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Dept. of Homeland Security Says to Stop Using IE
LWATCDR writes "I have been saying this for a long time but now it is offical. From Yahoo News:
'The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team touched off a storm this week when it recommended for security reasons using browsers other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.'" In related news, rocketjam writes "According to Wired, the widespread Internet Explorer security exploit last week and CERT's subsequent recommendation that IE users should consider switching to another browser has resulted in a large spike in downloads of the Mozilla Organization's Mozilla and Firefox web browsers."
What's next, a recommendation that everyone stop using Microsoft Windows?
New: Microsox Windlls FU SP7 w/Ubernet Exploiter (a free pile of bugs in each release!)
I have been saying this for a long time but now it is offical.
<Shakespeare mode=Hamlet>: There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave to tell us this.</Shakespeare>
Really. How long before the Whitehouse figuratively grabs Tom Ridge by the lapels and tries to throttle him. Such harsh treatment for a huge dono^H^H^H^Hemployer. Oddsbodkins, what next, the GWB DoJ was soft in pursuing the danger of monopoly exploitation of the browser market?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
resulted in a large spike in downloads of the Mozilla Organization's Mozilla and Firefox web browsers
Duh. All our friends at Microsoft need it too.
*grin*
*grin*
Free XBox, PS2
Who would have thought it? The government saying something intelligent; about 5 years too late, but better later then never.....
Now all us computer nerds will lose our counter culture edge. Plus you'll no longer be able to detect a fellow geek merely by his browsing choice. I guess we'll have to go back to tossing off random Kevin Smith quotes and seeing who catches on.
1) Create product that a smaller portion of the population uses, thus keeping the effectiveness of attacks on your product less desirable than the other 2) Give your product away for free, open sourced, and up to date with all the latest standards, oh, and make it more secure (novel idea, really) 3) ??? (wait about five or six years for a government agency to declare your competitor's product unsafe enough to get the CERT all riled up) 4) Profit, or How Mozilla Pays M$ Back for The Whole Killing of Netscape Thing
wow!!
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Recently I was cleaning rather obnoxious spyware off of my sister's laptop. To prevent further infection, I was asking her to install Firefox. I said it'll block popups. Still reluctant. Tabbed browsing? Nope. More secure? Nu uh, still stubborn. Stop the spyware? No. (She's getting irritated at this point). CERT Recommended to stop using IE? Still won't let me install it.
*pause*
She then asks if our mother uses it. I said yes (thanks to me).
"Ok, install it."
Homeland security be damned, it's the MOTHERS we need to convert.
$0 and I plan to keep it that way.
The Department of Homeland Security...recommended for security reasons using browsers other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Well, no shit sherlock.
The only really safe browser! Not so good for browsing porn sites, but since you want to download the images anyway, maybe lynx is good for that too!
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
This translates to a set of instructions for making changes in I.E. settings since the default settings are not terribly good for security. THe MS spokesperson said that a "comprehensive" security pack for I.E. will be out later this summer.
Translation: After all those horses get out of the way, we'll have your barn door fixed in a jiffy.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
The Department of Homeland Security recommends not to use George Bush anymore - because of serious security leaks and erratic behaviour.
Not that it stopped hordes of travellers anyway.
Maybe people will choose to take charge of their own computer security like I've ranted about for years now.
Use Evolution instead of Outlook? Bewa
A support article by Microsoft suggests a solution to the holes in their product, specifically the one where an address can be spoofed and displays a different url than the one you're actually at. Solution: Don't click on links! :)
"The most effective step that you can take to help protect yourself from malicious hyperlinks is not to click them. Rather, type the URL of your intended destination in the address bar yourself."
I feel so....conflicted.
They say IE is bad, which is good, but they're big brother which is bad. My brain 'splode now, thank you.
--Keeping the flame wars alive, one post at a time
Well, if you really want to be counter culture, just wait a few months, then start using IE again after the bulk of computer using Americans move over, that will really shock your friends, it can be like a cult
If we all stop using Internet Explorer, the terrorists have won!
1) IBM is our friend
2) Apple is no longer just for coddled sheep
3) Sun is dying
4) Sun is embracing linux
5) Sun is no longer embracing linux
6) SGI is dying
7) ???
8) We might be watching the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Not just in this, but the whole pile of events over the last couple of years. If Microsoft loses relevance, and market share, and withers away...
Who Is Going To Be The New Evil Empire????
I want to know who to unconditionally hate next!!
do() || do_not();
I'm kind of offended. They assume I'm using Windows.
I'm probably at the karma cap. Mod up a funny troll instead, it lightens the mood
Mozilla Tech Support: 1-800-843-4564
And yes, I am a gentoo user, in fact I'm able to post this message 7.3% faster than a Debian user because I have optimized binaries.
This just proves the old adage "It's that 90% of politicians that give the other 10% a bad name".
Who is John Cabal?
Even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day.
Rich
Repeat after me: Global Class Action Lawsuit against Microsoft. Bunch of bumbling fubars. And that ain't the only whole they haven't plugged in months...
That last sentence gives me a better idea... forget the lawsuit. Encourage their spouses to deny them until those bugs get fixed.
Call it Project Lysistrata.
Uhh... that assumes they have spouses to deny them. If not, distribute their pictures to every singles bar and sweaty-palm dating site, with a "DO NOT TOUCH THIS PERSON." warning.
If they're not plugging holes now, they certainly won't be plugging holes until the bugs get fixed!*
* "or get plugged", depending upon gender and orientation. Deny, deny, deny until the bugs are fixed!
