An update is available for Wordpess. This is an “urgent security release“, that addresses a flaw that could allow your draft posts to be exposed. For more information on what has changed, view the list of fixed bugs and changes. You can download the latest version here.
Tag Archives: security
Opera 9.25 Released
Opera Watch and the Opera Desktop Team are reporting that Opera 9.25 was released. This release addresses a few security concerns, and is a recommended update. The changelog has more details.
Ask.com Erases Your Data
Ok, the title sounds like Ask.com is doing something bad. They aren’t, I don’t think. You see, they’ve added a new link to the US website that says “AskEraser“. Enabling this will delete your search activity from the Ask.com servers. On the downside, ths will also prevent you from using some of Ask.com’s other features like site skins (themes) and the “My Stuff”.
Who cares about those silly things, right? After all, your searches are safe, right? That’s what it sounds like, unless you look a bit further and read the FAQs. According to the information here, even with AskEraser enabled, Ask.com may still record your data when required by law, or if Ask.com has a technical error.
Those of you worried about your search data here is a tip for you. Don’t search for any Personally Identifiable Information (PII). That means don’t Google your SSN, don’t Yahoo! your full name, and don’t Ask your bank account number. Be smart, and you’ll be safe.
Gone Phishing
An unpatched flaw (yes, there are many) in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer may put users of the Google Desktop Search at risk. This flaw has to do with the way IE handles (or mishandles) CSS. A malicious web page can inject code into a page which allows it to execute on a remote machine.
There is currently no fix available from Microsoft. And while no known use of this exploit has been used, there has been a proof of concept posted on the net.
Those of you who (for whatever reason) still use Internet Explorer, it is recommended that you disable JavaScript and/or switch to a better browser. Personally, I’d block IE in the firewall. 