E-Musings Mon Immorata

May You Live in Interesting Times More on IE vulnerabilities, Windows XP updates, the death of NetMeeting, and all-new MyIE2 9.1 The title of this week's episode refers to an "ancient" saying attributed by John F Kennedy (JFK) to a Chinese proverb. That was most probably coined by Duncan H. Munro aka Eric Frank Russell, a rather obscure science-fiction (SF) writer, in his U-Turn published in the April 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. But we can't cross-check the phrase's origins with Mr Russell because he's long dead. With that bit of trivia out of the way, we can turn to new software releases this past week. But before I begin, let me sound off about the most recent ground of Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerabilities that take advantage scripting vulnerabilities. Discovered by Liu Die Yu, a Chinese researcher, they allow malicious sites or viruses to bypass IE6 security zone settings. Yu has also released Proof of Concept exploits to validate his warnings; a move criticized by Microsoft. The simplest solution is to disable active scripting to protect yourself when browsing the Web, as well closing the door to maliciously-coded email especially if you use Outlook Express or Outlook. As for sites you must view that use active scripting, just add these URLs to the Trusted Sites zone. If you upgraded to Total Commander 6 last week, stay posted for a to-be-released update. While the latter is available as a Beta, it appears to 'break' several features of TotCmd 6. And should only be installed if you really need it or don't mind the inevitable side-effects that Beta software seems to induce in today's Windows versions; including post-SP3 Windows 2000. Although the list of bug-fixes are impressive. The main reason for the update seems to be about enabling the 'use F2 to move file copy/transfer to background' feature I mentioned in my preview. I haven't been able to make the key work: a feature that in hindsight needs to be re-mapped since F2 is the default Windows file rename shortcut! Microsoft NetMeeting will soon be replaced by Microsoft Office 2003 Live Meeting available from Microsoft as a 30-day trial version (requires registration to download). This despite many elements of NetMeeting being included in MSN Messenger software. Although the latter was recently updated, soon-to-be-obsolete NetMeeting components used for software sharing and group chat were left in place. No longer included with IE, NetMeeting 3.01 is bundled with Windows XP or you can download a fresh copy. Windows XP users will soon have a new Service Pack. The Beta invitations went out this week with the actual beta software versions expected by end-December 2003. This update includes bug fixes as well as several improvements to user and system security. That include an improved personal firewall with memory protection against buffer overruns and worms, disabled Windows Messenger service to block network pop-ups. As well an updated patch distribution technology powered, in part, by the Windows Update Service currently in a separate Beta. Windows XP SP-2 will also include updated versions of Internet Explorer 6.05 with integrated pop-up blocking (and possibly multiple tabbed window support) with a revised build of Outlook Express. But don't hold your breath: the public release is not expected before late 2004. Also new is Waycam's Goldensoft Recovery Series; a software add-in for Windows 9x users that adds the System Restore feature common to Windows ME and XP. The System Restore feature creates a database of system configuration snapshots to protect PCs from accidental or malicious data loss. The protected area, about 50% of the drive's formatted capacity, records all changes made by a user. Goldensoft Recovery also updates the core technology to allow a user to recover information even if a drive's formatting has been damaged or the FAT (File Allocation Table) destroyed by a virus. The only event the software can't really cope with is media platter failure. The software is available as seperate stand-alone and network versions (allows protected area restore point to be saved to another computer). Trial versions are available. There's also a new MyIE2 v 9.1 available. Besides the usual bug fixes, this version also features even more optimized Windows resource management. It also add a separate Search bar with its own customizable dialog. But it helps if you have the Google toolbar software installed separately. The Tab Collector -- a neat editor program -- now supports a list of Tabs. MyIE2 can also save the opened windows as a Group. New is a feature to view a Group's contents by right-clicking Groups > MyGroup menu item on the toolbar. You can also choose to minimize the software, or close it to the system tray. The Plug-in dialog too have been updated. And both Options and Setup Center are cross-linked. That's all for this week, see you again next time. Click Here to Email Me