Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
December 24, 2006

Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.

Volume 2, Number 28 — Sunday, December 24, 2006

Part 1  | Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
   1.   Firefox 2.0 Saved Passwords Change
   2.   Updates Last Week
   3.   Google Pack - A Free Software Assortment
   4.   Reader Feedback
   5.   Better Anti-Virus Program Prices
   6.   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   7.   Screen Printing with PrintKey 2000
   8.   Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends

Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.

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1.  Firefox 2.0 Saved Passwords Change

I answered a question this week about the way Firefox 2.0 (now Firefox 2.0.0.1) handles saved web site passwords.

In the earlier versions (v1.5 and earlier series), Firefox would offer to save the user ID and password on any page where you entered such things.

Then, when you went back to the domain and hit the login form again, Firefox would automatically enter the user ID and password.

Of course, this was a great convenience, if you had a secure computer.

Recently, Firefox, and to a lesser extent Internet Explorer, came under fire because of their handling on saved passwords.

Apparently some people on relatively open sites like MySpace, that is, sites that let users post HTML code, were putting fake login boxes on their sites. They were hiding the box by making the box and text colors the same as the background — and a big submit button — similarly hidden. The purpose was phishing, with a goal of getting the visitor's myspace userid and password.

The recent change in password handling in Firefox is to stop filling in the login box just because it shows up. Then, if you accidentally hit a hidden submit button, it submits nothing.

By the way, I just double-click my mouse in the username box. That pulls up the name so I can select it. Once I pick the username (assuming there are several), the name and its corresponding password are automatically entered in the form.

2.  Updates Last Week

Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
No updates last week. Microsoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday.

Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
Versions 2.0.0.1 and 1.5.0.9 were released on December 19th. These are security fixes.. Current version 2.0.0.1. Latest v1.5 version is 1.5.0.9 -- Mozilla.org urges all users to upgrade to Firefox 2.

Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
New version! Version 9.10 was released last week. This release of Opera introduces "Fraud Protection" as well as user-interface and stability changes. Read the details.

Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
No update this week. Version 8.1.2 was released during the week ending September 30.

US-CERT issued a press-release on November 8th that recommended that Netscape users turn off JavaScript. (Mozilla Firefox, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird were subject to the same issues, but new versions were released on November 8th to solve the problem.) AOL has not updated Netscape to the new version of the underlying "Gecko" browser.

SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): Version 1.0.7 was released on December 19th.

Eudora (email, http://www.eudora.com, options: paid, sponsored or free/lite):
No update last week. Version 7.1.0.9 was released October 11, 2006. This was announced as to be the last commercial version before Eudora becomes open-source in the first half of 2007.

Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
Thunderbird version 1.5.0.8 was released November 8th. This is fixes a significant security problem.

OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free):
Version 2.1 was released on last week.

Part 1  | Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

Volume 2, Number 28 — Sunday, December 24, 2006

Copyright © 2006 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.