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Sneaky Microsoft Add-On Put Firefox Users At Risk
CWmike writes to mention that the "Windows Presentation Foundation" plugin that Microsoft slipped into Firefox last February apparently left the popular browser open to attack. This was among the many things recently addressed in the massive Tuesday patch. "What was particularly galling to users was that once installed, the .NET add-on was virtually impossible to remove from Firefox. The usual 'Disable' and 'Uninstall' buttons in Firefox's add-on list were grayed out on all versions of Windows except Windows 7, leaving most users no alternative other than to root through the Windows registry, a potentially dangerous chore, since a misstep could cripple the PC. Several sites posted complicated directions on how to scrub the .NET add-on from Firefox, including Annoyances.org."
No more so (and probably far less so) than the maze of rc scripts in your average Linux or BSD.
I don't know if you're an accidental or intentional troll, but there you go.
The Windows "search" feature by default will not search all the files to find by content, in fact it ignores a considerable number of file types. Linux (or cygwin) will happily -- and very quickly -- find portions of a config quite easily. The Windows registry is significantly more difficult to use, has significantly more entries, and you can prevent the machine from booting all too easily.
If the relatively simple rc files confuse you, and you don't understand the differences in complexity between the Windows registry and a few simple text files, you should probably find another line of work. The more difficult concepts will be far beyond you.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm actually typing this from XP X64, been running it for a year now. The only thing I had to do was ensure that the motherboard had XP X64 drivers, which was as simple as looking under "supported Operating Systems" on Tigerdirect. Everything else? It all "just worked" with the exception of a 16bit disc catalog software from 1997 that I had been using. Switched to a nice Open XML based one and things were just gravy.
Compare that to Linux-will this motherboard work? Will ALL of the hardware on this new laptop function? What about the stuff on sale at Walmart this week? This is what is killing Linux on the desktop more than anything else. Because YOU don't know that answers to those questions, I don't know them either, and the poor kid making minimum wage working the counter sure as hell don't know the answer. With Windows it is as easy as looking for an X64 sticker, Mac is as easy as looking for the "OSX 10.x" logo, but Linux? Enjoy having to study just to buy some fricking hardware. And God help you if the "sure it works!" you find on a forum was written for firmware b and they are up to firmware g, because guess what? they don't label which rev it is on the box!!! Fun huh?
I repeat ANY Windows on its WORST day, be it 32 or 64bit, does not bring the pain in any way shape or form like Linux does. Sure Linux supports old crap, but when was the last time you saw old crap being sold at Best Buy? I got closets FULL of old crap that testifies that folks don't WANT old and busted, they want the new hotness. And by the time Linux supports the new hotness it is in the old and busted category. Until the "source code or nothing!" brigade dies in a fire so that manufacturers can just slap a driver on the CD and a penguin on the box expect Linux to stay its teeny tiny niche.
That ain't being mean, or trying to piss anybody off, it is just simple human behavior. Folks want to just walk into a store and put stuff in a basket WITHOUT having to "study" first. With Windows that is taking 2 seconds to look at the "Windows x" logo, with Mac the Apple logo, with Linux? Yeah Joe Average has no desire to spend hours dealing with CLI speak on some forum trying to figure out which piece of hardware to buy, especially when rev b might work and rev f might not. Until Linux is as easy to shop for as Windows and Mac then it is gonna be No Sale.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
What the hell are you talking about? I've had 75 year old hotel desk clerks (customers using our software) using regedit, if you can't explain how to use regedit, you''re just incapable of writing detailed instructions.
Alternatively, you can just send them a file, a .reg, that will remove the key, Google is your friend:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310516
REALLY
Not
hard
They don't touch the firefox directory you moron. They add a single registry key. Firefox doesn't even need to be installed, installing it later and having the plugin work is another reason why it works this way. Likewise you can rm -rf the firefox and install it again later and the plugin will work. Please don't talk about what you don't have the slightest understanding of. Just because its related to MS doesn't mean they are out to eat your babies and share your wife with dingos and Steve Erwin. Please get a grip on reality, MS isn't out to get you, regardless of how many times Stallman screams it.
Can you be any more complete ignorant of whats going on and still talk like you have a clue? You don't even know what the right utility is on OS X, you're looking for 'defaults' not plutil.
Why is it that slashdot mods seem to think the more retarded a statement is, the higher rating it needs whenever MS involved. You want to bitch about MS, fine, but have a clue and know what the hell you are talking about, prevents you from being made out like a douchebag when everyone else pipes up to call you out on your ignorance.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager