Patch Tuesday Leads to Attack Wednesday

• By Doug Barney
• 12/11/2008

The exploit delays the processing of XML tags, can crash the browser (though IE and Firefox do a great job of crashing on their own, at least on my aging Latitude D520) and can then inject malicious code upon browser restart.

There may well be a fresh patch to beat back these attacks. We'll keep you posted.

MS Dips Toes in Open Waters
Microsoft may aggressively sell against open source, but it does play -- just a bit -- in this world.

Redmond's interoperability efforts are well-known, and generally well-done. But Microsoft has also released a decent bit of code into the public domain. The latest installment is Oxite, a developer-oriented content management system built by Redmond code monkeys to test out ASP.NET MVC. Microsoft now wants to show the entire development world just how cool Oxite and ASP.NET MVC are.

Good News: Silverlight Rules. Bad News: You're Canned!
Netflix recently moved to Silverlight as its standard Web video player -- and the ROI was immediate. Because Silverlight is so darn good, Netflix fired 50 customer help-desk techs!

I wonder if Microsoft has any software that can help U.S. banks and automakers?

U.S. Balance of Trade Great -- for Malware!
We don't export like we used to. Koreans buy Kias, the Japanese purchase Nissans, Swedes get Saabs, and the rest of the world...well they just go for Toyotas.

But there's one area where we Americans apparently shine: malware. According to WhiteHat Security, U.S. servers now host more malware than anyone else. Guess it's time to finally stop blaming Bulgaria for all our security woes!

Mailbag: Microsoft T-Shirt Line, More
Readers opine about Microsoft's coolness, what snappy slogans the company should use for its new line of T-shirts...and wish Doug a happy birthday:

Hey, happy (belated) birthday! Microsoft T-shirts? I can see Microsoft bringing back its old "Where do you want to go today?" ad on a T-shirt, followed by the beloved "C:\>"!
-Dan

I do think Microsoft is cool. Back when .NET was relatively new, I remember I paid for a big sticker of the .NET logo and put it on my car. Not because I consider myself as a geek, but because of the impact that this kind of technology has on the people.

It's funny to watch people that really understand technology grin when they check out your shirt.
-Armando

First, DOS=MSDOS is a myth. Mac OS, Linux, Unix, etc. are all flavors of DOS. Second, I'd be more likely to purchase a T-shirt with Linus Torvalds' name and "LINUX" written under it than one with Gates and DOS. I love the GNU/GPL.
-Earl

I'd buy one that said something like "DOS? Who needs DOS when you can use Unix?" or "DOS is for sissies. Real geeks use Unix."
-Cheryl

Bet they'll try to keep the "Blue Shirt of Death" quiet. Plus, we can plug any dangerous holes in our clothing on "Patch Tuesday." I'll be here all week. Try the veal.
-Joseph

Happy (belated) birthday to you and Nick. The kid has good taste in game machines. Yes, I would buy and wear the Microsoft line of nostalgic T-shirts. They are cool, and hearken to the days of being a true geek.
-Steve

Since you mentioned it was your birthday, I thought I would wish you a belated happy birthday. My son turns 36 on Dec. 11 and I believe he has nearly all of the gaming systems that have been made over the last 20-plus years (but thankfully, I have not been the one that has had to buy them!). I do have the Sony PS3, but only because it was a good way to get a Blu-ray player at the time.

Although I have been in the computer field forever, it seems I have never developed an interest in playing games on the computer. Now that I am pushing 65, I think more about embracing retirement than embracing new technology!
-Dean

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