“The Department of Homeland Security has advised that PC owners uninstall Apple’s QuickTime for Windows, after two vulnerabilities were discovered in its code.”
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“Microsoft today announced its Office Insider preview program now accepts Mac users of Office 365 Home, Personal and University, following up on the the same beta offer to Windows customers in November.”
Microsoft planning to automatically offer Windows 10 to existing PCs
“Microsoft launched Windows 10 earlier this year with a reservation system designed to tempt Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to upgrade for free.”
How to transfer files between your Nexus 6 and computer
“Most of us reading here have a computer of some sort. Maybe it’s at home and you use it to play games or to surf the Internet, or maybe it’s at work and you do things that aren’t nearly as fun as playing games and surfing the Internet.”
How to Unlock Boot loader of Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 – Guide
“It’s all about Nexus 6/9 as it’s the latest flagship device from Google and was one of the most awaited devices in 2014. So for all those who have bought this smartphone can now root the device.”
How do I disable Java in my web browser?
How do I disable Java in my web browser?
This article applies to:
- Platform(s): Solaris SPARC, Solaris x86, Red Hat Linux, SUSE Linux, Oracle Enterprise Linux, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, Windows 2008 Server, Macintosh OS X
- Browser(s): Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari
- Java version(s): 7.0, 7u10+
Starting with Java Version 7 Update 10, a new security feature has been added to Java. Some web pages may include content or apps that use the Java plug-in, and these can now be disabled using a single option in the Java Control Panel.
Disabling Java through the Java Control Panel will disable Java in all browsers.
Find the Java Control Panel
Windows XP
- Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
- Double click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 7, Vista
- Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
- In the Control Panel Search enter Java Control Panel.
- Click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 8
Use search to find the Control Panel
- Press Windows logo key + W to open the Search charm to search settings
OR
Drag the Mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the screen, then click on the Searchicon. - In the search box enter Java Control Panel
- Click on Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Disable Java through the Java Control Panel
- In the Java Control Panel, click on the Security tab.
- Deselect the check box for Enable Java content in the browser. This will disable the Java plug-in in the browser.
- Click Apply. When the Windows User Account Control (UAC) dialog appears, allow permissions to make the changes.
- Click OK in the Java Plug-in confirmation window.
- Restart the browser for changes to take effect.
RELATED INFORMATION
Disable the Java content in the particular browser
Internet Explorer
The only way to completely disable Java in Internet Explorer (IE) is to disable Java through the Java Control Panel as noted above.
Chrome
- Click on the Chrome menu, and then select Settings.
- At the bottom of Settings window, click Show advanced settings
- Scroll down to the Privacy section and click on Content Settings.
- In the Content Settings panel, scroll down to the Plug-ins section.
- Under the Plug-ins section, click Disable individual plug-ins.
- In the Plugins panel, scroll to the Java section. Click Disable to disable the Java Plug-in.
- Close and restart the browser to enable the changes.
Note: Alternatively, you can access the Plug-ins settings by typing about:plugins
in the browser address bar.
Firefox
- Click on the Firefox tab and then select Add-ons
- In the Add-ons Manager window, select Plugins
- Click Java (TM) Platform plugin to select it
- Click Disable (if the button displays Enable then Java is already disabled)
Safari
- Choose Safari Preferences
- Choose the Security option
- Deselect Enable Java
- Close Safari Preferences window
New Java vulnerability is being exploited in the wild, disabling Java is currently your only option
A new Java 0-day vulnerability has been discovered, and is already being exploited in the wild. Currently, disabling the plugin is the only way to protect your computer.
Update on December 11: Oracle’s Java vulnerability left open since October 2012 ‘fix’, now being used to push ransomware
The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), which falls under the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security, has issued the following vulnerability note:
Overview – Java 7 Update 10 and earlier contain an unspecified vulnerability that can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
Description – Java 7 Update 10 and earlier contain an unspecified remote-code-execution vulnerability. This vulnerability is being attacked in the wild, and is reported to be incorporated into exploit kits.
Impact – By convincing a user to visit a specially crafted HTML document, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
It appears this flaw was first stumbled upon by a French researcher who goes by the name Kafeine. In a post on his Malware Don’t Need Coffee website, the researcher claimed that the latest version, Java 7 Update 10, was being exploited on a site that receives “hundreds of thousands of hits daily” and concluded that “this could be mayhem.”
More importantly, Kafeine noted the two most popular Web threat tools used by hackers to distribute malware, the BlackHole Exploit Kit and the Cool Exploit Kit, already have this latest Java exploit. BitDefenderconfirmed the alleged addition of the exploit into Cool while security expert Brian Krebs confirmed the BlackHole part, as well as noted its addition into Nuclear Pack:
The curator of Blackhole, a miscreant who uses the nickname “Paunch,” announced yesterday on several Underweb forums that the Java zero-day was a “New Year’s Gift,” to customers who use his exploit kit. Paunch bragged that his was the first to include the powerful offensive weapon, but shortly afterwards the same announcement was made by the maker and seller of Nuclear Pack.
This actual vulnerability was later confirmed by security firm AlienVault Labs. With Kafeine’s help, the company reproduced the exploit on a new, fully-patched installation of Java, and used a malicious Java applet to remotely execute the Calculator application on Windows XP:
We recommend that regardless of what browser and operating system you’re using, you should uninstall Java if you don’t need it. If you do need it, use a separate browser when Java is required, and make sure to disable Java in your default browser.
We have contacted Oracle about this issue. We will update you if we hear back.
