Sneaky Microsoft plug-in puts Firefox users at risk

Originally posted by autowrench

Originally posted by Scooby Doo

I agree that Linux is a great and free alternative to Microsoft and Apple OS's. However, I don't think it is well suited for "typical" family use. Linux is a very complex OS, and to repair faults can be difficult.

I myself use Windows 7 Which I am happy with so far and use a Macbook Pro for a laptop. Currently the only issue I have had with Windows 7 is it's use of your memory resources. I have 4GB of DDR2 RAM and it still lags quite a bit.

Well, that may have been so in the distant past, but not anymore. Most Linux OS work right out of the box now. My wife, who knows little about computers or software, uses Fedora Gnome, and she loves it. I have converted 6 women in the past year to Linux, one Fedora, 3 of them use Ubuntu, and several others like Mepis and Debian. All got real tired of paying out hundreds of dollars to repair shops for virus removal. Ubuntu will run great on 256 Mb of memory, and my own PC has one Gig of DDR 400 memory, and Fedora KDE 4 flies on it. You can keep your memory hog Windows. If I had another three Gigs my PC would fly out the window!

Im running Ubuntu on a modern overclocked Intel Dual Core processor at 3,7 Ghz at 1900x1200 resolution. Its very very fast.

And yes, I believe you are right. People tried Linux a few years back when nothing worked out of the box. It has come a long, long way.



[edit on 18-10-2009 by Copernicus]

reply to post by nenothtu


That is the nature of Ubuntu. Root is the Administrator of the PC. Root can do anything. Root is disabled in Ubuntu. You have to have Sudo privileges. Navigate to the Ubuntu forum and look in there, or ask questions. I don't use Ubuntu myself, Fedora lets me have a root account. In Windows the operator is always in Administrator mode, and that is why Windows users get in trouble. Right now I am just a user, with a user account. I can only do root things by typing in the root password. This is a safety issue, and you, and everyone else should know that today's internet is not a safe place. Muslim and Chinese hackers are hard at work trying to take over as many personal PCs as they can, for some kind of cyber attack.
Protect yourself.

reply to post by Ha`la`tha

I think that what this shows is that the Firefox add-ons system is an open door to unknown problems.

What's the use of having a fast and stable browser if you allow code from anyone to work attached it?

Sure, they can say that this is not a problem with Firefox, it's a Microsoft problem (like the Quicktime problem is an Apple problem), but the problem is starting to look somewhat similar to the ActiveX problem with Internet Explorer, a good idea that may go terribly wrong.

reply to post by autowrench

The funny thing is that Microsoft is accused of not letting the users have full access when they implement the same (or similar) system in Windows Vista, many people have complained about the dialogue that asks for confirmation of their actions...

Possibly dumb question but, if I open Tools>>AddOns>>Extensions and Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant is not in there, does that mean I don't have it? Where else would I look to see if it's on my pc?

reply to post by virraszto


Look at the "Plugins" section, that's where I have it.

If it isn't there then it was not installed and you not have any problem.

Luckily, I don't see it. That's a relief!

reply to post by Scooby Doo

Scooby,
Thanks for the heads up. I also received the firefox warning. I took the advice given in this thread and deleted the microsoft.netframework.

Do we not think this might have been a mistake rather than intentional?

Im probaly going to get flamed for this but i work for them! And within the company for well over a year now the code has been tested over and over to make sure its as close to perfect in windows 7 as humanly possible. this news to me atleast is just an unintended error in the code that im sure will be fixed if its possible too.

Originally posted by ArMaP
reply to post by Ha`la`tha

 

I think that what this shows is that the Firefox add-ons system is an open door to unknown problems.

What's the use of having a fast and stable browser if you allow code from anyone to work attached it?

Sure, they can say that this is not a problem with Firefox, it's a Microsoft problem (like the Quicktime problem is an Apple problem), but the problem is starting to look somewhat similar to the ActiveX problem with Internet Explorer, a good idea that may go terribly wrong.

True, but I'm fairly sure that it was not a blind install - it would have been part of an Automatic Update which I chose not to verify. I have never had problem with WU before, but recently upgraded my PC to a NVidia based motherboard and the Microsoft Nvidia drivers completely screwed my system, until I manually uninstalled it and went back to the NVidia defaults.

Basically, this would be the second time this year I've encountered a Windows Update that I've really had a problem with, but not because M$ are sneakily trying to corrupt my system NOR because FF has a fault - but because I simply didn't look at what it was doing.

Lesson learned

For the record, I al on Windows 7 and this is the first OS I've actually decided worth paying for from M$ - that and also I don't work in an environment where I can obtain select agreement covered Windows OS, so if the time comes, I may actually own this OS.

Which is a shame as the only reason I'm not using Ubuntu (I use ZenWalk on my laptop, and it's a great little distro) is because there are just some robust apps I need that rely on Directx and Wine et al are just still not too adapt at running them yet.

Oh and my games. Damn those things. And that is not even the issue, it's Punkbuster that crys about system files.

Anyhoo, as for software installing things into Firefox unannounced or on the sly, The Ask toolbar was by far the WORST and more intrusive thing I have come across, and I still do not know what installed it.

Tool bars are never, repeat never a good idea. Spyware abounds in these, and none is completely safe. I often hear the argument that Linux does not allow one to play Windows games....well, let me ask, what is it that you learn from a game anyway? Are we not all trying to arm ourselves with information, and prepare for the end of days? I may seem like a prude, or old fashioned, but I have never played a game, not one on my computer. I consider them a waste of time. I also consider at least some of them to be mind control.

My computer is a key to a door, and the door leads to the biggest, most complete library in the world. Anything I want to know is in there, both sides of it, and sometimes more than I want to know about it.

reply to post by autowrench

I have a different approach, I also see my computer as another way of using my capabilities, one of which is the capability of doing something that may not be directly useful but that is enjoyable, so in the same way I can pick a humorous book or watch a comedy on TV I can also pick a game to spend some time doing something completely different from what I do every day.

Originally posted by LadySkadi
Interesting timing. Not 5 minutes ago Firefox alerted me to this, but said it had been blocked. Recommended a re-start to be safe.

*MS Framework assistant .net 1.1
*Windows Presentation foundation

S&F




[edit on 17-10-2009 by LadySkadi]

I got the same warning. Problems all gone now. Bass-Turds!!

2nd line

Erik

Microsoft should have been trust busted years ago. It is a world monopoly. It is an evil empire. Instead of innovation they buy out their competition and market "buzz words" instead of products. For example, they bought out Foxpro, the data-base company and pretended to continue their product, but drilled it into the ground and destroyed it so everyone would have to go to their more expensive product SQL server.
The internet was supposed to be for everybody, but their operating systems are proprietary and block everybody else.
Didn't Steve Jobs and Bill Gates just get liver transplants from China. Hope no political prisoners got slaughtered for their livers.

Originally posted by Scooby Doo

Originally posted by autowrench
I use Fedora myself. Kill the Microsoft Billionaire Beast...download Linux for free.

I agree that Linux is a great and free alternative to Microsoft and Apple OS's. However, I don't think it is well suited for "typical" family use. Linux is a very complex OS, and to repair faults can be difficult.

I myself use Windows 7 Which I am happy with so far and use a Macbook Pro for a laptop. Currently the only issue I have had with Windows 7 is it's use of your memory resources. I have 4GB of DDR2 RAM and it still lags quite a bit.

Maybe Haiku OS would one day be the OS for you. The design is based on BeOS, but it is a new, open source OS. haiku-os.org...