Dept. of Homeland Security Says to Stop Using IE

LWATCDR writes "I have been saying this for a long time but now it is offical. From Yahoo News: 'The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team touched off a storm this week when it recommended for security reasons using browsers other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.'" In related news, rocketjam writes "According to Wired, the widespread Internet Explorer security exploit last week and CERT's subsequent recommendation that IE users should consider switching to another browser has resulted in a large spike in downloads of the Mozilla Organization's Mozilla and Firefox web browsers."

Bad Bureaucrat! Naughty!

[ackthpt]

Bad, bad, bad! No more bribes for you!

What's next, a recommendation that everyone stop using Microsoft Windows?

New: Microsox Windlls FU SP7 w/Ubernet Exploiter (a free pile of bugs in each release!)

I have been saying this for a long time but now it is offical.

<Shakespeare mode=Hamlet>: There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave to tell us this.</Shakespeare>

Really. How long before the Whitehouse figuratively grabs Tom Ridge by the lapels and tries to throttle him. Such harsh treatment for a huge dono^H^H^H^Hemployer. Oddsbodkins, what next, the GWB DoJ was soft in pursuing the danger of monopoly exploitation of the browser market?

Of course

[savagedome]

resulted in a large spike in downloads of the Mozilla Organization's Mozilla and Firefox web browsers

Duh. All our friends at Microsoft need it too.

*grin*
*grin*

Wow

[Osgyth]

Who would have thought it? The government saying something intelligent; about 5 years too late, but better later then never.....

Man, this'll be just liek when video games normed

[laigle]

Now all us computer nerds will lose our counter culture edge. Plus you'll no longer be able to detect a fellow geek merely by his browsing choice. I guess we'll have to go back to tossing off random Kevin Smith quotes and seeing who catches on.

Profit

[richdun]

1) Create product that a smaller portion of the population uses, thus keeping the effectiveness of attacks on your product less desirable than the other 2) Give your product away for free, open sourced, and up to date with all the latest standards, oh, and make it more secure (novel idea, really) 3) ??? (wait about five or six years for a government agency to declare your competitor's product unsafe enough to get the CERT all riled up) 4) Profit, or How Mozilla Pays M$ Back for The Whole Killing of Netscape Thing

Homeland Security actualy works!!!

[the_2nd_coming]

wow!!

Heh, oops...

[Malor]

From the Yahoo article:

Alternative browsers such as Mozilla or Netscape may not protect users, the agency warned, if those browsers invoke ActiveX control or HTML rendering engines.

Phew, thank goodness the open source coders are smart enough to leave those nasty HTML rendering engines out of web browsers!

Re:Bad Bureaucrat! Naughty!

[ScottGant]

Billy G. is looking through his bribe-book and is making a big cross-out in it.

Now he's trying to find John Kerry's phone number to tell him "hey, wanna be President? No problem, you're in...the stuff that happens in November is just a formality, but trust me, my next call is to Diebold to finally tell them who I want to win...just remember to have your guy tell everyone that IE and Windows is the OS of choice now...buh bye"

Homeland Security Be Damned

[RabidChicken]

Recently I was cleaning rather obnoxious spyware off of my sister's laptop. To prevent further infection, I was asking her to install Firefox. I said it'll block popups. Still reluctant. Tabbed browsing? Nope. More secure? Nu uh, still stubborn. Stop the spyware? No. (She's getting irritated at this point). CERT Recommended to stop using IE? Still won't let me install it.
*pause*
She then asks if our mother uses it. I said yes (thanks to me).
"Ok, install it."

Homeland security be damned, it's the MOTHERS we need to convert.

Re:Great News

[Anonymous Coward]

$0 and I plan to keep it that way.

I believe it's time for a cliche...

[Pollux]

The Department of Homeland Security...recommended for security reasons using browsers other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Well, no shit sherlock.

Lynx

[nizo]

The only really safe browser! Not so good for browsing porn sites, but since you want to download the images anyway, maybe lynx is good for that too!

