer before it was free, fast and secure, I just prefer the FF experience now.
I am no longer surprised, but still disappointed when I sit down at a users desk and IE comes up with 7 pops ups and
ads all over the place - the user experience between a secured, clean install of FF versus IE is literally night and day.
No wonder people are frustrated.
Security flaw in Internet Explorer? That's odd...
www.getfirefox.com
Please don't get firefox.
I'd love to have FF have a micro market share of browsers while maintaining it's great addon developer community so that it's just not worth the hassle for spyware, malware and virus developers. To think of all you IE people peeing in my pristine Firefox pool makes me sob tiny salty packets.
Keep using IE. Please.
Quote from: tedda on December 16, 2008, 07:05:37 PM
Please don't get firefox.
I'd love to have FF have a micro market share of browsers while maintaining it's great addon developer community so that it's just not worth the hassle for spyware, malware and virus developers. To think of all you IE people peeing in my pristine Firefox pool makes me sob tiny salty packets.
Keep using IE. Please.
And stay away from Macs too.
Quote from: tedda on December 16, 2008, 07:05:37 PMTo think of all you IE people peeing in my pristine Firefox pool makes me sob tiny salty packets.
Keep using IE. Please.
Nertz...forgot about that..ignore what I said above and keep using IE!
As long as all of you are using IE or FF I'm happy. I'll stick with my Mac.
Well, yeah, that too, but I didn't want to add my Mac snobbery in addition to my Firefox snobbery. ;)
So that's why my AVG firewall has been down... :o
Hmm... (it's been "disabled" and when I've been trying to fix it, the program fails/locks up and won't let me back in unless I restart)
IE will eat your soul. >:D
People still use Macs? How...quaint... ;)
Quote from: tedda on December 16, 2008, 07:05:37 PM
Please don't get firefox.
I'd love to have FF have a micro market share of browsers while maintaining it's great addon developer community so that it's just not worth the hassle for spyware, malware and virus developers. To think of all you IE people peeing in my pristine Firefox pool makes me sob tiny salty packets.
Keep using IE. Please.
Agreed. Lets keep FF on the downlow. IE users, want to mess something up? Go switch to google chrome.
I have used Firefox on 3 different computers and I love it, Just as soon as I set up my new computer the first thing I download is the FOX!! >:D :angel: :clap:
Quote from: Bayhawk21 on December 16, 2008, 07:58:11 PM
Quote from: tedda on December 16, 2008, 07:05:37 PM
Please don't get firefox.
I'd love to have FF have a micro market share of browsers while maintaining it's great addon developer community so that it's just not worth the hassle for spyware, malware and virus developers. To think of all you IE people peeing in my pristine Firefox pool makes me sob tiny salty packets.
Keep using IE. Please.
And stay away from Macs too.
Too late! Have a MAC . . . have always had a MAC . . . will always have a MAC . . . you can have my MAC when you pry it from my cold dead hands! ;D
Agreed with Tedda. Switch to Opera or Netscape or something, and keep buying PC towers and bulky laptops! ;)
Once again a article misleading and/or outright lying to the public concerning Microsoft, and then spead by those who do not like MS for one reason or another.
Microsoft has posted work arounds for the flaw, see http://blogs.technet.com/swi/archive/2008/12/12/Clarification-on-the-various-workarounds-from-the-recent-IE-advisory.aspx (http://blogs.technet.com/swi/archive/2008/12/12/Clarification-on-the-various-workarounds-from-the-recent-IE-advisory.aspx).
Also for those of you who like FireFox, 3.0.5 has been release because of Security Flaws, see http://isc.sans.org/diary.html (http://isc.sans.org/diary.html).
For a complete listing of Security Flaws for the week see http://www.us-cert.gov (http://www.us-cert.gov) or http://sans.org (http://sans.org).
Quote from: EXArmySFinIowa on December 17, 2008, 05:01:11 AM
Once again a article misleading and/or outright lying to the public concerning Microsoft, and then spead by those who do not like MS for one reason or another.
Assumption on your part. I've been a Windows users since the beginning, and a DOS user before that.
