Linux News: Bugs

Security Wonks Reveal Holes in Firefox Straight Out of the Gate
June 19, 2008

As Mozilla went after a Guinness World Record for the most downloads in a 24-hour period with its release of Firefox 3, it didn't take security researchers long to drop a bomb on all the browsing fun. TippingPoint's DVLabs reported that its Zero Day Initiative program received a critical vulnerability affecting Firefox 3.0 as well as prior versions of Firefox 2.0.x.

Catch That Memory Bug Before It Catches You
April 15, 2008

Memory bugs, essentially a mistake in the management of heap memory, are caused by a number of factors and can occur in any program that is being written, enhanced or maintained. The fact that memory bugs can be introduced at any time is part of what makes memory debugging a challenging task.

Mozilla Dispatches Firefox Bug Zapper
February 08, 2008

Mozilla released an update Thursday that corrects several vulnerabilities in the Firefox Web browser. Firefox 2.0.0.12 patches critical flaws that could result in Web browsing history and forward navigation stealing; privilege escalation that could allow cross-site scripting exploits; and crashes with evidence of memory corruption.

Time to Panic About Y2K38?
January 21, 2008

Macworld dominated the headlines last week, so it's likely many unsuspecting readers were in too comfortable a state of Mac nirvana to realize what was happening in the rest of the world. Snap out of it, people! Y2K38 is coming, and as of Saturday, the 30-year countdown has already begun!

Coverity Certifies 11 Open Source Bug Hunters
January 10, 2008

San Francisco-based security firm Coverity has been working with support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and with Stanford University to find flaws in open source software, and it looks like they've found plenty. Since March 2006, an online Coverity software scanning site has analyzed 50 million lines of software in more than 250 projects.

QuickTime Flaws Torment Apple for Seventh Time This Year
November 06, 2007

Apple released another version of its QuickTime digital media player Monday. The latest edition of the application corrects seven potentially harmful security vulnerabilities discovered in previous versions of the software, QuickTime 7.2 and earlier. Users Windows and users of OS X should download and install the QuickTime 7.3 update, according to Apple.

MS Squashes Outlook, SharePoint Bugs in Patch Tuesday Fixfest
October 10, 2007

Microsoft kept to its schedule in rolling out its October "Patch Tuesday" updates, which included four "critical" fixes -- two deemed "important" -- that in total address nine flaws. The security updates range from crucial patches for the Kodak Image Viewer to Microsoft's Outlook Express and Windows Mail applications to Word to an RPC flaw.

Media Player Exploits: New Vectors, New Threats
September 26, 2007

Two separate exploits involving the Apple QuickTime and the Microsoft Windows Media players could continue to plague computer users regardless of which Web browser is installed as the default on a computer system. So far, the only browser developer to announce a patch for this vulnerability is Mozilla, which posted a patch to its open source Firefox Web browser last week.

Firefox Fends Off QuickTime Bug Threat
September 20, 2007

Firefox users had a recent rude awakening about a vulnerability in the way Apple's QuickTime plug-in interacts with their Web browser. Far from grumbling, however, Mozilla supporters say their patch for the vulnerability says more about Mozilla's strengths than its browser's weakness.

Great Linux Sites for Developers
September 20, 2007

What's a poor, lonely Linux developer to do? Where are all the good support sites? How am I going to fix that troublesome bug? These are questions that even novice code writers no longer have to ask. The classic view of a lonely, isolated programmer writing code for some obscure open source project in a back room is no longer an accurate view of the work environment in which Linux developers toil.

Open Source Software: The Power of Community
September 06, 2007

The IT industry appears to be in the thick of a number of interesting trends happening not only in technology, but in society at large. Cultural assumptions are changing about the nature of media and production, and consumers are being empowered as producers. Businesses are just starting to realize the power and benefits of rethinking our understanding of ownership and participation.

Wells Fargo Recoups Following Massive Online, ATM Glitch
August 21, 2007

Wells Fargo said Tuesday it fixed a computer problem that left many of its Web banking customers unable to access their accounts over the weekend. The problems were first discovered Sunday afternoon, and the San Francisco-based bank said all services had been restored as of early Tuesday, though some information, such as account balances, was expected to take longer to be fully brought up to date.

Zero-Day Browser Exploits, Part 2: The Continuing Debate
August 21, 2007

The debate rages over whether open source browsers such as Firefox and Konqueror provide better zero-day attack protection than proprietary browsers such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Opera Software's Opera browser. Security experts line up on both sides of the discussion, often advising that neither open nor closed source browsers provide enough protection to provide worry-free journeys on the Internet.

Skype: Patch Tuesday Led to Blackout Friday
August 20, 2007

Skype said that a Microsoft patch downloaded on Patch Tuesday triggered a bug in its software that eventually resulted in the IP-based service going dark for nearly two days. The disruption in the free, peer-to-peer network began unexpectedly on Thursday. Service was completely restored by late Friday.

Zero-Day Browser Exploits, Part 1: Is Open Source Safer Than IE?
August 14, 2007

Are open source browsers such as Firefox and Konqueror more secure than Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 and proprietary browsers like Opera? That is an age-old question, security experts say, with no clear-cut answer. Essentially, both browser types are free, making traditional budget-based purchase decisions void.

Firefox Furnishes Further Flaw Fixes
August 01, 2007

Mozilla released a new version of its Firefox Web browser Monday which includes fixes for two vulnerabilities disclosed by Secunia, an Internet security firm, earlier this month. The two flaws, which involved conflicts with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, kicked off a round of finger pointing as both companies claimed the problem lay with the code of the competing browser.