Homeland Security: Don't use Internet Explorer due to Major Security Flaw

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Unimatic1140

Unimatic1140

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As a web developer I loathe Internet Explorer, if a browser based bug is going to show up that prevents a web site from operating properly, I almost always find it in Internet Explorer 7, 8, and 9. While versions 10 and 11 are much better, in my opinion if you use any older version you are opening yourself up to trouble.

Personally I use Chrome and Firefox interchangeable.

Today the Homeland Security has issued this warning about all versions of Internet Explorer...[this post was last edited: 4/28/2014-22:43]

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www.npr.org
 
I almost caught it....the AntiVirus protection stopped it in time....its was time for my regular service check, so they erased anything else that may be lingering....safety and prevention first...

but there are a lot of people there having serious issues from this virus....

keep your eyes peeled for any issues that turn up....
 
 
And if/when Microslop issues an IE fix, all the peeps on XP (and earlier) will (presumably) be null/void for it.  Isn't that a kick in the 'nads?  Shouldn't Homeland Security do some leveraging against M$ to keep the homeland secure for *everyone*?

I haven't used IE in *years* except, as others have said, in the few cases when a site does not work with Firefox.  I don't trust Chrome.  My nephew had a malware/adware infection on his laptop recently that seemingly arose from a "rogue" installation of Chrome (rogue being that he doesn't remember explicitly installing it).
 
Is IE considered part of the OS?

I thought otherwise, but I know just enough to be dangerous.  Couldn't those of us with XP access the fix download ourselves if we had to? 

 

Or would MS go to the trouble of adding code to the fix that intentionally excluded XP users?
 
True. If you ever wondered why every web browser except Chrome has an option to disable third-party cookies...

It's not Google's only attempt at destroying the free and open internet, e.g. their purchase of Motorola (world's largest router manufacturer), their wholesale censorship of Usenet. Etc.

The situation can and will only get worse until the internet is properly protected as a utility instead of an "information service".
 
I don't trust google any more than I trust Mcdonalds. Mcdonalds REAL business is real estate, not food. Google's REAL business is data harvesting for sale to marketers.

I don't trust Microshaft to do ANYthing right. IE has always been a minefield of malfunctions and security liabilities. I'm on FF2 and it goes most everywhere I need to go. Nickname-for-coffee script* bogs it down so I avoid that much as possible. Media sites with the latest whizbang don't work, but I eat meat & potatoes not whizbang.

I've got an XP box sitting right here but stalling switching because it's hard to get files from 98 to XP. Just like me, updating to something that's already obsolete.

* You can't write that exact word here.
 
Using Opera

I have had problems with Chrome myself in the recent past, so uninstalled it and have started using Opera browser and so far at least am quite happy with it.
Steve.
 
I’ve had good luck with Microsoft. When I worked for a guy who tried to run his office with Apple stuff we had constant compatibility problems so I’m thankful that most Microsoft products play well with others. My big peeve is website developers who make their products compatible with only ONE browser and then often only one version of that browser but don't provide any detailed documentation of this.
 
I use Chrome only and have no problems with it. It does let you delete all browsing data from your session, and delete all cookies in increments starting within 1 hour, so i don't really have a problem with it. It also denies access to phishing sites that might cause compromise on the PC and phone. You can also send a do not track requests just like in other browsers.

I use Chrome on my PC and on my phone because I can share links and open web pages between my PC and phone.

I think the real problem with net security is the data mining sites and the FCC allows them. These sites do gather information about everyone and use it to form profiles of users. The profiles may not contain your name but it does enable companies to know what you are interested in. For me the problem is the FCC because they allow this to happen...meanwhile they act like they are all for protecting consumers by requesting browser makers to include a do not tract request. Yeah it's a request but there is nothing to say anybody must abide by it.
 
I run Firefox and Chrome concurrently.  I would find it difficult to function without java as many many site use it.  I just keep it updated, plus I'm running linux so I'm a bit safer.  Have not used IE for close to a decade.  On any computer I build for someone I bury the IE icon deep and tell them to use FF.
 
Add me to the list of IE haters (Although for whatever reason, older versions hold some nostalgia for me, for whatever reason). 

 

On my Mac, Safari, Chrome and Firefox are installed - mostly due to some glitchy Safari behaviour last year that is fixed now through updates. Those browsers sadly lack the multi-touch gestures and efficient flash-player fitted to Safari. Using Click-to-Flash definitely helps.

 

On home PC's, I use Firefox or Chrome. Internet Explorer is painfully slow in most instances - and for no apparent reason. So I avoid it, and HATE when I am forced to use it. What I have done when I am "forced" to use IE is bring a thumb-drive with Firefox on it, and install it to a Redirected Folder I have access to. If they (IT Staff) don't appreciate that, and I've seen FF deleted before, they can stick it, IMO. I have the right to a fast, safe, secure browser, that doesn't force me to watch advertisements. 

 

Arbilab, your "Nick-name for Coffee-Script" could be JavaSludge. I can't remember whether I pointed it out or not, but the problem is not so much with Java itself (Okay, its junk, really), but with the web-developers who use it so excessively, and write it so poorly it chokes even more modern browsers. 

I understand Google has headed down this pathway - their YouTube interface jams up installations of Opera 10 with Java enabled. Its horrible they ram web-standards down our throats like this, instead of making things pretty and usable with less CPU-Intensive methods. 
 
A question from the slow student in the Special Ed Section

If you have IE installed on the computer, how will using another browser protect you? Won't the viruses still be able to get in or do you have to be opening sites with IE to get infected? I changed to FF after I suddenly got very hard to get rid of requests from IE Security to let Adobe Flash Player install an update, which was mentioned in the memo posted above, and I have never seen those before.
 
 
Nefarious content in web sites as vectors for infections depends on which browser is viewing said site.  As I understand (which isn't all that far) the latest security flaw in IE is related to how it handles (or doesn't properly handle) clearing of program "objects" in memory.  A hacker can code such an object in a site, then use the security flaw to get control of the computer.  FF presumably doesn't exhibit the problem.

Flash Player updates are legitimate, they're issued quite often.  There are two versions of Flash, one specifically for IE (which presumably makes use of ActiveX, which is a M$/IE multimedia thing) and one for "other browsers."  Current versions of Flash (not sure how far back) usually have an automatic update function, although it can be turned off by user option.  http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/ to fetch directly.

Latest version of Firefox is 29.0, rolling out now.  They've enacted some redesign on the user interface that is generating some complaints from seasoned users but it's not that big of a deal.  Three aspects that irritate me are 1) page tabs are moved to above the toolbars with no working option to place them down directly above the pages as before, 2) the Reload/Stop button is hardwired at the right end of the URL/address field, and 3) the bottom-of-the-window Status Bar is gone.
 

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