Web Browsers – Video 1
Through the calls we get on the radio and the many customers I talk to online, I have discovered that there is some confusion about what a browser is, why use more than one browser, how to use and setup the various browsers, etc.
I decided to produce this Web Browser video series to help people learn the basics of using the four top web browsers.
There are 6 videos. Each will be available every few days. You will be notified when they are through my newsletter. So, if you have not signed up for it, this is a good reason to.
Stop Using Internet Explorer!!!
I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news lately about the problems Google has had with China, but it appears that the bad guys in China have figured out a way to use a vulnerability to exploit Internet Explorer and attack Google and some 20 other odd companies’ websites.
Microsoft has released a patch to repair the vulnerability and if you have automatic updates turned then this should not be an issue. Sort of…
From the experience repairing consumer computers, I have discovered the following:
1. Many people do not have automatic updates turned on, and they don’t do updates manually. Update manually once a week just to make sure you are up to date!
2. Most people are still using Internet Explorer, usually version 7 or version 8. If you’re going to use Internet Explorer, make sure you have upgraded to version 8, weather you like it or not.
3. Many people do not have a newer version of an antivirus. This means you must install the latest software once every year or two. Not just the daily updates that you pay for.
The best advice I can give you is this, STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER, PERIOD!
Download another browser. For example, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari. I my favorite browsers are Firefox and Chrome for their safety and speed.
The vulnerability found by leading antivirus companies which used Internet Explorer to attack Google and other companies has already been found and 100 popular websites. And, it’s spreading! When using Internet Explorer, if you visit these sites, you can become infected without your knowledge. Without clicking on anything. Without downloading anything. Just by visiting this site.
It’s time to stop paying me to repair your computer and take matters into your own hands. What’s the easiest way to do that? The first step is to STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER!!!
Do it now. Go to get GetFirefox.com, click the green download button, and install it.
Safari/MacBook falls in seconds, 2 years in a row
Got your attention didn’t I.
Well, it is true. Security researcher, Charlie Miller, hacked into a MacBook computer that had all of the latest patches installed by using a vulnerability in Apple’s Safari browser. Within seconds of the start of the contest, Charlie launched his drive-by attack. He won the $10,000 prize and also got to keep the MacBook.
This all happened at CanSecWest’s Pwn2Own contest in Vancouver Canada recently.
This is the second year in a row that Charlie Miller fully hacked an Apple MacBook very early in the contest and was prepared to make the hack work the first time he ran it.
The details of the vulnerability are not being disclose to the public and are being shared with Apple.
Well, what about Windows and other browsers, you might be asking.
Another security researcher who declined to provide his full name, going by the name Nils, was able to comprise Internet Explorer 8 running on a Windows 7 machine shortly after Charlie Miller hacked the Mac.
Nils also won a cash prize and got to keep the computer. He went on to exploite Firefox with a zero-day flaw later in the afternoon, too.
What does this mean to you and me? My opinion is that none of the browsers are truly safe on either OS/X or Windows.
This contest is a headline grabber, but it does not mean much more than we already knew.
These failures were not operating system breaches, but a browser breaches. XP is pretty safe now. Vista/Windows7 and OS/X are rock solid (I can see the emails now…).
This contest only shows that the bad guys are using the browser, as well as other software that you use, vehicle into your system, by passing the operating system. That means is you should keep you browser up to date and apply all security patches when they are offered.
It’s one of simplest things we can do to protect our computers.
Here is an interesting link to a ZDnet story talking about browser security, http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=15006&tag=nl.e550.
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