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Microsoft rolls out IE9 Beta

by Mahesh Kukreja on September 16, 2010

Microsoft has released a major update to Internet Explorer, IE9 Beta. It is available in 33 languages at http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.com.

IE9 Beta Launch

This is the “Future of the Web”.. The design of IE9 is very neat and light. IE9 is much more better than it’s predecessor IE8. In an interview, Internet Explorer general manager Dean Hachamovitch said the goal of IE9′s redesign is to “get out of the way and let sites shine”, and to let Windows and the computer do more of the work that was previously handled by the browser.

The first thing you’ll notice when you run IE9 is that the toolbars and some navigation features have vanished. There’s no longer a separate search box – the URL field now doubles for search. And like Firefox and Chrome, searching here scans both the Web and your Favorites and History.

IE 9 uses hardware acceleration for text and images as well as video and audio. The effect of the hardware acceleration can be significant even on Netbooks that don’t support graphics acceleration. Obviously, the impact will be more noticeable on machines with high-end graphics.

So, in short, this new browser is built for speed, takes advantage of the latest HTML5 and other modern Web technologies, and has a relatively simple UI.

IE9 Beta

You won’t be able to install IE9 Beta on Windows XP.

Also, you can check Microsoft’s official blog for the update.

Try IE9 Beta now by downloading it from http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.com.

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Microsoft to let PC users turn off IE

by Mahesh Kukreja on March 10, 2009

A single check box deep in the guts of the next version of Windows is giving Microsoft Corp. watchers a peek at how the software maker plans to keep European antitrust regulators from marring a crucial software launch.

Windows 7, the successor to the much-maligned Vista, isn’t expected to reach consumers until next year, but more than a million people are already testing early versions. A pair of bloggers tinkering with settings stumbled upon one they hadn’t seen before: The ability to “turn off” Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer browser.

Microsoft lost a long-running battle with EU antitrust regulators in 2007 over the way it bundled media player software into the Windows operating system. The dust had barely settled when a similar claim was filed, this time over Internet Explorer’s place inside Windows. Opera Software ASA, a Norwegian competitor, claimed the practice gives Microsoft’s browser an unfair advantage.

In a preliminary decision in January, the EU agreed. Since then, makers of the open-source browser Firefox and Google Inc., which entered the browser market six months ago, have offered to provide more evidence that Microsoft is stifling competition.

In the media player dispute, the EU heavily fined Microsoft and forced it to sell a version of Windows without the offending program installed. This time, Microsoft appears to be offering the check-box solution as a way to head off a similar ending.

The company declined to comment Friday on the connection between the check boxes and the EU’s preliminary decision. But in a recent quarterly filing, it said the European Commission may order PC makers to install multiple browsers on new PCs and force Microsoft to disable parts of its own Internet Explorer if people chose a competing browser.

The check boxes, which were described on Microsoft enthusiast blogs http://www.aeroxp.org and http://www.chris123nt.com, also give Windows 7 users a way to disable the media player and hard-drive search programs, among other components, both of which have drawn scrutiny from regulators.

After Windows Vista landed with a thud, Microsoft needs a hit, said Michael Cherry, an analyst for the research group Directions on Microsoft. Beyond appeasing the EU, he said he didn’t see much use for the Internet Explorer check box.

“Windows 7 is becoming more and more important for Microsoft,” he said in an interview. “You don’t want anything that gives anyone even a doubt as to whether or not they should upgrade.”

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Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is Vulnerable to Attacks

by Mahesh Kukreja on December 16, 2008

Hi Guyz, Just got the news.

Microsoft Internet Explorer users, beware. There’s a security flaw in all versions of the browser that leaves you wide open for attack. At least two million computers have already been infected.

The exploit doesn’t require users to click on links or download software from the Internet. Rather, it infects users when they open a Web page. The goal is to steal passwords, according to security experts, gain access to financial data and otherwise steal the victim’s identity.

“Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer,” said the company in a release on its Web site. Microsoft did not offer information on when a patch might be available.

Unpatched and Dangerous

Security flaws in browsers are certainly nothing new. But the difference with this one is there is no patch. No fix from Microsoft means that millions of Internet users may be at risk of infection simply from browsing the Web, according to Graham Cluley, a senior security consultant at Sophos.

“We are seeing infections on pornographic Web sites — and it’s not clear if these have been hacked or have been deliberately set up to infect surfers,” Cluley said. “Of course, Web-site attackers don’t just target porn sites. We see something like 20,000 new infected Web pages every single day — that’s one every 4.5 seconds — and the vast majority of those are legitimate sites that have been compromised by the likes of an SQL injection attack.”

How to Protect Yourself

Some computer users may be tempted to switch, if only temporarily, to alternative browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. Even Microsoft has suggested this as a temporary workaround.

However, Cluley cautions that all browsers have vulnerabilities and can be exploited — and switching the browser all employees use in a corporate setting isn’t a practical option. With so many attacks being discovered all the time, he continued, enterprise Web protection is a must.

“There’s no such thing as a 100 percent flaw-free Web browser,” he stressed. “To reduce the risks, you need to change your surfing behavior and ensure that your systems are properly protected with up-to-date antivirus software, patches and firewalls.”

Whatever the browser choice, Cluley said users need to ensure they have up to date, effective security in place. Quality generic detections are proven to be effective against new malware, and URL filtering can add a significant layer of protection against Web-borne threats, he advised.

Password Management

Password management is also an issue. Sophos’ research reveals that 40 percent of people use the same password for every Web site they visit. That means if hackers manage — through this flaw or other means — to steal your password, it might unlock a huge amount of other information for them.

“Regardless of this current exploit, therefore, it is essential that people take greater care over their passwords,” Cluley said, “not just choosing hard-to-crack non-dictionary passwords, but also ensuring that they don’t use the same password for everything.”

Out-of-Cycle Patch Coming?

Cluley expects Microsoft is feverishly attempting to build a fix for this problem. But a fix won’t come overnight. Microsoft, he said, also has the challenge of testing the patch before it is released.

“After all, no one wants Microsoft to roll out a patch that doesn’t work, or one that causes more problems than it attempted to solve,” Cluley said. “We don’t know yet when Microsoft will be in a position to release a fix, but much of the online world is waiting for it with bated breath.”

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