May 11, 2006
When Automatic Updates can be harmful
For years I've been advising Windows consumers to disable Automatic Updates: Keep Microsoft's mitts off your machine until you're darn sure the proffered patches do more good than harm. I've taken a lot of flak for that heretical stance, vilified for intimating that Microsoft's patching process leaves consumers in the lurch. Bah. Recent events have proved my point conclusively: Windows auto-update is for chumps. Read more »
Patch one and find two more
That's the way it seems to go these days: Microsoft — or any software vendor for that matter — patches a piece of software, and someone goes and finds some other flaw that can be exploited. I guess that's become the price we all have to pay for working with technology; we all have to try to be one step ahead of the hackers out there. While Microsoft is no means perfect in the area of security, it is at least trying to do better. This has become clear to me after attending the Microsoft Management Summit a few weeks ago — at the same time as I've just start scratching the surface in my role as a newly awarded MVP. Don't think you can get rid of me anytime soon, though; there are still plenty of unpatched vulnerabilities out there to tell you about. Read more »
Flash causes headaches for home patchers
Last month was rough for home patchers — and this month isn't looking much better. It seems like only a few days ago we were dealing with issues with Outlook Express and Windows Shell. Here we are this month with another patch that so far looks a bit tricky to get on our boxes, especially for home users without a patch-management adminstrator. Read more »
Some excellent reasons to update Firefox
There are some interesting issues with Firefox this time around. While they do represent genuine problems with Mozilla's open-source browser, some of the details still make me happy with my decision to recommend Firefox. Read more »
