Microsoft is going to release a stripped-down version of Windows XP, Code-named ‘Eiger‘. This Windows is designed for business users who want more security and manageability on older PCs.

Quoted:
Eiger, a stripped-down version of Windows XP Professional, is designed for customers who want more security and manageability, but who aren’t ready or able to upgrade to Windows XP, according to Microsoft officials. It is not a thin client in the traditional sense. Instead, Microsoft will offer it as an interim, “bridge” solution for enterprise users who ultimately plan to move to XP or Longhorn, officials said.

Actually, the specification of this verwion of Windows XP has already been published since April by Steven Bink, a Microsoft certified systems engineer based in Amsterdam.

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A “Thinner” Version Of Windows XP

Just a few hours ago written a short article about flaws found in Internet Explorer and Microsost Outlook, now I’ve just read another article regarding vulnerabilities in the Firefox.

According to the article, in the latest incident, a 16-year-old security researcher – who asked only to be identified by his first name, Paul – found three vulnerabilities in the Firefox browser that together could be exploited to run arbitrary code. It seems that now flaw finders are digging up more security holes in Firefox, while vulnerability researchers frequently flogged Microsoft for the number of security holes found in its Internet Explorer browser.

Quoted:
For the last six months of 2004, researchers found more vulnerabilities in Mozilla’s Firefox than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, according to Symantec’s bi-annual Internet Security Threat Report. The report tallied 21 vulnerabilities for Mozilla Firefox versus 13 for Internet Explorer. However, a smaller percentage of the vulnerabilities found in Firefox were considered a severe security threat, said Symantec’s Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager with the company’s security response team.

Anyway, as compared to the number of critical flaws found, Firefox still is having an edge over Internet Explorer. In other words, quantity of flaws found doesn’t necessary reflect the seriousness of the hole in any browser.

Quoted:
“Severe vulnerabilities in general allow for drive-by installs,” he said. “So just by visiting a website, you could have [anything from] spyware to malware to Trojan horses installed on your system.”

Friedrichs stressed that the number of vulnerabilities found by researchers is not necessarily a good indication of product security. He pointed to the Mozilla Firefox’s relatively young age, the browser’s increasing popularity, and commercial software vendors tendency to silently fix vulnerabilities as factors that could affect the vulnerability count.

To reduce flaws, Microsoft changed more than 50 features of Internet Explorer in WinXP SP2. In total, Microsoft changed more than 428 features in Windows XP, including eliminating two classes of vulnerabilities on which the company did not revealed before.

Those changes have made Internet Explorer a tougher target for vulnerability researchers, said one flaw finder.

This makes me wonder, is reducing the features (not 1, but more than 50) in an application a wise move to eliminate flaws?

Anyway, let’s see what’s the progress of fighting secirity flaws between Firefox and Internet Explorer in coming months.

[Source]

Have you ever wonder what is actually inside Windows Xp Service Pack 2, which was released last year to patch all the security flaws found?

Microsoft security chief just revealed that SP2 for Windows XP changed or eliminated more than 400 significant features in the operating system, also eliminating two previously undiscovered classes of security flaws.

Quoted:
Speaking at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver, Microsoft security strategist Window Snyder [apparently his real name] said the company changed or removed 428 Windows XP features considered security loopholes. 51 of them were in Internet Explorer and 107 were in Windows XP’s networking functions.

Snyder also said in the report that security firm SecurityFocus also discovered two “entire classes of vulnerabilities” that have never been reported outside the company. Snyder said the vulnerability types had been wiped out and declining to provide details.

[Source]

IBM Corporation is going to endorse Firefox as the alternative to Internet Explorer for its massive employee base according to source.

I’m so glad finally I saw a big company is willing to give a better browser a try.

IBM said it had formally endorsed the use of the Mozilla Foundation’s Latest News about Mozilla Foundation browser, which had already found its way onto the desktops of some 10 percent of IBM’s 300,000-strong user base.

IBM is taking a very good step, which will make the software available for download from internal servers starting next week, hence, eliminating the need for users to go online to download it themselves. Besides, Their technical support department will start offering help desk support for the browser software. I believe this will be a massive boost for Firefox in gaining more market share, while the next version of Internet Explorer (IE 7.0) will only be available later this year.

[Source]

As mentioned is the previous post about Windows Mobile 5.0 upgrade on Dell X50, we know very soon Microsoft will release their next Operating System for handheld devices. This handheld devices OS evolution started out as “Pocket PC 2000” evolved into “Pocket PC 2002,” then “Windows Mobile 2003,” and more recently “Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition.”

Now let’s have a glance on the screen shots of what basically do we have in Windows Mobile 5.0.

Smartphone User Interface:

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A Glance On Windows Mobile 5.0

Hey guys,

There are two important upgrade if you are using Firefox and WordPress.

The latest Firefox 1.0.4 is released just few days after two critical JavaScript flaws discovered. This new version will have the patch for the flaws found.

Whereas WordPress 1.5.1 is the latest version after WordPress has gone publish with their enhanced WordPress 1.5. This release has a ton of bug fixes, enhancements, and an important security fix found by Thomas Waldegger. For instruction to upgrade to WordPress 1.5.1, please refer to this link.

You can download them directly following the links below:-

Firefox 1.0.4

WordPress 1.5.1