Spoofing bug found in IE 7

IE 7, released last week, allows a Web site to display a pop-up that can contain a spoofed Web address, security monitoring company Secunia said Wednesday. An attacker could exploit this weakness to trick people into believing they are on a trusted Web site when in fact they are viewing a malicious page, Secunia said in an alert.

"This makes it possible to only display a part of the address bar, which may trick users into performing certain unintended actions," Secunia said. The company has created a demonstration that shows a Microsoft Web address in the pop up window, but displays content from Secunia.

Microsoft Windows Defender-Final release of the anti-spyware tool

Platform: Windows XP
Type: freeware
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Size: 5MB
Download Now.

**In order to download this software you need to go through the Windows Genuine Advantage validation procedure on your operating system.

Previously known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, this anti-spyware software gets a new name and an official release (it's been in beta through most of 2006).

It works like any other spyware detector, offering you the choice of either a Quick Scan or a slower Deep Scan. Choose the Deep Scan and you can select specific folders to be scanned, and/or your PC's memory.

It offers optional real-time protection, which activates various checkpoints throughout a PC's system in order to prevent spyware being installed.

Spyware Terminator 1.6.0.811
Platform: Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Type: freeware
Size: 2.5MB
Free Download.

There are plenty of anti-spyware programs available, but few as comprehensive (or free!) as Spyware Terminator, which is an application that will prevent spyware, adware, keyloggers and other types of malicious applications from hijacking the use of you computer. It resides in your system tray and works in real-time to prevent unauthorised programs from taking over your computer.

There are others available, but many anti-spyware applications are paid-for products, primarily as the software developer has to update the anti-spyware engine on a daily basis. These developers are always fighting the latest spyware technology.

When Spyware Terminator finds a suspect file, it is moved into Quarantine. Spyware Terminator prevents them from functioning and causing further damage to your computer. You can review and choose to permanently remove suspect files or safely store essential files.

Spyware Terminator will scan your computer manually or schedule an in-depth scan to be performed on a regular basis. The scan process runs in the background so that you will not be disrupted while working on other tasks.

Yahoo Messenger 8.1.0.195

Platform:Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Type:freeware
Download Here.

Yahoo Messenger is one of the most popular instant-messaging programs and it's easy to see why: a simple-to-use program supported by a massive online community, and it's all free.

Official release of Mozilla Firefox 2.0

Current new 2.0 features include anti-phishing support, useful for acknowledging the difference between a legitimate website and a fake site set up for the purposes of obtaining your personal information.

Other new features include enhanced tabbed browsing, the ability to open tabs closed accidentally, spell checking within web forms, a search plugin manager, combined and enhanced Add-Ons manager and much more, including support for new web standards.

You can download other language editions of the Windows Firefox 2.0, as well as Linux and Mac OS X versions from the Mozilla website.

Click here to download Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP.

AVG Antivirus 7.5-16.4MB

The word 'free' often equates to an inferior product but, in this case, there is no doubt that this is a professional product.

Split into three sections and a Control Centre, AVG Anti-virus protects against viruses in a number of key areas. The Resident Shield works in the background and checks all files and file types (including floppy disk, CD content etc.) for viruses, whilst the Email Scanner works with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook.

The Boot-up Scanner operates at start-up, and checks the most important areas of a PC before you begin to use it. Every aspect of AVG's virus protection can be configured using the Control Centre, which allows you to modify a number of program settings and to schedule scans, among other things.

When installing there's an option to create a rescue disk for use should any of your key system files become infected. All crucial areas and files on a PC are backed up, and can be restored from this disk.

Note: This download is only valid for private, non-commercial, single home computer use.

Download Here

Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft has launched its Internet Explorer 7 browser for public download.

The software giant touted the browser's improved security with a built-in anti-phishing filter, and default settings preventing the installation of ActiveX objects.

The browser also copies several popular features from Mozilla's open source Firefox browser, such as an integrated search box and tabs that allow users to organise multiple web pages in a single window.

Microsoft is also catching up with recent changes to internet standards such as CSS and HTML.

Internet Explorer 7 requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Pro 64 Edition or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

Users can download the application directly from Microsoft's IE website and the software will be automatically pushed out to users as a 'high priority update' within the next few weeks.

Firefox 2.0 RC3

Platform Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Type freeware
Size 5.4MB
Download here

Mozilla Firefox, the popular web browser, caused a stir with the original release, but apart from minor changes, visual improvements and security fixes, there haven’t been a wide range of new features since the original 1.x release. This is all about to change, with the forthcoming release of Firefox 2.0, planned for October/November 2006.

This is Release Candidate 3 and the third public preview of Firefox 2.0, along with a snapshot of the forthcoming new features. It must be noted that this is only a pre-release and should be used for testing-purposes only. Many of the existing themes and extensions are not operating within this beta release.

Current new 2.0 features include anti-phishing support, useful for acknowledging the difference between a legitimate website and a fake site set up for the purposes of obtaining your personal information.

Other new features include enhanced tabbed browsing, the ability to open tabs closed accidentally, spell checking within web forms, a search plugin manager, combined and enhanced Add-Ons manager and much more, including support for new web standards.

Maxthon Standard 1.5.8

Platform: Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Type: freeware
Manufacturer: Maxthon International Limited
Size: 1.9MB
Download here

Maxthon is one of the more popular Internet Explorer replacement browsers and is constantly updated.

It can open multiple tabbed web pages within one window, and uses limited system resources to browse the web. It supports mouse gestures and even enables you to browse news RSS feeds in the same window as you browse the web.

Note: although this is a replacement for Internet Explorer, it still requires Internet Explorer (v5 or higher) to be present on your system.

Winamp 5.3 (6.21MB)

New features in Winamp include support for classic Winamp skins and Winamp 3 (Modern) skins; a fancy new Modern skin; the same classic skin for people who want the Winamp 2 feel; a vastly more powerful media library; CD-ripping support (AAC@2x in the Free version, MP3 at unlimited speeds in the Pro version); CD-burning support (limited to 6x in the free version); advanced title-formatting logic for file types that support it; huge AVS updates; support for playback of AAC and VP6 in NSV files/streams; global hot-key support; a new Signal Processing Studio DSP plug-in; options for disabling plug-in exception-handling for developers; a new Winamp icon; and the addition of XP manifest.xml to winamp.exe.

Version 5.3 includes Winamp Dashboard beta, Winamp Remote beta, Unicode filename and title support, enhanced sync capabilities for your portable.

Apple patches Mac OS X vulnerabilities

Apple has released a security update that fixes 15 different vulnerabilities in Mac OS X.

The update has been classified by security firm Secunia as 'highly critical', its second highest alert level, owing to the danger of remote code execution on unpatched systems.

Among the vulnerabilities is a flaw in the CFNetwork component used by Apple's Safari browser that could allow unauthenticated SSL sites to appear as authenticated.

This could leave a user vulnerable to fraudulent sites that would be presented as secure.

Fixes for Adobe Flash Player which Secunia has listed as 'highly critical' are also included in the update. The vulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute code remotely via a specially crafted .swf file.

Other fixes address vulnerabilities in PICT and jpeg2000 image handling components and several LoginWindow flaws.

The Mac OS X 10.4.8 update is for users with a version of MacOS X 10.4 or Mac OS X 10.4 server already installed. Security Update 2006-006 is for users running Mac OS X 10.3.9 and Mac OS X Server.

The security fix comes one week after Apple released a patch for vulnerabilities in its AirPort wireless networking components.