Translation for the Layman

[ackthpt]

Original: "In the meantime, we have provided customers with prescriptive guidance to help mitigate these issues."

This translates to a set of instructions for making changes in I.E. settings since the default settings are not terribly good for security. THe MS spokesperson said that a "comprehensive" security pack for I.E. will be out later this summer.

Translation: After all those horses get out of the way, we'll have your barn door fixed in a jiffy.

Another recommendation ...

[orangeguru]

The Department of Homeland Security recommends not to use George Bush anymore - because of serious security leaks and erratic behaviour.

In other news, DHS says Stop Using Airplanes.

[gfecyk]

Not that it stopped hordes of travellers anyway.

Maybe people will choose to take charge of their own computer security like I've ranted about for years now.

don't click on links in IE

[mgoss]

A support article [microsoft.com] by Microsoft suggests a solution to the holes in their product, specifically the one where an address can be spoofed and displays a different url than the one you're actually at. Solution: Don't click on links! :)

"The most effective step that you can take to help protect yourself from malicious hyperlinks is not to click them. Rather, type the URL of your intended destination in the address bar yourself."

Re:Its About time

[mike77]

Horray for the Department of Homeland Security!

I feel so....conflicted.

They say IE is bad, which is good, but they're big brother which is bad. My brain 'splode now, thank you.

Re:Bad Bureaucrat! Naughty!

[xlyz]

why should he call them up? they are running their stuff on winCE

he just need to update some dll and that's it ;)

Re:Man, this'll be just liek when video games norm

[arieswind]

Well, if you really want to be counter culture, just wait a few months, then start using IE again after the bulk of computer using Americans move over, that will really shock your friends, it can be like a cult

Keep using Internet Explorer!

[bubba451]

If we all stop using Internet Explorer, the terrorists have won!

So here's a question...

[devphaeton]

1) IBM is our friend
2) Apple is no longer just for coddled sheep
3) Sun is dying
4) Sun is embracing linux
5) Sun is no longer embracing linux
6) SGI is dying
7) ???

8) We might be watching the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Not just in this, but the whole pile of events over the last couple of years. If Microsoft loses relevance, and market share, and withers away...

Who Is Going To Be The New Evil Empire????

I want to know who to unconditionally hate next!!

Re:Its About time

[Three Headed Man]

I'm kind of offended. They assume I'm using Windows.

Re:HELP!MY FLAHS DOES NOT WOKR WITH THE FIREFOX

[Anonymous Coward]

Mozilla Tech Support: 1-800-843-4564

And yes, I am a gentoo user, in fact I'm able to post this message 7.3% faster than a Debian user because I have optimized binaries.

Re:So here's a question...

[tgrigsby]

8) We might be watching the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Not just in this, but the whole pile of events over the last couple of years. If Microsoft loses relevance, and market share, and withers away...

Who Is Going To Be The New Evil Empire????

I want to know who to unconditionally hate next!!


OOOOO!! ME! ME! Pick me!!

Hey, if means being a billionaire, I'm willing to take one for the team...

Re:Its About time

[Artifakt]

This just proves the old adage "It's that 90% of politicians that give the other 10% a bad name".

Re:I thought...

[Loonacy]

Even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day.

Re:Homeland Security Be Damned

[mandolin]

We need to stand up and tell all the family members and friends we're supporting for free - we are, after all, unpaid Microsoft technical support, without whom the users might as well be using command-line Unix - that they can either stop using IE, stop calling us for support, or expect a $200.00 per hour charge, with a one hour minimum per call.

Riiiight... see, if you do that, your family might kick you out of the basement. Not that I would know or anything. Nosiree.

(What, did you think you were good for anything else?)

Re:Serious for MS

[Richy_T]

Actually, I thought their strategy was "thick customer"

Rich

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[Platinum Dragon]

Repeat after me: Global Class Action Lawsuit against Microsoft. Bunch of bumbling fubars. And that ain't the only whole they haven't plugged in months...

That last sentence gives me a better idea... forget the lawsuit. Encourage their spouses to deny them until those bugs get fixed.