Update on December 11: Oracle’s Java vulnerability left open since October 2012 ‘fix’, now being used to push ransomware
See also – Security companies are recommending you disable Java, or just uninstall it and Mozilla joins the chorus, tells Firefox users to disable Java due to security hole
Windows Phone loses access to Google Maps
On Friday, some WIndows Phone 8 users discovered that you can no longer access the Google Maps website via devices running Windows Phone 7 or 8. While on the surface it seems like Google is deliberately crippling its own services on a competing mobile operating system, there’s much more to the story than meets the eye.
The mobile version of Google Maps never officially supported Windows Phone, because the version of IE that comes with it doesn’t have the WebKit support that Maps needs to work properly. That doesn’t mean that Google isn’t intentionally blocking Maps on phones that run Microsoft’s OS, but it’s more likely that the company fixed a bug that allowed these unsupported devices access in the first place.
Since Google doesn’t seem too keen on developing apps for Windows Phone—the company has a search app that hasn’t been updated in over a year—and with the search giant reportedly preventing Microsoft from building a proper YouTube app, it’s unlikely that this development will make Google more popular with either Microsoft or the Windows Phone users out there who use its services.
Google may be pushing for people to buy into using devices that run Android, but if the company can make its offerings work on iOS then it can definitely do the same for Windows Phone.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
via PCWorld http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023757/windows-phone-loses-access-to-google-maps.html
VMware Updates Desktop Products: Workstation 8 and Fusion 4 Released
In an unusual move, VMware has given us a twofer and updated both its desktop flagship products today. VMware is releasing VMmware Workstation 8 for Windows and Linux, and VMware Fusion 4 for Mac users. The Fusion update makes Fusion “more Mac-like” and finally allows users to virtualize Mac OS X under VMware Fusion. Workstation 8 is aimed squarely at developers and professionals working cloud and virtualization deployments, with remote access to virtual machines and support for up to 64GB of RAM.
VMware Workstation is VMware’s oldest product, and still very popular with developers and IT professionals who need to have access to virtual guests on their desktop.
New in Workstation 8
With Workstation 8, VMware claims support for more than 600 operating systems, from MS-DOS to Windows 7. But the real juice is for developers working with and deploying current operating systems into production in the cloud.VMware sees users doing a lot of development on the desktop and then pushing it into the internal cloud. Workstation 8 allows developers to create their virtual machines, then drag and drop them to vSphere. Workstation 8 is big on sharing, too. The release has features that let developers share a virtual machine directly from the desktop to another user running Workstation 8. Alternatively, you can connect to a remote virtual machine with Workstation 8 if the machine is running on vSphere, vCenter, or another copy of Workstation 8.
With the remote access features, developers are not constrained by the hardware of their local machine. They can simply connect to remote machines with Workstation, ESX 4.x or later, and vCenter Server and run the guests on the more powerful system but display them locally.
This release of Workstation also beefs up performance considerably, allowing it to take advantage of up to 64GB of RAM. VMware admitted to me that they haven’t seen many workstation or desktop machines with 64GB of RAM, but they picture Workstation 8 running on servers for development teams that need to share VMs.
Workstation 8 also has better desktop hardware support for its guests, with HD audio, USB 3 support, and Bluetooth devices. The company has also bolstered the 3D performance of Workstation 8 in this release. See the release notes for all the features and details on Workstation 8. The upgrade price for Workstation 8 is $99, users of Workstation 6.x or 7.x can take advantage of the upgrade. Just starting with Workstation 8? The release is $199 and available immediately as an electronic download.
New in VMware Fusion 4
While Workstation is aimed at the IT professionals doing heavy duty development work, Fusion is largely targeted at Web developers and professionals who’ve switched to the Mac and still need access to some Windows apps. Fusion 4 offers support for more than 200 guest OSes, a bit less than Workstation but still a respectable set.VMware Fusion 4, thanks to a blessing from Apple (finally) brings Fusion users something they’ve been waiting for a long time – the ability to virtualize Mac OS X. Developers who work on OS X will be able to virtualize OS X Lion, Snow Leopard, Snow Leopard Server, and Leopard Server in virtual machines. Note that VMware only officially supports virtualizing OS X on OS X Lion.
The release is also “more Mac-like” with a streamlined user interface and a better integration with OS X Lion’s full screen features and its gestures. You can swipe between a virtual machine and Lion with a three-fingered gesture. The virtual library display has been revamped, and the preferences for VMware Fusion now look more like the native system preferences on Mac OS X.
Fusion 4 also has an updated snapshot feature that lets you scroll through a timeline of snapshots of your VM. Note that Fusion has always had snapshots, this is just a prettier and more friendly way to display them.
Switchers will find a better integration of Windows applications into Mac OS X, particularly if they’re running OS X Lion. Fusion 4 will add Windows apps to the Dock, Spotlight, Mission Control and LaunchPad – but only the applications that you choose.
Like Workstation, Fusion has gotten a bunch of performance boosts and offers better 3D performance, virtual Bluetooth, and 5.1 HD audio.
With Fusion 4, VMware claims more than 90 new features (PDF) though some are less exciting than others. (For instance, VMware claims “run from any folder you choose” as a feature, and loading and unloading services and kernel modules on demand as two separate features.)
Fusion 4 is available immediately for download for $49, and a box set is with DVD and USB key (for those with no optical drive) is coming as well.
VMware has quite a bit of competition these days on the desktop front, with Parallels, VirtualBox and a number of other desktop solutions. What’s your pick for virtualization on the desktop?
via VMware Updates Desktop Products: Workstation 8 and Fusion 4 Released – ReadWriteCloud.