This article provides a nice, quick overview of some of the security features that will be available in the new, soon-to-be-released version of Adobe Flash.
Popular web browser plugins like Flash Player or Java are a prime target of malware and hackers. The core reasons are simple: Lack of centralized updating and little to no protection of the underlying system if the plugin has been compromised.
Here’s are some interesting deletion programs for security conscious PC users …
Every now and then you may want to make sure that files that you delete on a PC cannot be recovered anymore by other users. This may be important if you are passing on the PC to another user, working on a multi-user PC or system that others may have access to. It may even be a good precautionary method before you are passing borders with your notebook or mobile device.
Back in the dial-up days, this sort of thing used to be pretty common … but apparently cache browsers can still come in handy in the wireless age.
When you search Google you always have the option to open a linked website directly, or to open a cached page of the selected page instead. Opening the cached version may help you if the website that you want to open is not available temporarily or permanently.
My wife will be interested in this; she uses Skype to save on long distance calls to her family in Japan …
Microsoft today has released an update for the popular voice over IP, messaging and video calling software Skype. Skype 5.8 for Windows is currently only available on the Skype homepage and not via the program’s update checker. Existing Skype users who click on Help > Check for Updates are receiving notifications that they are running the latest version. It is likely that the updater is going to pick up the new version later today.
I’ve never used Thunderbird myself, but I’ve heard good things about it for years …
Regular readers know that Mozilla has synchronized the release schedules for both the Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird email client. Both applications share the same rapid release process, and both are usually updated at the same day.
Apparently, we can all expect a Firefox upgrade some time in the very near future …
Mozilla has uploaded the stable version of Firefox 10 to its ftp server. The company is currently in the process of distributing the release to all of its world wide mirror servers in preparation for the release later today. The release of the extended support release version marks the beginning of the end for Firefox’s 3.x branch which will be retired from support in April of this year.
Here’s an interesting tool for those of us who are concerned about privacy (and/or those of us who want to check up on our kids’ online activities …)
Keeping track of all your history items can be quite the feat if you are using more than one browser. Privacy conscious users usually delete the information regularly, while the majority of users is likely unaware what their web browser and operating system can reveal about them.
This sounds like a potential source of problems; Norton is sometimes incompatible with other anti-virus products.
Bundling third party applications with your own software is not a new thing on the Internet. It is for instance quite common that you see the Ask Toolbar, Babylon Toolbar, or any other toolbar added to software installations. Users who do not pay attention to the installation are then not only installing the software they want on their system, but also software they do not want. To make matters worse, it usually is not that easy to get rid of the latter.
