internet explorer

IE flaw may allow Windows PCs to be hijacked, Microsoft warns

Microsoft has confirmed that a zero-day vulnerability affecting older versions of Internet Explorer could allow attackers to gain control of Windows-based computers to host malicious Web sites.

The company acknowledged the issue in a security advisory yesterday that included advice on how users can mitigate the threat posed by the flaw.

"Microsoft is aware of targeted attacks that attempt to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer 8," Microsoft said, noting that more recent versions of the Web browser, including IE 9 and IE 10, were unaffected.

The remote code execution vulnerability affects the way the browser accesses memory, … Read more

Possible IE bug would let hackers track mouse moves

Microsoft is investigating a possible flaw in its Internet Explorer Web browser that allegedly enables attackers to track users' mouse cursor anywhere on the screen, even if the browser window isn't in use.

The alleged flaw, which security firm Spider.io says it discovered a few months ago, compromises the security of virtual keyboards and virtual keypads in all supported versions of the browser since IE6, the security firm reports.

"As long as the page with the exploitative advertiser's ad stays open -- even if you push the page to a background tab or, indeed, even if … Read more

Microsoft to IE haters: You're sad

If you despise Internet Explorer, you are a twerp.

You are a sad, lonely doofus who sits alone, night after night, posting stupid, negative comments about a browser that is simply above your station.

You are so truly, irredeemably pathetic that your greatest achievement is to have won a karaoke competition at your local bar in 2008.

No, these are not my harsh words. We never bathe in harshness here.

These are the thoughts and sentiments that emerge from a rather touching new ad produced by Microsoft.

In hyping IE10, the company has decided to confront its critics in the … Read more

How to pin Web sites to the Windows 8 Start screen

Update, November 16, 2012: The method for pinning Web sites with Chrome was added to this blog post.

The Windows 8 Start screen comes prepopulated with lots of tiles, some of which you won't ever use. Instead of wasting that precious space, you can remove the tiles you don't use and pin your favorite Web sites to the Start screen for quick and easy access. Here's how:

Step 1: Open Internet Explorer from the Start screen and go to the Web site you want to pin.

Step 2: Click the pin icon in the lower right-hand corner … Read more

IE10 almost ready for Windows 7

The first Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview for Windows 7 has arrived, gifting many of its improvements to the older OS as Microsoft prepares to keep IE current beyond the gates of Windows 8.

"There's a long alphabet soup of new abilities that we've built into Internet Explorer 10" for Windows 7, Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's general manager for IE, said during an interview last week at CNET's San Francisco office. In addition to porting over the new IE10 Chakra and JavaScript engines, IE 10 on Windows 7 also gets the Touch API innovations that … Read more

BlackBerry 10 gets launch date

CNET Update starts the countdown:

Mark the calendar on January 30. That's when Research in Motion will launch the next BlackBerry phones. Also in Monday's tech news roundup:

- Facebook is testing out new features. Some users can reply directly to someone's comment on a post, according to Mashable. And VentureBeat reports Facebook is also testing notification sounds.

- A preview of the Skype app for Windows Phone 8 is now available to download.

- YouTube will cut funding to about half of the original shows it backed last year, according to Ad Age.

- Apple and … Read more

IE10 preview for Windows 7 arriving tomorrow, report says

The Internet Explorer wait appears to be over for Microsoft loyalists.

A new preview version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 will be available tomorrow, according to LiveSide, a site that follows Windows Live.

The site got its information from a Chinese technology blog, iFanr, which attended an IE10 media press event in Beijing today. iFanr cited comments from a Microsoft executive, who announced the imminent release of the preview version of the browser.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company doesn't talk about rumors or speculation.

The update is the first preview since June 2011. … Read more

TokBox gives WebRTC chat standard a real-world boost

A nascent Web standard called WebRTC just got a notable boost from TokBox, a provider of online chat services for companies such as Ford Motor and Coca-Cola that need a mechanism to communicate with customers.

WebRTC is designed to enable real-time video and audio chat with a Web browser, enabling Skype-like services on the Web. TokBox released a version of its software that adds WebRTC support, a move timed to coincide with today's release of Chrome 23, which includes WebRTC.

Having browser support for a standard is crucial to its success, obviously. But developers wanting want to use it … Read more

Yahoo will ignore Do Not Track for IE10 users

Yahoo will ignore "Do Not Track" requests from Internet Explorer 10 because, it claims, Microsoft is violating the concept's intent by turning it on by default.

Today's announcement reignites a conflagration that started with Microsoft's announcement in May, and became even more incendiary earlier this month when the Digital Advertising Alliance said advertising companies that choose to ignore Do Not Track requests "automatically set in IE10 or any other browser" would not be penalized.

Yahoo said in a blog post this afternoon that the choice to enable Do Not Track should be … Read more