Mainstream media turns against Internet Explorer

[harry_lime]

Mainstream media turns against Internet Explorer
This is from an internet blog which i read to keep up with what's going on computer-wise. Pretty disturbing stuff and worth paying attention to. It's also been featured on CNN and BBC World, so the info is kosher - harry

Tech industry journalists suggesting Internet Explorer users try another browser is about as unusual as the Pope suggesting Catholicism is worth a look. But mainstream media outlets outright suggesting a switch is still noteworthy.

That’s exactly what’s happening today with several major newspaper and broadcaster Web sites suggesting a switch to Firefox or Google Chrome may be the safest way to ride out a major security breach in Internet Explorer.

As we reported last week, the bug’s discovery came too late for inclusion in the scheduled Patch Tuesday monthly update. Not only has Microsoft yet to fix the problem, it’s now become widely and actively exploited.

The good news is that at the moment it appears the hackers are mainly interested in getting their hands on passwords for online computer games. The bad news is that Microsoft themselves say 10,000 Web sites have now been tweaked to exploit the loophole, and 0.2 percent of internet users have visited such a site. That may not sound like much, but it means a couple of million people may have been hit worldwide.

Microsoft’s advice is to keep anti-virus software up to date, run Internet Explorer in protected mode, set the program’s security zone to ‘High’ and make sure you have the latest updates installed. The latter, while good practice, is of little use until Microsoft actually issues a patch for this problem.

While normally mainstream outlets would often just print this advice, this problem seems to have struck such a chord that they aren’t just touting the Microsoft line. The media is full of comments such as:

“Many security experts, though, have advised Internet Explorer users switch to another browser until an update is released.” (The Times, quoting the Associated Press as do many newspapers)

“The easiest way to keep your computer safe is to stop using Internet Explorer.” (Washington Post)

“For now, you are better off switching over to Opera or Firefox as your main browser. Actually, if you use internet banking or any other online secure password access (online shopping, etc), you’ll be much safer using [these browsers].” (Malaysia Star)

It will be interesting to see how many readers take this advice – and whether they stick with the rival browsers. If that’s the case, the BBC may be right in its prediction that, “This could be the moment when the minnows in the browser wars finally score a significant victory.”


As printed in VISTA.BLORGE on Dec 16th 2008.
http://vista.blorge.com
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 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[katymaty]

loads of warnings when you search through Google

http://www.google.co.uk/search?so...rosoft+internet+explorer+warnings

1st one from press association

Warning for Internet Explorer users
1 day ago

Computer security experts are advising users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer to switch to another web browser until a major security flaw is fixed.

The problem, first revealed last week, allows criminals to hijack computers and steal passwords if the user visits an infected website.

As many as 10,000 sites have already been compromised to take advantage of the flaw, according to anti-virus software producer Trend Micro.

So far the websites, which are mostly Chinese, have been used to steal computer game passwords which can be sold on the black market.

But Trend Micro security researcher Paul Ferguson told the Associated Press there were major concerns that the problem could be exploited by "more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem".

Microsoft said it had so far only found attacks against version 7 of Internet Explorer, the world's most popular web browser, but warned that other versions were "potentially vulnerable".

In a security update issued on Monday, the computer giant said: "We are actively investigating the vulnerability that these attacks attempt to exploit.

"We will continue to monitor the threat and update this advisory if this situation changes."

Microsoft may fix the problem in its regular monthly security update or issue an emergency software patch.

Also looks like alot of people are trying to download firefox ( http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/ ) or is it always this slow. Im currently trying to download and it says nearly 2hours for a 7mb file on broadband EEK

PS is firefox a good one to use

[harry_lime]

i use both about 50/50 and like both for different reasons. the big thing with firfox is that it really is much more secure than IE. a tad slower (but only a tad) but also with some great customizable features. many firefox users will tell you they wouldn't use anything else.

i would definately recommend using it right now for banking, etc as microsoft have known about this awhile without managing to sort out a fix.

it shouldn't be slow to download either so this must be due to an overloaded server. i've just downloaded it and it was really fast. give me 5 minutes and i'll upload onto the Alternate server for you.
_________________
 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[harry_lime]

Ok, if anyone needs Firefox and has problems downloading it, you can get it from the Alternate server

Download direct here : Firefox Setup 3.0.5.exe

It's a 7mb download and in English !
_________________
 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[katymaty]

thats the one i was trying to download before from the site i posted but had to stop it was about 250 bytes a second whereas normal downloads are about 100-200 kilobytes

[harry_lime]

[katymaty]

[harry_lime]

[harry_lime]

An update today from VISTA.BLORGE.
http://vista.blorge.com

Microsoft is today issuing an emergency patch for the Internet Explorer bug which has reportedly infected 2 million computers. While potentially embarrassing to be forced into such a move, it’s considerably better than letting the problem continue to be exploited.

The firm has confirmed the problem is critical for all editions of Windows; originally it appeared only XP and Windows Server 2003 were affected. The confusion may be down to Vista machines having a ‘protected mode’ switched on by default. Microsoft also says only Internet Explorer 7 has been hit so far, though in theory the problem could affect all editions of the browser.

The update was scheduled for release from 1pm Eastern time and will be available to download at both the Microsoft Update and Microsoft Security Center sites. It will also be distributed through the Microsoft Update service and Microsoft is advising all users to switch to the automatic download and installation setting to make sure they get the patch as soon as possible.

The firm is holding two webcasts to give further advice, scheduled for 4pm Eastern time today and 2pm Eastern time tomorrow.

There will no doubt be some embarrassment in having to issue a second emergency patch (or ‘out-of-band’ update in Microsoft speak) in the space of two months, particularly given the last one before that was 18 months ago. It certainly won’t help Internet Explorer’s battered image in mainstream and industry media alike.

However, even the most PR-conscious of firms would have realised there was absolutely no alternative in this situation. As soon as the scale of the problem became clear, Microsoft had to patch it as soon as possible. The company will now be crossing its fingers and hoping that the patch fixes the problem before the hackers switch their targets from online game passwords to credit card information or simply wreak havoc on machines.
_________________
 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[katymaty]

only problem now is I cant log into the forum using firefox but can log in via Internet Explorer    

[harry_lime]

[muratore]

so when can we safely start using  Internet Explorer again?

getting tired of Firefox now, keep missing new posts  
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[DangerMouse]

Emergency update was put out a couple of days ago. I presume that was to fix this problem.
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“It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious.”

“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.”

[harry_lime]

recommendation is to wait a couple of days to be sure the patch is working. i'll check the blog i'm getting this information from tomorrow, to see if they have updates on how everything is running.
_________________
 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[harry_lime]

not much talk about this today so i can omly assume that the patch has done the job.

let's hope so.
_________________
 "I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"  
    ....harry "the negotiator" lime

[katymaty]

[harry_lime]

[katymaty]

[addam00]

i just been uing google  chrome and somtime firefox
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Can you spare a medal? I need another medal

[KITYKATS]

I sure hope they got this fixed. IE is the only one i like. It takes me to long to learn something new
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