Quote from: EXArmySFinIowa on December 17, 2008, 05:01:11 AM
Microsoft has posted work arounds for the flaw, see http://blogs.technet.com/swi/archive/2008/12/12/Clarification-on-the-various-workarounds-from-the-recent-IE-advisory.aspx (http://blogs.technet.com/swi/archive/2008/12/12/Clarification-on-the-various-workarounds-from-the-recent-IE-advisory.aspx).
Hoookey, let's look at the workaround....
Quote from: workaround
Enabling the Workaround (only applies to Windows Vista and later operating systems)
To use this workaround you must first create a temporary directory and then copy an inf file from the attached zip file to it. Use the BlockAccess_x86.inf file if the underlying operating system is 32 bit and the BlockAccess_x64.inf file if the underlying operating system is 64 bit. If you are unsure which operating system you are using, you can figure it out by opening the Control Panel and selecting System. Look for the following output in the resulting window.
Once you have the appropriate file copied over, start an elevated Administrator command prompt, navigate the prompt to the temporary directory, and run the following command where <inf> is the name of the file you copied to the directory.
SecEdit /configure /db BlockAccess.sdb /cfg <inf>
After running the command, you should see the following output.
The task has completed successfully.
See log %windir%\security\logs\scesrv.log for detail info.
SecEdit will also create a file called BlockAccess.sdb in the directory it was run from. You can safely delete it and the inf file.
Validating the Workaround
It is possible to use the icacls command to quickly determine whether or not the workaround has been applied. If you are using a 32 bit operating system, you just need to run the following command:
icacls "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\System\Ole DB\oledb32.dll"
On the other hand if you are using a 64 bit operating system, you will need to run icacls twice; once for the 32 bit version of OLEDB32.DLL and once for the 64 bit version. The two commands are as follows:
icacls "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\System\Ole DB\oledb32.dll"
icacls "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\System\Ole DB\oledb32.dll"
<<snipped for brevity>>
*I* can do it, but I am an IT security type - how many others are up for it? Yeah, I thought so.
- Joe (A Windows, Firefox, and iPhone user - Dogma free!)
Ok lets just forget about Windows and Mac and all the associated problem causing programs...switch to Ubuntu Linux
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/)
FYI- Microsoft will be releasing an out of band hot fix today to address this issue. It should be pushed out through automatic updates and applied to your machines. As long as you have your firewalls on and your virus scanners up to date, you will be fine. The BBC article is a lot of smoke being blown and Microsoft is doing something about it.
Quote from: LtCol Hooligan on December 17, 2008, 04:40:02 PM
FYI- Microsoft will be releasing an out of band hot fix today to address this issue. It should be pushed out through automatic updates and applied to your machines. As long as you have your firewalls on and your virus scanners up to date, you will be fine. The BBC article is a lot of smoke being blown and Microsoft is doing something about it.
I beg to differ. Virus scanners may or may not be updated promptly (either by the vendor or by the user). Both virus scanners and firewalls can be disabled by malware that does get executed.
This is a serious vulnerability that could be widespread very shortly and affect anyone that does not apply the MS patch and who happens across a web site that exploits this flaw. While I commend them for acting quickly, their speed and special attention to this are confirmation of how serious this is.
Speaking from a technical perspective as an IT security professional, this one isn't one you want to mess around with.
Joe- I concur that this is important and believe me, the out of band patch would not have been released if it wasn't important. Automatic updates are the key to success on Windows PCs. I would not leave home without them. Patch away everyone.
It's out, install it already. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/961051.mspx
Quote from: LtCol Hooligan on December 17, 2008, 04:57:43 PM
Joe- I concur that this is important and believe me, the out of band patch would not have been released if it wasn't important. Automatic updates are the key to success on Windows PCs. I would not leave home without them. Patch away everyone.
Agreed. There will always be vulnerabilities to exploit, whether it's IE, FF, or something else. To that, the demonization here around IE or Windows is a bit misplaced. Security requires a multi-faceted approach, part of which includes patch updates. Automatic updates are very important and shoud be utilized.