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
You just need learn to love the big brother. It may take time, but in the end, you will love him. We will take care of that.
Now, how many fingers?
“Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
Well, at least the DoHS didn't recommend cover your Windows with plastic and using duct-tape to seal the cracks this time...
It's easy to bash Microsoft, but I think we should give credit where it is due. After all, Microsoft has acted very quickly to fix this problem; users who have patched their version of IE can no longer access the Department of Homeland Security's webpage.
Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
This is the same Homeland Security that advised Americans to duct tape their windows to safeguard against a biological or chemical attack, no?
Duct taping windows... using Firefox on Windows... hey I bet the same guy came up with both these recommendations. The same guy who didn't understand the framework around a window was insecure, and who doesn't undertand the Windows framework is insecure.
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
Have a friend which uses Linux do the following for you:
dd if=/dev/zero of=flash.bin bs=512k count=1
Then put the file flash.bin on a floppy disk and flash your bios with it. Problem solved. Flash works.
What is a 'Global Class action Lawsuit'? is this when the entire planet sues a company?
Perhaps Microsoft didn't adhere to Global Law and will face a Global Court. In front of this World Court where juristiction is not in any way ambiguous, microsoft shall be cleansed of all the evil wealth it created and be forced to continue to work for free on open source projects.
Reason, free market capitalism, and individualism
If the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team is worried about security then maybe they should be recommending OpenBSD as well.
Like that would ever happen.
And that ain't the only whole they haven't plugged in months...
The only whole what?!? I'm dying to know...
How about partials? Have they plugged any partials lately?
http://xkcd.com/386/
And by thier inability to spoell wile doing so.
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
For immeditate release:
The Dept. of Homeland Security recommends that if a Web Application requires MS I.E. and you cannot use Mozilla or competitor please follow the following instructions in case of accidentally browsing the Internet with this software:
1) Cover the Computer (Tower or Desktop) with Plastic.
2) Place Duct Tape over the window on the Monitor Screen when a Pop-Up or insecure page loads. Once you have closed I.E. and ran virus checks you may contact Homeland security for permission to remove the Duct Tape and resume normal computing operations.
....move along....nothing to see here....
$0, but I plan to double that next year
if you think this is bad, you should have seen my last sig
Uhh... that assumes they have spouses to deny them. If not, distribute their pictures to every singles bar and sweaty-palm dating site
These are Microsoft developers. You'd better be distributing those pictures to all the hookers and massage parlors in and around Seattle.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
After all these years of preaching that IE is evil, perhaps some people are finally beginning to see the truth (Now that it is biting them on the butt).
:)
And since this is the almighty Homeland Security, this means that all government agencies should now panic and try to uninstall IE from all of their computers. (Oops, where is that elusive uninstall option? No, not that one, all it does is delete the icon.)
I guess that also means that anybody who has a site that only works in IE is a terrorist!
The left-wing Slashdot community (that is, 99.8% of Slashdot readers) immediately becomes Internet Explorer advocates in order to avoid being on the same side as the Bush Administration on anything.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Or sheep farms and businesses that sell really, really bad nylon short-sleeved button-down shirts.
The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
If only IE were included in the debian/stable distribution so I could have the pleasure of uninstalling it.
Religion is poison to rationality, and we lose sight of that at our own peril. -- Lurker2288
-
Horray for the Department of Homeland Security!
I feel so....conflicted.I know, it's like watching a fight between an IRS auditor and a PETA employee. You just hope it goes the distance.
The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
It's so great to see Mozilla rising from the smoldering ashes that MS left Netscape in, only to come back and bite MS in the ass. It's so symbolic, they should change Mozilla's name to "Phoenix" or something.
Huh? Oh. (Gilda Radner on SNL voice....) Nevermind.
It's a whole new paradigm in browsing.
Perhaps Mozilla can leverage their quality vector above the 60,000 foot level and ramp up their ownership of the browser market whilst operationalizing their solutioning mindshare of the disintermediate, multidisciplinary, proactive, synergistic process.
What's that? Bingo?
http://xkcd.com/386/
Last time I checked, real geeks don't work for Microsoft. /me ducks
"Piter, too, is dead."
Am I the only one who feels like I'm reading an "alternate reality" article here? Tom Ridge now has a bad goatee and a sash to store is saber, and laughs like this muHAHAHA. oh wait...
I read at -1 So you don't have to.
Microsoft is soon releasing a Universal Patch(tm) for all its software: Duct Tape. Just apply the patch directly to your hard disk surface and/or monitor screen and all will be well.
(That ought to shut DHS up for a while... How much of the Duct Tape business does Bush own again?)
This was pulled from an OS X discussion group:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)cmd.exe(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)root.exe(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/_vti_bin\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/scripts\/\.\.(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/_mem_bin\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/msadc\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/MSADC\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/c\/winnt\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/d\/winnt\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/x90\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
</IfModule>
I used to wonder what was so holy about a silent night, now I have a child.
On the other hand, that may well be true.
How about partials? Have they plugged any partials lately?
Only partially. (sorry about that;)
Department of Homeland security, eh?
That means if you use IE...you support terrorism!
http://www.tev.net/photos/homelandsecurity.jpg
-Tev
I'm sure there working on they're partials, to. Its only a matter of thyme before their finished with the wholes and partials, sew they can finally release longhorn. It'll bee happy daze four all from they're on out.
I'm pretty sure *most* browsers invoke some kind of HTML rendering engine. Yes, even Mozilla.
"I have a good idea why it's hard to verify programs. They're usually wrong." --Manuel Blum, FOCS 94