In Windows XP, Only Hackers Can Hear Your Cries For Help
It should come as a surprise to no one that I have a very low opinion of Windows XP; I still maintain that any other modern OS is better. It seems like Microsoft’s security bulletins are only looking to further my point.
Latest in the XP Bug Saga: F1, the universally known help key, has fallen victim to malicious hackers on the internet. Evidently pressing F1 on certain websites in Internet Explorer exposes the user to any code a person seeks to run on their PC. The detailed security bulletin from Microsoft is as follows:
“The vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer. If a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box and a user pressed the F1 key, arbitrary code could be executed in the security context of the currently logged-on user.”
Microsoft’s current advice? Don’t press F1 if a website tells you to. My advice? Ditch IE and Windows XP. The Internet and web developers around the world will thank you.
Via Gizmodo, image via Wikipedia.
Windows 8 Dates Leaked Amongst Other Microsoft Things
Microsoft, after receiving blistering criticism for the apparent abject failure of Vista, has rebounded and achieved startling sales gains in recent months. Windows 7 currently holds 10% of the OS market after only 5 months, while Vista has managed to crawl up to 20%. Stunningly, XP still dominates at 60-70% of users, showing that until recently, most people have been wary of upgrading.
Microsoft is not content to stop here, however: Windows 8 is already in development. On the MSDN blogs, Chris Green, a former Microsoft employee, posted a chart that shows support dates for current and future products, posted above (dates are in dd/mm/yy). The date to look for is July 1st, 2011, the apparent time of public release. Of course, if you are like this blogger who participated in the Windows 7 beta, that means you can expect to see what’s coming in a future not so distant.
Microsoft furthermore finally seems to be defeating the scourge that is Internet Explorer 6, arguably deemed the worst web browser of all time. After multiple security flaws were revealed for Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Microsoft has started to push its first not-despised browser in a long time, Internet Explorer 8, which has finally overtaken IE 6 as the number one browser in the world.
Lastly, expect Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to come out in beta in June and final release in September. One of the most notable features of SP1 will be out of box USB 3.0 support.
Via DailyTech.