Call it Project Lysistrata.

Uhh... that assumes they have spouses to deny them. If not, distribute their pictures to every singles bar and sweaty-palm dating site, with a "DO NOT TOUCH THIS PERSON." warning.

If they're not plugging holes now, they certainly won't be plugging holes until the bugs get fixed!*

* "or get plugged", depending upon gender and orientation. Deny, deny, deny until the bugs are fixed!

Don't worry!

[plj]

You just need learn to love the big brother. It may take time, but in the end, you will love him. We will take care of that.

Now, how many fingers?

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[cK-Gunslinger]

Well, at least the DoHS didn't recommend cover your Windows with plastic and using duct-tape to seal the cracks this time...

Criticism of MS unfair...

[ctid]

It's easy to bash Microsoft, but I think we should give credit where it is due. After all, Microsoft has acted very quickly to fix this problem; users who have patched their version of IE can no longer access the Department of Homeland Security's webpage [dhs.gov].

Re:This won't change anything

[Tenebrious1]

This is the same Homeland Security that advised Americans to duct tape their windows to safeguard against a biological or chemical attack, no?

Duct taping windows... using Firefox on Windows... hey I bet the same guy came up with both these recommendations. The same guy who didn't understand the framework around a window was insecure, and who doesn't undertand the Windows framework is insecure.

Re:Lynx

[redJag]

Lynx also has an HTML renderer, otherwise you would just see the raw code. Sorry, Lynx is not safe either; better stick with wget.

Re:HELP!MY FLAHS DOES NOT WOKR WITH THE FIREFOX

[Anonymous Coward]

Have a friend which uses Linux do the following for you:
dd if=/dev/zero of=flash.bin bs=512k count=1

Then put the file flash.bin on a floppy disk and flash your bios with it. Problem solved. Flash works.

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[Richthofen80]

What is a 'Global Class action Lawsuit'? is this when the entire planet sues a company?

Perhaps Microsoft didn't adhere to Global Law and will face a Global Court. In front of this World Court where juristiction is not in any way ambiguous, microsoft shall be cleansed of all the evil wealth it created and be forced to continue to work for free on open source projects.

In other news.....

[Anonymous Coward]

If the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team is worried about security then maybe they should be recommending OpenBSD as well.

Like that would ever happen.

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[untaken_name]

And that ain't the only whole they haven't plugged in months...

The only whole what?!? I'm dying to know...
How about partials? Have they plugged any partials lately?

Re:Man, this'll be just liek when video games norm

[Ctrl-Z]

And by thier inability to spoell wile doing so.

Stock Homeland Security Bulletin: Duct Tape!

[koa]

For immeditate release:

The Dept. of Homeland Security recommends that if a Web Application requires MS I.E. and you cannot use Mozilla or competitor please follow the following instructions in case of accidentally browsing the Internet with this software:

1) Cover the Computer (Tower or Desktop) with Plastic.

2) Place Duct Tape over the window on the Monitor Screen when a Pop-Up or insecure page loads. Once you have closed I.E. and ran virus checks you may contact Homeland security for permission to remove the Duct Tape and resume normal computing operations.

Re:Great News

[bestguruever]

$0, but I plan to double that next year

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[soft_guy]

Uhh... that assumes they have spouses to deny them. If not, distribute their pictures to every singles bar and sweaty-palm dating site

These are Microsoft developers. You'd better be distributing those pictures to all the hookers and massage parlors in and around Seattle.

Time to uninstall IE!

[linebackn]

After all these years of preaching that IE is evil, perhaps some people are finally beginning to see the truth (Now that it is biting them on the butt).

And since this is the almighty Homeland Security, this means that all government agencies should now panic and try to uninstall IE from all of their computers. (Oops, where is that elusive uninstall option? No, not that one, all it does is delete the icon.)

I guess that also means that anybody who has a site that only works in IE is a terrorist! :)

Re:Lynx

[JoshNorton]

Not so good for browsing porn sites, but since you want to download the images anyway, maybe lynx is good for that too!

