Urgent warning

[ciphergoth]

Stop browsing the web NOW, or your computer will come under the control of the Bad Guys. Read this first.

Internet Explorer, the web browser that comes bundled with Windows and some Mac systems, has a serious security flaw. Just by viewing a web page you might compromise your machine. And thousands of web pages all over the Net contain the damaging code - because the machines hosting those pages have been compromised. This means that you will be attacked even if you stick to browsing sites that you trust.

There is no fix to Internet Explorer available, even though this flaw has been known about for some time. If you continue to use this browser, you are asking the bad guys to control your computer. They will use it for things like sending spam and compromising your bank details and personal information.

Currently the only fix is to install another browser. Even if Microsoft get around to fixing this problem, the history shows that there will be many others, and that your computer will be open to takeover by others for as long as you use Internet Explorer.

If your workplace forbid you from installing software on your machine, you have three choices:

1. Never browse the Web from your work computer - just don't start the browser at all, ever.
2. Disobey your work and install another browser.
3. Disobey your work and install a program for sending spam, involuntarily, courtesy of the Bad Guys.

Please don't choose option 3.

I recommend installing Mozilla Firefox right away. Others prefer other browsers - pretty much any alternative to Internet Explorer will be better.

More details in reddragdiva's journal. But maybe install a new browser first, and then go browsing later?

Comments

[ruis.livejournal.com]

Then you don't understand how big corporate companies work.

The directors and people who set the policy concerning what software is allowed go for MS because it is a stable company with lots of potential staff who know the product base, how many people do you know with qualifications / good commercial experience in Opera or Netscape? How easy is it to work out separate commercial licenses for a browser in comparision to just accepting the bundle from MS? How do you lock down mozilla/opera to a standard image?

The MS browser policy is a commercial one, this has absolutely no relevance to the amount of clue that the day to day technical staff have. All of the telecos I worked for mandated MS and had appropriate filtering at the border routers, well set up firewalls, proxy servers running the latest commercial AV software and normally the proxy had content filtering as well.

You do not want your average barely computer literate member of staff fucking their matching over cos someone on LJ said they should. If they are daft enough to follow your advice without talking to their line manager or IT dept first they deserve to get a formal verbal warning, in some companies they might get a written warning instead.

Are you really suggesting that taking that sort of stupid risk with their career is worth it for all of the people on your friends list?

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

I was actually fired for using a licensed copy of "forbidden" software (VB5) on my machine at work ... tho' it was loaded for work purposes. I'm sure ciphergoth's friends are mostly smart enough to know if they're working somewhere that will react like that, however, and not just go downloading stuff willy-nilly.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Fired? Jesus, what idiots! If their security or stability needs are so serious that installing unapproved software has to be an instant firing offence, what the hell are they doing running Windows at all?

Also, many such places are extremely strict about what you can use work machines for, so option 1 may be your only practical option in such a place anyway.

[ruis.livejournal.com]

Some companies have the view that if you break a rule that is listed in a handbook somewhere as being gross misconduct then it is in fact gross misconduct.

I still don't see what is wrong with the time honoured approach of telling your boss, in writing if necessary, doing as they say and then letting whatever happens be their fault.

When the day comes that all of the big applications that companies use come in non-windows forms and that non-windows support staff have the same availability and rates as windows ones then you will have a valid argument.

Until then I believe that you are still conflating commercial business requirements with technical skill.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I still don't see what is wrong with the time honoured approach of telling your boss, in writing if necessary, doing as they say and then letting whatever happens be their fault.

If what's happening is sending spam, or otherwise attacking other machines on the Net, does it matter who takes responsibility?

It seems counterintuitive to think that all the pieces can be good sense when the whole picture seems so wrong. But in the end you know I can't challenge you on this - you've been there, I haven't, end of story. I'll take care to avoid such environments in my future work career though - if that means never working for a company bigger than Harlequin, that's OK...