Sorry for the sudden absence. Life events have taken me away from the computer temporarily but not permanently.

In the mean time, visit the Secunia Online Software Scanner regularly, and while there sign up for the [free] Email Alert Notification service.

There are several* vulnerabilities to be aware of that have cropped up over the past couple of weeks involving Internet Explorer, iTunes Store account holders, Foxit Reader, Wordpress Blogs, Trillian, and older versions of Firefox.

A Finnish security researcher has shown how to mess with a supposedly 'secure' PayPal web page while the address bar still leads visitors to believe they're safe.

Are you aware of the security protections many web sites use to [help] indicate to users (via their browser) things like the fact that the connection is 'encrypted', and that the site has been 'verified/validated'* by one of the [many] certificate authorities (like Verisign**) ? If you are that's good. You're ahead of the folks who pay no attention at all, and it shows that you're making an effort to keep security in mind. Unfortunately that's not nearly good enough.

The FBI web site* posted this Press Release on May 8th:

Two alerts for readers to be aware of. The first concerns Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) that was just released to the public, and the second is about fake .MP3/.MPG audio files that could end up installing an [advertising] 'Trojan' if you let it.

...And don't get 'hooked' by phishing email asking for account information!

I want to get these links* out to you while I can. Lately I've been reading about online criminals using the same old 'line' in their phishing emails to hook suckers. Evidently there's no shortage of people dumb enough to fall for the old "There's a problem with your account and we need you to update your account information for us".

The long-awaited update for Mozilla's Thunderbird email client was finally released May 1st.

Version 2.0.0.14 fixes two vulnerabilities marked Critical in their Security Advisories. You should have been alerted to install the latest version when you opened Thunderbird on or after 5/1 if you have your settings set to "Automatically check for updates..." (which you should). If not just open Thunderbird, go into the "Help" menu and click on "Check for Updates".

The term "Hacking" used to be a strictly negative term for many people, evoking thoughts of troublemakers and criminals. In some instances that was accurate, but another meaning is to 'take something and make it work the way you want it to', to personalize it.

Mozilla released a new version of the Firefox browser yesterday. Here is how they describe it in their Security Advisory:

Tuesday was Microsoft's monthly update that included 5 critical updates, & Adobe Flash Player released version 9.0.124.0 that fixes multiple vulnerabilities rated Highly Critical in Flash Player 9.0.115.0 and earlier.