It’s never a good thing to hear that the internet browser that has close to a 70% market share hold has become vulnerable. Internet Explorer has just been discovered to have a huge vulnerability in its code, according to a BBC report.

The problem with the IE browser is of the worse kind as well. It allows cons to take control of someone’s computer and retrieve passwords and usernames.

Alot of internet experts are advising IE users to switch browsers while Microsoft finds a fix for the problem.

Rick Ferguson of Trend Micro issued this statement to IE users, “If users can find an alternative browser, then that’s good mitigation against the threat.”

Microsoft has advised against this, of course, stating they are working as fast as possible to find a patch for the browser.

So far the exploit has only been used to hack usernames and passwords for video games. It’s only a matter of time before it shifts from gaming, into more important regions of the internet.

I don’t claim to be an expert, but it seems to me that if there’s a chance of financial information being stolen then switching browsers for a short amount of time isn’t bad advice.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

2008 might be a year that will remembered for economic hardships, but so much more happened. We saw some pretty cool technological advances. We saw some pretty crazy news as well. Today is as good a day as any to remember some of the great posts from this past year.

Is Blu-Ray Going To Lose The Format War? - There’s nothing funnier than watching two grown men argue about the life cycle of an electronic piece of media. You generally see it mostly with video gamers, arguing about who’s console is better. Here we have two journalists arguing over the existence of Blu-Ray and if the end is nigh for the format.

EA Should Be Sued For Spore (PC)/SecuROM - My favorite thing to do when blogging is to rant. I could probably make up a rant everyday, but I know that other don’t necessarily like to read personal rants all the time. My post earlier this year about EA including SecuROM on Spore is probably my favorite rant of the year. I made good points, presented evidence, and went off on a big tangent.

Gadget Of The Day: Deodorization Fabria - Freshening up your home is rarely any fun. It generally requires a plug-in, or just spraying a liquid fragrance over your furniture. If they made it like this Japanese snow gun, then my interest would pique.

Tom Hanks Tells You To Drive An Electric Car - Sometimes words aren’t needed. For this video, all I’ll say is ‘Tom Hanks’, and ‘electric cars’.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I wonder how many have actually read the fourth amendment in the Constitution. If you haven’t had the chance, here’s what it says,

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Wow, that’s a pretty bold and clear cut statement to make. It’s funny though, how the Constitution has become more of a piece of history, than an actual body of law for which to govern ourselves by. You need not look any farther, than this article by Wired.com.

AT&T, Verizon, MCI, Sprint, and various other telecommunication companies are all on trial for violating wiretapping laws, and the amendment of the Constitution I just mentioned. The carriers had cooperated with the Bush administration, in providing American’s private communications to the NSA. All of which were transacted without a single warrant, and more than likely any probable cause.

Back in July, yet another domestic spy bill was passed. In it the bill, it supported the killing of the lawsuits and granted amnesty to the telecom companies. The civil liberties groups, and class-action lawyers were already facing an uphill battle before. Now that the July bill was passed, they now have to go before a federal judge just to have that overturned. Then they can begin their actual case against the telecom companies. If you think our president-elect will be any help in this regard, think again. Obama voted to pass the July domestic spy bill. Supporting this bill is a far cry from his remarks about net neutrality and personal freedoms.

President Bush has publicly defended the telecoms, and urged the judge presiding on the case to defend their amnesty. The Congress has gotten in on the action as well, sending this statement,

“Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, Amendments Act of 2008, represents the considered judgment of our nation’s political branches that, in the unique historical circumstances following the 9/11 attacks, telecommunications companies should not bear the burden of defending against claims that those companies assisted the government in its efforts to detect and prevent further terrorist attacks.”

What really leaves me scratching my head, is how the amnesty is granted to the telecoms even if the informations wasn’t court ordered, or mandated. So, the telecoms willingly provided the information even when they weren’t bound by law to do so. Therefore, we as a people have a right to make a claim that what we thought they did was wrong. Apparently, the government sees it it a bit differently. Now, if the telecoms had a court order to give up the information then this would be a different story.

All of this trails back to 9/11. In a time of fear, chaos, and sadness we let those feelings circumvent our feelings about freedom, and controls the government should have. If terrorism’s priority is to instill fear into people, and let that fear control their lives it really looks like what they did worked.

I like to think back to an old adage by the great thinker Benjamin Franklin,

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

I’d like to think that we could all learn something from that quote. Primarily the government, and the telecoms giving up our private information.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jerry Yang, was the co-founder of the once great, and ‘hanging’ in there Yahoo. When the dot.com bubble hit in the late 90’s, Yahoo was there to get kick started, and would dominate the market. That is until that pesky Google showed up and ruined the show for them.

Fast forward to now and Yahoo is looking like a fighter that’s on his final legs. Jerry Yang, the once great co-founder of Yahoo is now stepping down from his CEO position. He’ll be around, taking a seat as chairman on the board.

It’s obvious to see why Yang has stepped down. After the overall performance of Yahoo in the numbers department the past year, it was time for new leadership. Of course Yang’s dealings with Microsoft was the huge debacle. At one point Microsoft was offering to buyout Yahoo at $33/share, and Yahoo is now sitting at around $10/share.

Yang had this to say about his resigning from Yahoo, “From founding this company to guiding its growth into a trusted global brand that is indispensible to millions of people, I have always sought to do what is best for our franchise. When the board asked me to become CEO and lead the transformation of the company, I did so because it was important to re-envision the business for a different era to drive more effective growth. Having set Yahoo on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the CEO role and our global talent to a new leader. I will continue to focus on global strategy and to do everything I can to help Yahoo realize its full potential and enhance its leading culture of technology and product excellence and innovation.”

The coming weeks will be quite exciting indeed. Unless you’re a Yahoo employee, then it’s more tumultuous than exciting.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!