For all of you Microsoft basher, really go look at the link provided ( http://www.us-cert.gov ) and you will find that they are not alone in having vulnerabilities that have to be patched regularly. The difference is that they are the big kids on the b lock so everybody takes shots at them. But a look at the link will find patches for every major OS and browser listed, including your beloved Apple OS X and Linus.
Quote from: Who_knows? on December 17, 2008, 11:42:51 PM
For all of you Microsoft basher, really go look at the link provided ( http://www.us-cert.gov ) and you will find that they are not alone in having vulnerabilities that have to be patched regularly. The difference is that they are the big kids on the b lock so everybody takes shots at them. But a look at the link will find patches for every major OS and browser listed, including your beloved Apple OS X and Linus.
Mac OS (and to a much smaller degree Linux) has benefited from "security by obscurity" (meaning not a big enough install base to bother) for a long time. The ultimate irony is the Mac vs. PC commercial with the PC having a virus -- since every PC to Mac convert marks one more small step towards the Mac becoming a serious malware-worthy platform.
The malware-writer's theory:
Windows -- Massive install base, non-saavy users, lots of broadband. Get 'em!
Linux -- Usually in well-defended server farms or in use by a guy smart enough to either block it, find me, or hack ME.
Mac -- Geez, can you even name 10 people who have one? (And Steve Jobs doesn't count...)
Joe, sorry if you thought I was making assumptions concerning your choice of OS and Browser and dislike of Microsoft, I was not. The story from the BBC was taken from SC magazine, the reporter at BBC misquoted the article, he has bashed MS every chance he gets.
And for the recorded I'm running Win XP and a Virtual install of Linux, with the following: IE 8, FF 3.0.5, Thunderbird, Outlook, Office 2007, OpenOffice, I just hate to see a product beat up when there is not real basis, like has been said MS is the Big Boy, when one of the others take that spot we'll see people beat on them.
Quote from: EXArmySFinIowa on December 18, 2008, 04:43:03 AM
Joe, sorry if you thought I was making assumptions concerning your choice of OS and Browser and dislike of Microsoft, I was not. The story from the BBC was taken from SC magazine, the reporter at BBC misquoted the article, he has bashed MS every chance he gets.
No problems here... I dislike anyone who bashes any OS/platform from an elitist perspective; they are tools to do jobs - some do one job better than another, etc, etc.
Quote from: EXArmySFinIowa on December 18, 2008, 04:43:03 AM
And for the recorded I'm running Win XP and a Virtual install of Linux, with the following: IE 8, FF 3.0.5, Thunderbird, Outlook, Office 2007, OpenOffice, I just hate to see a product beat up when there is not real basis, like has been said MS is the Big Boy, when one of the others take that spot we'll see people beat on them.
I run Windows Vista for my main PC OS and laptop OS; Fedora for my web/email/IRC/Echolink/etc server, XP on the work laptop, and I have an iPhone (after many PalmOS Pilots and Treos). I have my reasons for each; and they are (probably) only valid for me.
I don't tell people that PCs are better than Macs, or that the iPhone kicks the Blackberry's butt - because everyone's needs, wants, and desires differ. I've had numerous Mac people try to convert me to the Mac OS platform - to which I ask, "why?". The reasons I get all do not apply to me: It crashes less (my PCs are well kept and have uptimes measured in months), less vulnerability to viruses (IT security type here, ain't happening), higher performance (than what?), etc. Then there's the catchall "it's just better" (oh, geez, guess I *am* a dummy, huh?).
That being said, I do recognize when you should prefer one product over another, and in this case, I recommend Firefox over IE any day of the week due to its feature set (although IE, of course, tends to catchup/leapfrog) and much better security history. IE has simply had way too many very bad exploits over time. I suspect that one day that will all be a memory with MS' increased emphasis on security, but that's not today.
New security flaws, for all my freinds running Mac's, Linux, and other open source software, last week was IE, this week Thunderbird, Firefox and Apple Macs are the products with critical vulnerabilities. Please see the @RISK: The Consensus Security Vulnerability Alert Vol. 7 No. 51 at www.sans.org (http://www.sans.org), for a list of vulnerabilities and fixes.
This ain't the technet forums.