I only read them for the articles.

In related news ...

[operagost]

The left-wing Slashdot community (that is, 99.8% of Slashdot readers) immediately becomes Internet Explorer advocates in order to avoid being on the same side as the Bush Administration on anything.

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[tbone1]

These are Microsoft developers. You'd better be distributing those pictures to all the hookers and massage parlors in and around Seattle.

Or sheep farms and businesses that sell really, really bad nylon short-sleeved button-down shirts.

apt-get remove internet_explorer

[dr_leviathan]

If only IE were included in the debian/stable distribution so I could have the pleasure of uninstalling it.

Re:Its About time

[tbone1]

• Horray for the Department of Homeland Security!

I feel so....conflicted.

I know, it's like watching a fight between an IRS auditor and a PETA employee. You just hope it goes the distance.

Rise of the...

[Scott Richter]

4) Profit, or How Mozilla Pays M$ Back for The Whole Killing of Netscape Thing

It's so great to see Mozilla rising from the smoldering ashes that MS left Netscape in, only to come back and bite MS in the ass. It's so symbolic, they should change Mozilla's name to "Phoenix" or something.

Huh? Oh. (Gilda Radner on SNL voice....) Nevermind.

Re:Firefox's Gestures

[untaken_name]

It's a whole new paradigm in browsing.

Perhaps Mozilla can leverage their quality vector above the 60,000 foot level and ramp up their ownership of the browser market whilst operationalizing their solutioning mindshare of the disintermediate, multidisciplinary, proactive, synergistic process.

What's that? Bingo?

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[chris_mahan]

Last time I checked, real geeks don't work for Microsoft. /me ducks

Oh, the irony

[Anonymous Coward]

I want web designers to follow the W3C standards

And yet you don't properly open your <rant> tag? For shame!

Mirror Universe

[Areeves]

Am I the only one who feels like I'm reading an "alternate reality" article here? Tom Ridge now has a bad goatee and a sash to store is saber, and laughs like this muHAHAHA. oh wait...

Don't Worry

[cyranose]

Microsoft is soon releasing a Universal Patch(tm) for all its software: Duct Tape. Just apply the patch directly to your hard disk surface and/or monitor screen and all will be well.

(That ought to shut DHS up for a while... How much of the Duct Tape business does Bush own again?)

Here's a fun rule for your server...

[CyberGarp]

This was pulled from an OS X discussion group:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)cmd.exe(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)root.exe(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/_vti_bin\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/scripts\/\.\.(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/_mem_bin\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/msadc\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/MSADC\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/c\/winnt\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/d\/winnt\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch permanent (.*)\/x90\/(.*)$ http://www.microsoft.com
</IfModule>

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[IWannaBeAnAC]

No no no, to get it to work that way around, you would have to prove that Microsoft hadn't read the EULA.

On the other hand, that may well be true.

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[Tony-A]

How about partials? Have they plugged any partials lately?

Only partially. (sorry about that;)

I can see the opportunities for posters now...

[tevk]

Department of Homeland security, eh?

That means if you use IE...you support terrorism!
http://www.tev.net/photos/homelandsecurity.jpg [tev.net]

-Tev

Re:If it's broke...well....we'll fix it later

[cloudmaster]

I'm sure there working on they're partials, to. Its only a matter of thyme before their finished with the wholes and partials, sew they can finally release longhorn. It'll bee happy daze four all from they're on out.

Re:Rise of the...

[superyooser]

If you're using Mozilla or Firefox, click here: about:mozilla [about]

And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.

from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

From the Yahoo! News article...

[AME]

Alternative browsers such as Mozilla or Netscape may not protect users, the agency warned, if those browsers invoke ActiveX control or HTML rendering engines. (emphasis added)

I'm pretty sure *most* browsers invoke some kind of HTML rendering engine. Yes, even Mozilla.

Re:Bad Bureaucrat! Naughty!

[222]

Only on slashdot could a webserving platform serve as a factor in a presidential election....