Problems with IE

[winston61]

Source: BBC

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security.

The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8463516.stm

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IE users, pay heed

[napi21]

1. Wouldn't any popular browser auto. be the weak link?

Most people world wide use MS & IE. That would automatically make it a target!

I read an article a while back about the reason most Macs are not targets of viruses. THEY'RE NOT THE MAJORITY OF COMPUTERS IN THE WORLD! That makes sens to me.

Sort of like why people rob banks...because that where the money is.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

2. NO, the issue has always been IE and microSoft

Issue Number One:

The security holes in IE have been documented for years, versions ago. Smart PC users have been using Mozilla FireFox to avoid the security holes in IE which microSoft has refused to admit.

Issue Number Two:

Yes, the MAC Operating System (based upon big-system UNIX) is a far better and far safer operating system.

Sort of like when one bank lets customers reach in through the night deposit box to grab cash while the others doen't.

[napi21]

4. What or who is the target? I've used IE since 1095 when I got my first conputer.

I am reasonably literate and competent on quite a few software programs, but not much on the tech side. I'm almost afraid to say this, but I've never had a security problem.

I was Dir. of accounting at the last job I had & under that umbrella, responsible for the IT Dept. too. They recommended 9 different software programs for our accounting Dept. before they finally accepted that because we were using MS based software already, maybe we should go with an MS accounting software. After over a year of batteling, the MS SW worked great!

I know lots of people hate MS, but it really is the biggest, and therefore the most vulnerable to hackers!

[Tempest]

14. Hackers don't target Mac because it's a small niche

And what's the point of targeting something that will have a small impact?

And Mac isn't all that secure either. It's been hacked.

[dbonds]

9. No, it is ie's architecture that is the problem

Ie has many holes a hacker can get through. MS does release patches for them but not everyone patches. These holes are specific to ie. Other browsers such as firefox and chrome do not have these holes. That isn't saying ff and chrome never have holes, they do, but they have far far less. There are a few hacks that any browser will susceptible to, but those have to do with coding of a website and are fixed with server code.

And ie is not the most popular browser anymore. Firefox is.

And it is just a MS marketing line that Windows is hacked more because they are more popular. Most of the servers on the internet are Linux, and they don't get hacked (unless some admin purposely opened up a hole), and servers are a huge target for hackers. Macs use very similar security to Linux. It is just a better security model, and software environment. Windows, especially pre-vista, was fundamentally flawed at the architecture level.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Yep.

It wiped me out a week ago. Thank God I had a back up computer. I allowed an IE update, or it updated itself over Christmas and nothing was right after that. Eventually, something called Internet Security 2010 tried to take over. My computer was junked.

[Piewhacket]

18. hey bro

Try out Acronis (or 2nd choice Norton Ghost ).
Clean up the OS (c drive), check and defrag, then back up the whole shebang.
(for XP about 4 GB, for Vista about 20 GB)

Next (optional/harder) use partition software to split the hard drive in two parts, say
80 GB for c, the rest for D. Reload the OS onto C: (8 minutes for XP, 30 min for Vista).

Wipe and format drive D. Put your data there wherever possible. (eg firefox settings, bookmarks,
mailboxes, document files, databases, password files, etc... ). Be sure to have a backup
too. A bit techie to do, sure, but now look where you are...

8 minutes (30 for vista) to reload the complete OS, obliterating a virus or dumb boo-boo,
and marching on with a smile. You beat the bastards!

Ah been doin it fo years, its so easy i reload every 3 months whether I need to or not.
Twenty years without a computer loss. (except for the one I shot on purpose with a 357
magnum, purely in self defense.)

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. LOL!

Thanks for the info and the laugh. I'll give it a shot.

[Better Today]

5. Yeah, I have my firewall to deny IE access to the internet, period.

I use Firefox, very happy with it.

[Canuckistanian]

23. That could be a problem, though

Many software apps use IE components internally for their Internet access.

[frog92969]

6. I cringe at the thought of any M$ OS making contact with the internet

I never have any issues with my XP because I use a third party firewall to block all traffic outside of my LAN.
If I want to play a game online, I just open A PORT and then close it when I'm done.
When it's time for normal computing I boot back to Linux.

I hate M$ for a list of reasons, and deliberate back doors are near the top.

[cliffordu]

7. Fuck me I loves me some Micro$oft.

goddammed idiots


:rofl:

I prefer Linux and Opera, m'self.

[madokie]

19. I'm a new linux convert myself and loving every minute of it

I"m even running AutoCad in linux using wine and it works as fast and as good as it did in xp.

[alp227]

8. When a government tells its local Internet users to avoid Internet Explorer...

Microsoft has got some terrible software. That's why i've been using Firefox since 2006 and never looked back.

[totodeinhere]

10. IE = crap. n/t

[bemildred]

11. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[PJPhreak]

12. Linux Mint (Ubuntu)+Firefox=Intertube Bliss

I ran Winblows for years on a bunch of different PC Builds...and kept a foam rubber Baseball Bat beside my desk just for wuppin up on the monitor when my PC got Schizophrenic.

Windows=Absolute Pain In The Ass! For those who say "Just secure Your System'...that is not possible with an Microshit Operating System! Please!

I Hate BCOD's

I hate "This Operating System Has Committed an Illegal Operation"

Drivers,Drivers,Where is the G** Damned Driver!

DeFrag is a Drag!

Virai,Malware,Spyware Oh,My!

Now,Where Oh Where Did That File Go?

Wadda Mean I can only put this $200 Operating System on One Pc...I have to "Buy" more copies of this Garbage so my kids can get to Facebook? Thanks Dickweeds!

i could go on for hours. Suffice to say I can now Proclaim at the top of my lungs...

"Free at last;free at last;thank God Almighty we are free at last"

[madokie]

20. You got it

it took me a while to make the switch, first I'd download ubuntu or mint or one of the others and let it boot and play with it some then go back to my micro$haft shitwad that I grew up with, computer wise that is. Then one day I was bored and got some shit on my computer so I got out my ubuntu and loaded it and said to myself come hell or high water I'm going to get this and I haven't looked back. I'm using mint 8 right now and love it. If I would have started using linux as an operating system from the start you couldn't even get me to give billy boys shit a look see, let alone a try out.
I like the look of pclinux but it doesn't like my machine much and mint does so here I am with mint. Fixing to reload thunderbird 3 as I like it pretty good too. I'm new to firefox so its been quite a learning curve for me.

[struggle4progress]

13. This is part of the Chinese Google hack, a sophisticated multilevel piece of malware

that may have been written by the Chinese government. It's why Google says it's pulling out of China. At least 33 companies are said to have been targeted, though most company names are not known to the public. Some Gmail accounts seem to have been compromised. Weaknesses in Microsoft's Internet Explorer and several Adobe products have been implicated in the attack; perhaps other products are also involved. The malware code has been posted on the web, so copycats may be using parts of it in the future

[Tempest]

15. And that's why I use Firefox

It's not perfect, but I haven't had to fight off any attacks since going to it.

[hyphenate]

16. I haven't had any real problems with IE

for quite some time. I switched to Firefox for about 6 months, and had SO much trouble with the interface, I finally reloaded IE and havn't gone back. Menus weren't staying the way I set them up, commands were getting thrashed, and nothing was right.

I've been online for 20 years and only on two occasions have I felt vulnerable, and neither of those times was recently.
As the saying goes, "your mileage may vary" and that's it. We all have different sites and reasons for being online, and no 2 are the same. How we "see" through the window of our browser is individual.

[truedelphi]

17. Thank you for posting this information. n/t

[area51]

22. Don't use Windows.

:evilgrin: