Internet Explorer - Critical Fix

[Kym]

We don't normally post these but this is an out of band notice and applies to at least 55% of our members who use IE.
You may have seen it in the press already. Please update ASAP.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms08-078.mspx

This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, and Internet Explorer 7. For information about Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, please see the section, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to This Security Update. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way Internet Explorer validates data binding parameters and handles the error resulting in the exploitable condition. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

This security update also addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 961051.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

[davwhite]

How sweet it is to be a Mac user

[Kym]

How sweet it is to be a Mac user

Firefox 3.0.5 is out as well - need to update that as well Don't mention how many safari updates there are

[Tannin]

Kym is a polte and paitent man. Mostly, so am I. But just this once I am gong to tell it like it is.

If you are still using Internet Explorer, you are just plain stupid.

For years now there have been no less than three modern, safe browsers available to anyone who wants them. All three are technically superior to Internet Explorer, all three make a much better job of rendering web pages correctly, at least two of them are faster, all three are more stable and reliable, all three introduced (and continue to introduce) ease-of-use features that Explorer takes years to catch up with, and above all - none of the three is subject to the constant and often massive security problens that Internet Explorer suffers from.

There is no valid reason for anyone to continue using Internet Explorer as a primary browser. None. Nor is there any hope that it will eventually be able to offer security comparabe to that offered by the three modern browsers: Explorer's security issues stem not from a lack of attention to detail, but from a fundamentally flawed basic design, which they patch and patch and patch and patch, but it is impossible to fix faulty foundations by sticking on yet another layer of wallpaper to cover up the cracks. Internet Explorer's security issues wil go on forever, or until Microsoft redesign it from the ground up, whichever comes first.

Again, if you are still using Internet Explorer, you are just plain stupid.

For the love of Mike, do something about it.

• http://opera.com Opera: very fast, very customisable, very cool. Dares to be different.
• http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html Firefox: simple to learn, very nearly as fast and stable as Opera, plain-jane but practical interface.
• http://www.seamonkey-project.org/ Old-school look and feel with up-to-the-minute code underneath. Think of it as Firefox without the dumbed-down, prettied-up interface. Bigger and slower to start up than the other two, but has more features than any other.

Please yourself which of the three good modern browsers you choose. We all have our personal favourite, but all three are excellent.

Tony


PS: Perhaps I should mention that I have been working with computers for 30 years now. For the last 17 years, part of my job has been to clean up infected computers for people, and teach then how not to get reinfected. I do this every working day, and I've had a lot of practice. Think of me, if you wish, as being like a doctor who has been treating lung cancer paitents every day for the last 17 years and sometimes gets a bit tired of it. Today, as an example, I had three machines come in for detoxification, which is about average. I spend 20 minutes or so with each owner, teaching them the basics of security. Because they are paying customers, I am polite and tactful about whatever stupid thing it was they did to get infected (or more typically, the stupid thing their teenage children did). But here, I am with friends, not paying customers, and there are things you can say to a friend that you would never say to a stranger. So, one more time: if you are still using Internet Explorer, you are stupid.

[Harves]

The only way to fix Internet Explorer is use Firefox

[davwhite]

I'm a Firefox person, don't use Safari.
And another bad program to use, all you PC people, is Outlook express or similar for your e-mail.
Very easy to get bugs in to that as well as IE because people have a love/hate relationship with Microsoft and will do anything to jam 'em up (Layman term)

[wanelad]

Hmm upgraded to I.E 8 not long ago and now seem to be having troubles with pages crashing and not loading properly is this a common thing? or is it another problem and just coincidental

[ricktas]

Site is working fine for me. Have you tried another browser, like Firefox to see if it happens on your system using that? Will at least determine if its IE or not

[Kym]

It's beta code - as in B for buggy.
Do the usual clear cache (delete files) etc.
This site has only been tested with Firefox 3 and IE7 - we do not support beta versions of browsers. That said, it *should* work.
Personally, unless you need to test web sites using IE8, wait for the real release.
And if you want to try beta products do it in a Virtual PC so you can undo it.

[wanelad]

THanks guys I just found anther thread that seems to can I.E. and supports all the others like FIre fox etc . I do use Fire Fox on my other computer but have never felt fully comfortable with it. Maybe i will explore it a little more and try the clear catch etc

[Kym]

IE8 will be an improvement on previous versions; mainly due to Microsoft supporting standards more closely. However it is still in catch up mode regarding features.

[Calxoddity]

You're a brave chap - it's early days for IE8.

Another vote here for Firefox - version 3 has so many nice capabilities that I feel crippled whenever I go back to IE. IE's attempt at tabbed browsing in 7 and 8 still seems quite amateurish. There's also the fact that they don't work on a Mac in any case!

Regards,
Calx

[Kym]

Mod note: Merged Wanelad's IE 8 thread to here.