Building The Net

Firefox 3.5.1 released!

After announcing a critical but in their new javascript engine on the 16th, Mozilla turned around a fixed release in hours!

This is an important release, and Mozilla as well as the rest of the security experts are recommending you upgrade immediately.

I have to say, even I am shocked at how fast this fix came out! Hat’s off to Mozilla for getting it done!

This corrects the error in their code I posted on last night.

— Stu

Mozilla announced today that it’s new browser, Firefox 3.5 is vulnerable to a new JavaScript exploit that was introduced in the new TraceMonkey JavaScript Engine that was added to the new release.

This exploit could allow someone to hijack a users machine. THIS IS BAD!

The exploit went public today, July 16th, 2009 and there is currently no patch available. If you are running the new Firefox browser, it is recommended that you turn off the “just-in-time” component of the TraceMonkey engine.  To do this, you should enter “about:config” in your browser’s address bar, type “jit” in the filter box, then double-click the “javascript.options.jit.content” entry to set the value to “false.”

— Stu

Is the Internet killing Main Street, or was it already dead?

When I was a kid, I could walk down Las Tunas Blvd. and not go more then 3 store fronts without knowing the the business owner’s names. Well, at least their family names, because back then you called people by their last name, usually preceded by a Mr., Mrs. or Miss.

That’s not to say that there weren’t Super Markets and Department Stores. But you still went down to the corner drug store to get your prescriptions, paper and office supplies were purchased from the local stationary store, and small toy stores and hobby shops were where I would go and dream of all the fun I could have for the price of a months allowance.

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With hotter temperatures, your electronics are at higher risk of failure. Are you backed up?

If you’ve been around electronics for any period of time, you know that as the weather gets hotter, equipment failure rates also climb. With the increased use of digital cameras and digital video, as well as all the other information we store on our digital devices, the failure of any electronic device could result in information loss.

Here are some quick tips that might save you from having to deal with data loss. Let’s just call them words to live by in a digital world.

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So, what is a subnet mask and why do I need one?

This question is always coming up, so I thought it might be a good idea to try and at least give a quick overview.

IP addresses are used to identify your computer on the net. Subnet Masks are used to tell your computer what it should consider as local network traffic, and what it should send off to the gateway for delivery. Here are the basics of network addressing:

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Is the Linux desktop ready for prime time?

Well , that depends what you are looking for. My idea of a desktop might be a bit different from yours, and your idea might not mesh with your friends, or family. But if you are an average user, here are some things for you to think about.

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Microsoft announced an ActiveX exploit in their Internet Explorer browser product on July 6, 2009. Read the Microsoft Bulletin.

The exploit allows a website to send an ActiveX control that can execute whatever evil or destructive code it wants to, with the permissions of the user doing the browsing. It does all this without the user even knowing that it is happening. THIS IS VERY BAD!

Currently, there are no patches available for this. Microsoft recommends turning off ActiveX controls on your browser.

Isn’t it ironic, that one of the things that force people to use IE on certain websites is now a 0 day exploit…

My recommendation? Use Firefox for all your web browsing…

Till the next time!

— Stu

Well, it’s that time of year again. We are heading toward the Black Hat conference the end of July, and the net is a buzz with exploits and rumors of exploits.

One such rumor has to do with a package that is the backbone of network and server management on the web. OpenSSH or “Secure SHell” is used by every *nix administrator in the world to manage servers. The thought of an exploit against this package sends shivers down every administrator’s spine.

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eGroupware 1.6.001

eGroupware has all the features you would expect in a full featured enterprise groupware. This is why I have been using it for my company for the last two years.

It rates as one of the easiest LAMP applications I’ve ever installed, and has more features and applications then most commercial and open source groupwares. Actually, a few too many applications in my opinion.

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I spent the last half of my day checking out the status of client software available for my groupware of choice, Egroupware. It seems that we (the open source community) could do a better job with this. I mean seriously! So, I’ve decided to look into some of the other solutions. I’ll be reviewing:

• eGroupware
• Horde
• MoreGroupware

I’ll share my results right here.

— Stu