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IE flaw lets intruders into Google Desktop
Cnet ^ | December 2, 2005, 1:31 PM PT | Joris Evers

Posted on 12/02/2005 4:03:11 PM PST by JustAnotherOkie

A security researcher in Israel has found a way to steal information from unwitting users of Google's desktop search tool by exploiting an unpatched flaw in Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer.

There is a bug in the way the Web browser processes CSS rules, Matan Gillon wrote in a description of his hack posted on Wednesday. CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a method for setting common styles across multiple Web pages. The Web design technique is widely used on many sites across the Internet.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.zdnet.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: desktop; explorer; google; ie; microsoft
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You can blame Microsoft but where does Google's and end user responsibility end?
1 posted on 12/02/2005 4:03:13 PM PST by JustAnotherOkie
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To: JustAnotherOkie

I'd say 99.99% IE and the remainder google.


2 posted on 12/02/2005 4:08:43 PM PST by flashbunny (To err is human. But to really screw something up, have the government try to fix it.)
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To: JustAnotherOkie
One word:

FIREFOX

3 posted on 12/02/2005 4:11:26 PM PST by Slump Tester ( What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: Slump Tester
One word:

FIREFOX

I've been using Firefox for a while now. It crashes often on all three computers that I have it on. Opera (got free during their anniversary promotional) works well without crashing.

4 posted on 12/02/2005 4:30:42 PM PST by 69ConvertibleFirebird (Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.)
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To: Slump Tester

Yeah I agree. I just downloaded the new 1.5 version of Firefox and it just keeps getting better and better.

What's IE??


5 posted on 12/02/2005 4:40:51 PM PST by Dazedcat
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To: JustAnotherOkie
Microsoft s*cks.
6 posted on 12/02/2005 4:51:15 PM PST by big'ol_freeper ("Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." Pope JPII)
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird

Your Firefox crashes on multiple machines are interesting phenomena. I can't figure how you have yours set up so that all three crash. I've never had any crash problems on any machine except, for a very short time, when Adobe Acrobat opened. That problem was solved very quickly. I've tried Opera 3-4 times. It's just odd, IMO.


7 posted on 12/02/2005 5:12:51 PM PST by Clara Lou
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To: JustAnotherOkie
You can blame Microsoft but where does Google's and end user responsibility end?

It seems from the article that using Google is arbitrary, that the flaw could be used to exploit other software as well.

Also, Google will probably have their part of it patched long before IE.

As far as the end user, of course it's their responsibility, ultimately. They shouldn't be using a browser so volatile you can actually hear it ticking.

8 posted on 12/02/2005 5:20:13 PM PST by impatient (Will the last member of civilization please turn out the lights?)
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To: JustAnotherOkie
You can blame Microsoft but where does the end user's responsibility end?

The liability in these recurring episodes lies strictly with the consumer. There are many alternatives available to consumers to surf the web with relative security. These alternatives are cheaper than MS's solutions and within the technical skill range of most consumers.

Compounding the inherent laziness quotient is ignorance. Ignorance, not stupidity. Two simple rules eliminate most of the threat posed by malware:

1) Don't go where you don't know. Leave the pioneering to pioneers. Surf where it's safe.
2) Treat all personal electronic communication as a potential threat. Handle email and instant messaging with the respect you accord an unloaded firearm. If the magazine is empty, check the chamber before you examine the muzzle.

9 posted on 12/02/2005 6:49:28 PM PST by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag
We're doing what we can to fix the ignorance part:

http://explorerdestroyer.com/
http://www.killbillsbrowser.com/

10 posted on 12/02/2005 6:58:37 PM PST by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: zeugma
I'll be damned. A bona fide endangered species. Conservative geeks.

Don't venture over to /.. They'll eat your lunch while you're occupied promoting an OS solution.

11 posted on 12/02/2005 7:25:44 PM PST by Amerigomag
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To: Dazedcat
What sold me on Firefox initialy was the "control +" function.

Have you seen that?

12 posted on 12/02/2005 7:48:35 PM PST by Slump Tester ( What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: Amerigomag
I'll be damned. A bona fide endangered species. Conservative geeks.

Don't venture over to /.. They'll eat your lunch while you're occupied promoting an OS solution.

Well, I'm more libertarian than conservative in some ways. You could call me a Radically Strict Constructionist. :-). I think I've been a Freeper longer than I've been a /.er though. There's a lot more of us RSC's out there than you might think.

13 posted on 12/02/2005 8:17:44 PM PST by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: Slump Tester

To some of us older geeks, ctrl-+ is more important than tabs!


14 posted on 12/02/2005 8:18:44 PM PST by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: zeugma
Keep on keepen on.

As a long time IT consumer I'm encouraged by the progress made in the OS community over the past ten years.

Like many I started with MS. Unlike many I went from DOS to NT4 as a consumer. Today I still value the utility of Redmond's products but only in a safe environment ... away from the internet. I venture onto WANs protected by the relative obscurity of the children of UNIX. Opera or Mozilla ported to Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris or OX10 presents a diminishing return, not worth chasing, for most malware authors.

My youngest son, a web administrator in the UC system, cringes because I've recently taken to recommending Linspire 5.0 plus Firefox as an easy first step toward safer surfing for MS users tired of the Tuesday morning panic from Redmond. He calls me a sell out because Robertson's business plan is a copy of Gate's scheme.

15 posted on 12/02/2005 9:10:16 PM PST by Amerigomag
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To: zeugma
To some of us older geeks, ctrl-+ is more important than tabs!

Yup

16 posted on 12/02/2005 9:16:21 PM PST by don-o (Don't be a Freeploader. Do the right thing. Become a Monthly Donor! '98'er)
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To: big'ol_freeper

Anyone who says that now obviously hasn't a clue what they are talking about. They probably don't know an OS from a API.

It's a big corporation sure but pre windows was all about drivers, interrupts, extended and expanded memory ect... Without MS there would not be universal internet access because hackers would be trashing every machine on the net. Either that or we would be running UNIX with a character based UI.


17 posted on 12/02/2005 9:44:34 PM PST by JustAnotherOkie
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird
I have Firefox running on 58 machines at work and nary a crash.

And these computers are a huge mix of brands (a lot of cheapies) purchased by the company over the last four years.

Makes me wonder what you are using.

18 posted on 12/03/2005 5:46:24 AM PST by capt. norm (Beware of the "White-Flag Democrats"...we all know who they are.)
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To: Slump Tester
You can also use the right mouse button and the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of images.

With my eyesight being what it is, I can no longer do without the CTL + to increas text size to meet my needs.

19 posted on 12/03/2005 5:48:42 AM PST by capt. norm (Beware of the "White-Flag Democrats"...we all know who they are.)
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird

I've not had a problem with Firefox crashing. Have on older machine and one newer one.
I just notice that AdAware and SpyBot don't find many things anymore. If I run IE a little, then AdAware and Spybot find lots of goodies.


20 posted on 12/03/2005 5:55:00 AM PST by HereInTheHeartland (Never bring a knife to a gun fight, or a Democrat to do serious work...)
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