Microsoft, Adobe warn of critical security flaws

[IDemo]

By Jim Finkle
updated 5:03 p.m. MT, Tues., June 9, 2009

BOSTON - Microsoft issued software to fix a record 31 security flaws in its programs, and Adobe Systems warned that glitches in its products could let hackers take control of a user's PC.

Microsoft released patches on Tuesday that repair vulnerabilities in Windows, Office and Internet Explorer, as well as key pieces of software that businesses use in their data centers. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Adobe said in a security bulletin on its Web site that Reader and Acrobat users should update their software to the newest versions. Additional software is available if those releases are not compatible with a customer's PC.

The maker of design and document imaging software said it has yet to find any malicious software that exploits the vulnerabilities. It classified the risk as "critical," the highest level of risk on its scale evaluating the danger of such threats.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31193764/

[izquierdista]

1. I'm right on it

I've dumped M$ Office for Open Office, Internet Explorer for Firefox, and Adobe Acrobat for Foxit. And as soon as I'm sure my computer will run Linux well, I'll dump this POS Vista.

[lbrtbell]

4. If I could just find a Linux distro that didn't crash twice a day

I'd switch to Linux in a heartbeat. I'm already using a live CD (so that Linux can crash without destroying data on my PC), but there are so many limitations.

When I do use Windows, I use Opera (THE safest browser), and freeware for just about everything else.

The one thing I really hate about using Linux right now is that flash doesn't work well in Opera at all, and I'm forced to use Firefox...which is utterly horrible. And I live on YouTube, so I can't go without flash. :(

I wish there were some way to overcome that issue, and the constant crashing, because I can't STAND using Microsoft products. And it's so nice being able to surf without having to worry about viruses, spyware, and all that garbage.

[RoyGBiv]

6. Which distros have you tried?

And which one are you using now?

Linux itself generally doesn't crash. I've experienced something like two ... thinking ... I can only remember two unrecoverable "events" that could be called a system crash in the last four years. I've only had one event that involved lost data, and that was actually a file system/hard drive malfunction.

Now, some of the software that runs on top of Linux is still fairly iffy, especially if you stay on the bleeding edge of things, e.g. KDE4 as a desktop manager.

The Flash problem in Opera is a problem in the Flash plugin itself, FWIW.

[earthworship]

2. linux anyone? nt

[IDemo]

3. Running a triple-boot machine now

openSuSE 11.1, Mint 7 and XP (for the non-Linuxed in the household).

[Swamp Rat]

5. UBUNTU 9.04

ext4!!! :)

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

http://lifehacker.com/5224586/first-look-at-ubuntu-904-jaunty-jackalope

http://www.builderau.com.au/program/linux/soa/10-reasons-you-ll-want-to-install-Ubuntu-9-04/0,339028299,339296253,00.htm