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ie8 fix

activex

The industry's Windows wall of shame

Lockergnome highlights three major brands that can't seem to abandon the Windows fixation: World of Warcraft, Gametap, and Netflix. The first two I can (moderately) understand. But why should a user be forced to use Microsoft's ActiveX to get the most out a DVD rental service? Does it provide some secret value that having a wider swath of users wouldn't more than make up for?

Nope.

For those web developers who continue to fixate on IE, you could at least support Firefox and IE equally, and not on any particular operating system. The world is opening up. … Read more

Free tool blocks Facebook, MySpace, and Yahoo ActiveX vulnerabilities

A researcher over at the Internet Storm Center has created a powerful GUI that will set the kill-bits on vulnerable ActiveX controls used in Facebook, Myspace, and Yahoo apps. These popular apps came under attack on Monday after researchers Elazar Broad and Krystian Kloskowski disclosed their findings to a online security newsgroup.

On Tuesday, exploits for the Yahoo apps were reported circulating. There is currently no patch from the individual vendors, so the only workaround is to disable the several specific, vulnerable ActiveX controls. (ActiveX controls were developed by Microsoft for use with Internet Explorer and other browsers.)

The SANS … Read more

First Look: Take a peek at SpywareBlaster

There's a reason why SpywareBlaster made last year's list of best free security and spyware programs. The free spyware prevention utility blocks ActiveX controls, tracking cookies, and ads on Internet Explorer and blocks cookies and ads on Firefox. Take a look at the program's features in the video below, and check out other First Look videos on popular software products.