Nerd Test

I'm surprised it's so low.

Tags: Nerd Test

Another IE Flaw

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2017407,00.asp

Security researchers at Sunbelt Software have discovered an active malware attack against fully patched versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

The exploit has been seeded at several porn sites hosted in Russia and is being used to launching drive-by malware downloads that appear to be hijacking Windows machines for use in botnets.

Let's see, hmmmm don't go to porn sites....

The attack is linked to the WebAttacker, a do-it-yourself malware installation toolkit that is sold at multiple underground Web sites.

"Once you click on the site, the exploit opens an MS-DOS box and starts installing spyware," Sites said.

If you see a DOS box open shut down and start cleaning.
Or..... just use FireFox.

Tags: IE flaw, FireFox

IE Patch

http://news.com.com/Third+time+a+charm+for+IE+patch/
2100-1002_3-6115275.html?tag=nefd.top

Microsoft has issued a third version of a troubled Internet Explorer patch, aiming to fix a bug in an earlier update that could be exploited to hijack Windows PCs.

The original MS06-042 patch, released on Aug. 8, introduced not one, but two new security holes. Microsoft addressed one flaw in an updated version of the patch released Aug. 24 and dealt with the second flaw in the third version released Tuesday, Tony Chor, a group program manager on the IE team at Microsoft, wrote on a corporate blog.

MS06-042, a cumulative security update for the widely-used Web browser, was one of a dozen security updates delivered last month and was meant to repair eight flaws. Microsoft tagged the update "critical," its most severe rating.

The patch now fixes 10 flaws, including two introduced by earlier versions of the update. The first bug affected IE 6.0 with Service Pack 1 and could be exploited by remote attackers to commandeer a Windows PC. The second flaw is similar, but affects IE 5.01 on Windows 2000, IE 6.0 Service Pack 1 (in a different location), and IE in the original release of Windows Server 2003.

Just use Firefox

Tags: IE, FireFox

Vi$$$$ta

Okay, long time no post. And a crappy title too.
This first
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3179571720.html

So, let's add it all up, shall we, and see what it will cost you to upgrade your office XP systems to either Vista or SLED.

SLED will cost you $50 per desktop. The suggested upgrade retail price for Windows Vista Business is $199. If you had to buy a new license, it would hit your wallet for $299.

For Vista, you'll need to spend at least $325 for better hardware, not counting the labor expense. With Vista, you'll also need to upgrade at least some of your software, and continue to pay for security software. Let's call this total $200.

You'll also need to retrain your employees on either platform. For the reasons, I discuss above, the actually appears to be a wash.

Now, with SLED, you don't need to update your hardware. Let's say that you use both Versora and CrossOver Office to make life as easy as possible for your users. That will run you $70.

While free, open-source software can supply most of your needs, let's presume that you'll need to pay at least $50 for some program that won't be available within SLED or the open-source community. Of course, you won't need to pay for anti-virus or spam protection, so you'll save that cash.

So, bottom line time, it will cost you $724 per PC to upgrade to Vista. Or, you could pay $170 per PC to get SLED. That's a savings of $554 per user desktop.

And this
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,2010894,00.asp

Microsoft wouldn't talk TCO specifics. I asked. A spokeswoman said to expect the company to share details later this fall, in the post-Release-Candidate-1 (RC1) timeframe. Vista RC1 is expected to go to more than two million testers as early as next week.

In the interim, Vista Product Manager Mike Burk did offer some limited guidance.

"Vista can positively impact a company's direct and indirect costs," he said. (Direct, in this case, is hardware, parts and depreciation; indirect is support; troubleshooting; specific configurations, etc..) "Vista will require fewer support calls. It will be easier to manage. It will have better deployment tools."
......

HA HA HA HA HA - fewer suport calls????? If you buy that I got a bridge deal for ya right here.

Tags: Vista, TCO