Opera here.Hey, me too. It's a fast lil bugger, ain't it? Firefox is cool also, but I like Opera best.
Those of you using Internet Explorer or Netscape might be interested in reading this.
Posted on 08/06/2004 3:17:59 PM PDT by Dubya
REDMOND, Wash. - Almost since the day Microsoft Corp. released its Windows XP computer operating system nearly three years ago, it has been a favorite target of hackers and critics eager to stress its numerous security shortcomings.
Now, more than two years after promising to do something about it, Microsoft is about to release the biggest update ever for Windows. The free upgrade is designed to make computers safer from attack by sealing entries to viruses, better protecting personal data and fending off spyware.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said the upgrade, dubbed Service Pack 2, revises less than 5 percent of the millions of lines of code that make up Windows XP but adds more value than any update the company has ever done.
Some of the nearly $1 billion that's gone into Service Pack 2 also will be used on future versions of Windows. But Gates said it was absolutely necessary to give away the security advances now because of the barrage of attacks plaguing Windows-based computers.
"If we weren't viewing this as such a key priority, then we wouldn't be giving it away as a free thing," Gates said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The long-awaited update is due to be completed "in the coming days," Microsoft senior product manager Matt Pilla said.
The company could not be more specific. Service Pack 2 has been delayed as programmers have worked to make sure the new security safeguards would not keep people's favorite applications -- such as online games and music download services -- from working correctly. But such delays aren't unusual in the software industry, especially with such an enormous undertaking as this.
For regular users, the most noticeable change will be a series of new prompts. The idea is that if users have to actively give permission for programs to interact with their computers, there is less chance they will be hit by a virus or inadvertently allow malicious software that can monitor computer activities.
It's always risky to ask loyal customers to suddenly do things differently, but Gates said the changes aren't major and are worth it.
Many security experts agree, arguing that the security changes are badly needed. Analyst Joe Wilcox of Jupiter Research likens the situation to the changes people might make when entering a bad neighborhood, which is what the Internet has become with rampant security attacks.
Opera here.
Here come the Linux people..
Welcome to FireFox!
FireFox, ThunderBird and Open Office.
does it support cookie and bookmark importation?
------------
SuSE 9.1 Professional AMD 64-bit Edition running Mozilla 1.7.1 -- Not firefox :)
It will import all your settings, but you'll need to buy more cookies :)
12 seconds
That is how long I expect the walls to last. Gates spends a billion (God knows how much of that was AO) but he has millios of attackers who take the new OS as a challenge.
Kind of like the end of the Matrix Trlogy without Neo to TCB outside of the miilleau.
Opera here.Hey, me too. It's a fast lil bugger, ain't it? Firefox is cool also, but I like Opera best.
Those of you using Internet Explorer or Netscape might be interested in reading this.
Microsoft is the best and I'll be damned if I go anywhere else. I will stick with them until the day that I die. And then if I get to heaven, I'll keep on using Microsoft products. If I go to hell, it will be a moot issue because they will be running Mac and Unix boxes there and there will be absolutely nothing I can do about it because, after all, I'll be damned.
Just what will it seal? I don't want this closing off ports I need for downloading etc.
ping
lol. Wow. Nice post.
What does it do in those cases where the web site is trying to force a pop up window based on the user selection?
I dont knowww, I dropped IE a couple of months ago because of the barrage of spyware popup ads and all the junk that somehow would find its way to my puter. that and being worried about having my passwords swiped or something. I love MOZILLA!!! not one bit of spyware on my puter no popups its wonderful!!
Iwill of course download the SP2 but I may wait to hear how it works before venturing back to IE.
You can ctrl-click on the link to get a pop-up to display, or something like that.
Me too. Do you know if firefox is protected from viruses?
l8r
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.