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Post Info TOPIC: Update your Firefox!!!
Molly


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Update your Firefox!!!
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Attack Targets Mozilla

Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Tue Dec 13,10:00 AM ET

Computer users who have not upgraded to the latest version of Mozilla's Firefox browser may now have an extra incentive to do so, thanks to a hacker who has posted an exploit.

Exploit Shown

On Sunday, a hacker going by the name of Aviv Raff published sample code that could be used to take over the computers of Firefox users running version 1.0.4 or earlier of the browser. The exploit takes advantage of a known bug in the way Firefox processes the popular Javascript Web programming language.

"I think it's been enough time for people to upgrade from v1.0.4. of Firefox. So, here is the PoC [proof of concept] exploit for the... vulnerability," he wrote on his blog.

The bug was fixed in Mozilla version 1.0.5, which was released during the summer, and has also been fixed in version 1.7.9 of the Mozilla Suite, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering with Mozilla. "As long as users keep updated to the latest version, they're, in general, very safe."

Similar to IE Flaw

In some ways, this latest exploit is similar to highly publicized attack code that has been circulating for the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, said Russ Cooper, editor of the NTBugtraq newslist and a scientist with security vendor Cybertrust.

"It can install and run code of the attacker's choice if a victim visits a malicious Web site," he said of the IE bug in an interview via instant message.

Users who are not already in the habit of frequently updating their browsers should change their ways, because browsers are "historically broken," Cooper said. "That means they have vulnerabilities regularly," he added. "You should keep them updated within 30 days of patches being made available, regardless of what the patch is for."

The IE code, which was published in November, takes advantage of a Javascript problem that has not yet been patched.

Many security experts expect Microsoft to patch its Javascript bug on Tuesday, but the Redmond, Washington, software giant has not confirmed that this will be the case.

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JD The Jazz Doctor


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what's my firefox what's my firefox!??!?!

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09
Molly


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It's an alternative web browser to Explorer. From the article, it says that Explorer still hasn't patched the bug, so as much at risk. You should switch to Firefox. (I'm sure Web would be willing to fill you in.)

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WebGuy


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Did someone say Firefox? Thanks for the invite Molly. I love an opportunity to spread the good news.

Many of you know this, but as Molly said, Firefox is an alternative browser to Internet Explorer. It is a free download from mozilla.org

This thread is a perfect example of why you should use Firefox. There is a security issue with both Firefox and IE and Firefox says "Update now!" which is easy to do with a click on a menu. Microsoft says "We'll get around to fixing that someday".

Firefox does not run the ActiveX scripting language that Internet Explorer does. That means that a few little gizmoes won't work on some pages. That also means that adware, spyware, and trojans, won't work on some pages too. That is a good thing.

Firefox is designed to work with web standards. Microsoft believes they can force everyone to go by their rules.

The thing I like best about Firefox is the tabbed browsing. Rather than having a window open for each page you want to view, you can have multiple sites open in tabs in one window. That keeps your desktop much less cluttered. Now in the newest version, you can even drag and drop your tabs around to put the sites in the order you want.

The next best thing for me are the extensions. Extensions are little things that run with Firefox to do different things. For example, in the bottom right corner of my browser, it tells me the current temp, and I can hover over three little icons and see the forecast for today, tonight, and tomorrow. Another extension I use is a constant display of the solar flux. By watching those numbers, I can tell when it would be a good day to get on the ham radio. Another one I use saves my current tab settings so when I open my browser, it comes back up with the same tabs and sites open as when I last shut it down. There are hundreds of extensions for all sorts of things.

Microsoft has purposely made their own sites not work in Firefox so you will still need IE to do things like Windows Update, etc. but most every other site will work fine in Firefox.

Unless there are questions, my sermon is done. You are now dismissed to go download Firefox.







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JD The Jazz Doctor


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web you could be a salesman!!

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09
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