Jul 24 2009
Microsoft is releasing a pair of critical Windows security updates on July 28th. This is highly unusual. Microsoft normally issues security fixes on the second Tuesday of the month — “Patch Tuesday.” When they release an out-of-band update like this, it is usually because it deals with a critical vulnerability that is being actively exploited. [...]
Jul 22 2009
In case you’ve been busy doing real world stuff and missed all the noise in the trade press, Windows 7 went RTM today. “RTM” means “release to manufacturing.” Microsoft has tucked in all the loose ends — at least, all the loose ends they’re going to worry about right now — and Windows 7 is [...]
Jul 16 2009
Just as Microsoft was rolling out this month’s collection of security patches and software updates, a new Internet Explorer vulnerability cropped up. Basically, it’s another one of those deals where you could get infected simply by visiting a maliciously crafted web page.
Unless the bad guys start exploiting this bug heavily, Microsoft will likely not fix [...]
Jul 16 2009
Firefox 3.5.1. has just been released to fix a potentially critical vulnerability. It’s not listed on the regular download page yet, but should be shortly.
A couple of days ago, proof-of-concept code was posted showing how a malicious web site could trigger a “drive-by download” when a page was viewed with Firefox 3.5. The 3.5.1 release [...]
Jul 14 2009
The July Microsoft patches for Windows and layered products, such as Office, are available for download. The servers are slow right now, probably because a whole bunch of people are jumping on them, trying to get at the “critical” Internet Explorer updates.
Apr 29 2009
The online pond scum are at it again, using public concern about the recent Swine Flu outbreak to trick people into opening infected email attachments or into visiting malicious web sites. No doubt they will be attempting to game search engine results, too, although this will be a lot tougher to accomplish than it was [...]
Apr 29 2009
Office 2007 Service Pack 2 was released yesterday. It’s a big download — 290MB if you grab the whole thing — but worth it. For most folks, the biggest reason to get it is that a number of Office applications load and run noticeably faster. SP2 also rolls up a great many security and bug [...]
Apr 13 2009
Chances are you won’t encounter it, but there is an annoying Twitter-based worm making the rounds. It’s a spam-generating prank created by an ethics-challenged 17-year-old “out of boredom.” There’s an article in PC World giving a decent overview and links to more information.
The Twitter folks seem to be doing a decent job of stomping the [...]
Apr 10 2009
April 14th is “Patch Tuesday.” Barring a major panic, Microsoft issues security updates for its products on the second Tuesday of the month. This month, we’re looking at eight patches, five of them rated “critical.” Microsoft’s offical security bulletin has all the details they’re willing to share so far.
It’s generally a good idea not to [...]
Apr 09 2009
As mentioned in the previous post, Conficker is stirring. After applying some code updates, it has started serving up malware. It’s typical of botnets like Conficker to be rented out in sections to various groups of dirtbags, so not all Conficker victims are getting identical infestations.
Some systems are being infected with a fake antivirus application [...]