explorer

IE keeps firm grip on half of the browser market

Microsoft's Internet Explorer still grabs more than half of all traffic among browsers, at least as viewed by Web tracker Net Applications.

Leading the desktop browser market for September, IE took home a share of 53.6 percent. That left Firefox in second place with 20 percent and Chrome in third with almost 19 percent.

Trailing the top five were Apple's Safari with 5.2 percent and Opera with just 1.6 percent.

IE's lead has dipped over the past few years. A high of 79 percent in November 2007 fell to a low of 51.8 … Read more

Protect yourself with SpywareBlaster

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that's especially true when it comes to spyware; wouldn't you rather protect your system than spend hours trying to rid it of malicious visitors? SpywareBlaster is a simple program that provides protection from ActiveX-based software and unwanted cookies for both Firefox and Internet Explorer users.

SpywareBlaster has a simple interface that will be easy for even novices to navigate. The main screen shows the protection status for Internet Explorer, restricted Web sites, and Firefox. By default, protection is disabled for each of these, but you can easily … Read more

Microsoft promises fix for IE security flaw in next few days

Microsoft said today it will issue a fix soon for a security flaw that affects users of Internet Explorer versions 6 through 9.

Uncovered this past weekend, the security hole could compromise the PCs of IE users who surf to a malicious Web site. The flaw is being actively exploited to deliver a back-door trojan known as "Poison Ivy."

The software giant said in a security advisory this afternoon that a solution to the flaw would be released in the next few days.

"While we have only seen a few attempts to exploit the issue, impacting an … Read more

EU proceeds with Microsoft probe on browser choice -- report

Bloomberg is reporting European Union antitrust regulators are moving ahead with their investigation of Microsoft's failure to fulfill its obligation to provide users with Web-browser choice.

Bloomberg cited in a September 18 report "two people familiar with the matter" claiming that the EU is preparing a formal complaint.

If true, the news isn't surprising given the European Commission acknowledged back in July 2012 that it had received complaints that Microsoft wasn't providing users with broswer choice. At that point, the EU opened a probe into Microsoft's behavior.

Microsoft admitted quickly it had failed to … Read more

Microsoft offers advice to deal with IE security bug

Users of Internet Explorer versions 6 through 9 are grappling with another security flaw without a fix, but Microsoft has a few suggestions to help shore up protection.

Uncovered this past weekend, the security hole could compromise the PCs of IE users who surf to a malicious Web site. Microsoft said it's already aware of attacks that have tried to take advantage of this weakness.

Since no fix is yet available, it's up to users of IE to protect themselves. A new Microsoft Security Advisory offers several recommendations.

To start, the usual advice always applies. Make sure you'… Read more

New Internet Explorer weakness already exploited in attacks

A previously unknown security hole in Internet Explorer 7, 8 and 9 is being actively exploited to deliver a back door trojan known as "Poison Ivy," researchers warned.

Security blogger Eric Romang, who uncovered the vulnerability this weekend, wrote on his blog yesterday:

I can confirm, the zero-day season is really not over yet. Less than three weeks after the discovery of the Java SE 7 0day, aka CVE-2012-4681, potentially used by the Nitro gang in targeted attacks, a potential Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8 zero-day is actually exploited in the wild. Romang found an attack that … Read more

Windows XP users to lose Google Apps support in Internet Explorer

Millions of Internet Explorer users who work with Google Apps are about to need an upgraded browser -- but if they're using Windows XP or earlier, they may be out of luck.

Google said today that it would end Google Apps support for Internet Explorer 8, the most widely used version of the venerable browser. But Microsoft blocks Windows XP users from installing more recent versions of IE, owing to the way device drivers are handled inside Vista and Windows 7.

Users facing that dilemma have at least one easy way around that dilemma -- install Chrome! -- but … Read more

Microsoft 'to comply' with EU in browser choice antitrust probe

Microsoft has said it will comply with European antitrust authorities, after the software giant was accused of not adhering to the promises it said it would keep as part of an earlier settlement.

As quoted by Reuters, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters at an economics conference:

In my personal talks with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he has given me assurances that they will comply immediately regardless of the conclusion of the antitrust probe.

Almunia also described the antitrust investigation as a "very, very serious issue."

Microsoft settled with EU authorities in 2009 after it was accused … Read more

Voyager 1, NASA's 1977 iPod, turns 35

For a mobile music player that's 100,000 times less powerful than a crummy 8GB iPod Nano, Voyager 1 is mighty awesome.

The NASA space probe was launched 35 years ago today, on September 5, 1977, three months after a new space opera called "Star Wars" hit theaters. Programmed to explore the outer planets, it has traveled farther than any man-made object since then, and is leaving our solar system for interstellar space.

With its 68-kilobyte computer memory and 8-track tape recorder, Voyager is bringing old-timey tech to the stars. It's currently some 11.3 billion miles from the sun in the heliosheath, the region where the solar wind slows down as it hits gas and dust outside our solar system. … Read more