Disabling Flash in browser may not be enough to secure your machines

Disabling Flash in your PC browser may help stave off online attacks, but it may still not be enough, a security vendor warns.

Fortinet said Flash files can also be embedded in various document formats including Microsoft Office documents and even PDF files.

"Even if you have disabled Flash in your browsers, Flash exploits can still leverage Flash player vulnerabilities through software like Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader," Fortinet's Bing Liu said in a blog post.

As proof of concept, Liu crafted a PowerPoint file that would cause the caculator program to pop up when loaded in apps with a vulnerable Flash plugin.

The Flash exploit "works well inside a PPT and PDF document until I uninstall the Flash player on my computer," Liu said.

Such a situation "is just one simple example of ways in which Flash can be exploited outside of a web browser," Liu added.

"What all this means, unfortunately, is that disabling the Flash plugin in your browsers isn't a complete solution to Flash security. Flash is a technology that can be embedded in many places and requires vigilance on the part of users as well as smart edge and endpoint protection and rigorously patched software to ensure that Flash exploits don't end up on your network," Liu said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Firefox now supports HTTP/2 standard

 

Mozilla's open-source Firefox browser appears to be among the early adopters of the new HTTP/2 standard.

 

In a change log for Firefox version 36, Mozilla also said its browser has several new features such as syncing for pinned tiles on new tab pages.

 

"(Firefox has) support for the full HTTP/2 protocol. HTTP/2 enables a faster, more scalable, and more responsive web," it said.

 

Rounding up the list of new features is the addition of localization for the Uzbek language.

 

A separate report on The Next Web noted the newest version of Firefox will no longer accept certificates signed with 1024-bit RSA keys.

  

Meanwhile, the new Firefox also adds tools for developers and security fixes. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Parental controls for Google Chrome coming soon

Google's Chrome browser may soon be a preferred choice of parents for their children in browsing the internet, due to what looks like a new parental control feature.

A post on BrowserFame.com cited new controls allowing for a "supervised" account, which has fewer privileges than the normal account.


"These user accounts, now termed as 'Supervised Accounts,' would have less privileges as compared to the standard users and can be used for granting limited and controlled access to other users. For example, it can be used by parents to control browsing activities and other settings for their kids," it said.

However, the feature is still in its early stages, and is being tested in Chrome's Canary (early testing) edition.

Users can test the feature by enabling the flags “Enable supervised users” and “Enable new profile management system” from the chrome:flags page, BrowserFame.com said.

A separate report on The Next Web said this could be a step forward for Chrome's support for separate accounts, which lets users to store their personal settings in the same browser.

"Once a supervised account is set up, it appears that the limitations can be configured via a dedicated Web page, allowing parents and controlling accounts to manage the parameters easily," it said. 

 

 

The Next Web also said it is possible the feature may be used for Chromebooks, which Google is pushing for the education sector. – KDM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft fined €561M for breaking EU antitrust promise

BRUSSELS - EU antitrust regulators fined Microsoft 561 million euros ($731 million) on Wednesday for breaking a promise to offer European consumers a choice of web browser.

Microsoft had made the pledge in 2009 in settling an antitrust investigation in Europe, where the software group's regulatory troubles date from the last decade and have cost it a total of 2.16 billion euros, including the latest fine.

Microsoft promised to offer European consumers a choice of rival browsers in the previous version of its Windows operating system. But the European Commission, which acts as competition regulator across the 27-member European Union, said it found the company broke that undertaking between May 2011 and July 2012.

The Commission said it takes such settlement commitments very seriously.

"Legally binding commitments reached in antitrust decisions play a very important role in our enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems," Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

"Of course, such decisions require strict compliance. A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly," he said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com