Archive for the 'Firefox' Category

Exch for Linux

I just uploaded Exch for Linux. It was excitingly difficult to make a tar.gz file off of the command line because Ark wasn’t playing nice on Kanotix.

For those who would like to make a tar.gz file of an entire directory, here’s how:

tar -cvf filename.tar directoryName

And then issue this command:

gzip filename.tar

Voila, you should have, 

filename.tar.gz

Posted by Karl Herrick on December 21st, 2005 in Linux, XUL, Exch, Firefox, Bash | 1 Comment »

Giving your computer to hackers

If you use the Internet, and want a better life, look in the mirror, and repeat this mantra 3 times daily:

“Stop using Internet Explorer.”

Even the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team has said, “Use a different web browser” in reference to Internet Explorer. With as many flaws that this browser contains, it is no doubt the best decision you could make in regards to your browsing habits.

Think bugs, spyware, popups, viruses, trojans, fraud, identity theft and all of the other bad words that are related to Internet use. Yeah, that may go a bit overboard, but you get the idea… Internet Explorer does not adequately protect the user from the invasion of cyber-theives on the prowl. And yes there are others that do. For example, Opera and Firefox.

So… after saying all of that, read this: Internet Explorer currently has a flaw in it, that Microsoft has known about for some time that has no fix for it yet. Even in fully patched Windows XP SP2 systems. All you have to do is browse to a specially crafted website, and hackers can launch what ever program on your computer they feel like.

I will say that again… all you have to do when using Internet Explorer is click a link, and you could be infected. There are no known sites currently implementing this hack, but as in the past, it could only be a matter of days.

eWeek has an article on it: Zero-Day Exploit Targets IE.

Posted by Karl Herrick on November 21st, 2005 in Microsoft, Firefox | No Comments »

Firefox email

Email on the internet has been both fun and exciting while at the same time a bit frustrating. Often times I wonder how I could make the process a little bit easier. Without discussing spam at great lengths, what other ways can I make it more enjoyable? Many websites on the net have email links on them. They are called mailto links… and in the html code they typically look like this:

<a href=”mailto://username@domain.com”>Click here to email</a>

In the early days of my internet-ting I would just click on the link and my favorite email program of the time would load up. The email address would conveniently be placed inside of the “to:” text area. I would select a subject and away I would type my email.

This ease of use was typical of a pop3 email account. I received mine free with the web service I had while at Mason High School. Shortly after the powers that be, deemed it not the schools business to be a community isp, my pop3 account was lost. I was forever “doomed” to webmail.

Or at least I thought I was doomed. For the longest time when I clicked on an email link, eudora, netscape mail, or outlook express would pop up asking me to set up an account… I thought to myself “ahhhhh! I don’t have pop3 anymore!” So for years I haven’t clicked on an email address. I would copy the link, and paste the, “mailto://username@domain.com” into my Yahoo! webmail account, then delete the “mailto://” nonsense.

Now there is a better way. Recently I have discovered a Firefox extension called WebmailCompose, that allows me to just click the email link, log into my Yahoo email account (this works for Hotmail, Gmail, and a host of others) notice the email address conveniently in the “to:” text area, and start typing away. Moments later I am sending the email.

Convenience is back, with a browser named Mozilla Firefox.

Posted by Karl Herrick on September 25th, 2004 in Firefox, Email | No Comments »

Browser Switch

Okay… I have hammered this subject a lot lately, but I thought I would throw out an interesting article. Microsoft’s online magazine Slate has published an article praising Mozilla Firefox as a step forward in web browsing, security, and usability.

View the article, then install Firefox, then add a few extensions to the browser.

Yes, I know it sounds -EXTREMELY- scary to install a new program… but your online security depends on it. If you don’t trust me, then trust Microsoft (via Slate magazine) and the US Government. They recommend a switch too.

What’s even better is you can use the same browser on Windows, Linux and Macintosh! It’s available on all three!

Oh, and if you are into Macromedia Flash, Java games, or other plugin trickery, you will want to read this little document on how to get those functionalities into Firefox. No, it really isn’t a big deal.

Posted by Karl Herrick on July 6th, 2004 in Microsoft, Firefox | No Comments »

Internet Explorer Vulnerabilities

I’m not sure how many times it has to be said, but I will say it again. Stop using Internet Explorer. Download a different browser, increase your security, and browse more peacefully.

Here are a few warnings. There have been tons before, there will be tons after. It will take thousands of people’s identities stolen, credit card numbers taken, and the complete distrust of Microsoft before people will actually switch web browsers.

If you want more security as well as a better product… for free, download Mozilla Firefox.

Posted by Karl Herrick on June 30th, 2004 in Microsoft, Firefox | No Comments »