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February 11, 2008
Keep updated
Keep updated: I think those two words are the key takeaway from many of the security articles being published these days. This link goes to an IDG article titled "Attacks on Adobe Intensify", which talks about a banner ad which calls a PDF which asks the browser to download a Trojan which later gets executed somehow... details aren't described (this article says "it's not immediately clear how the PDF file is delivered", eg !) but the headlines are rumbling 'round the blogosphere. You're already protected from the exploit if you're using the current version, even though the method to exploit slow adopters isn't described. There are three tactics to general protection against such human parasites: keep your network software updated; consider joining a non-majority environment (Mac or Linux vs Windows, Opera vs IE or Firefox eg); and/or qualify the content you'll download (hitting porn sites in an unpatched IE is not the best set of choices to make, for instance). Much security reporting these days seems alarmist to me -- when you read the articles hard it's surprising how little info they contain -- but criminals are constantly seeking an edge, so keeping your network software updated at the current version is the easiest way to avoid becoming one of the people they target.
Posted by JohnDowdell at February 11, 2008 12:09 PM