Here's an idea to make everyone's computers a little more secure, assign web browsers a use-by-date, in the same way as food, and other perishable goods, are. Security researchers have suggested that like food, browsers should have a best-before or expiry date. This comes after revealing that 637 million internet users are surfing with outdated and unpatched browsers, which puts them at risk from web-based attacks. This is an area ... Read full entry

Annoying software: a rogues' gallery From Apple's auto updates that clandestinely attempt to install new software, to the erratically performing Windows Vista in general, to the 80 megabyte Adobe reader "updates", software upgrades increasingly seem to be designed to hog system resources and infuriate computer users. What does Adobe Reader do? Displays PDF pages. How does it do it? With as much bloody-minded bureaucracy, delay and needless interaction as possible. ... Read full entry

After complaints, Apple tweaks Software Update for Safari As a Windows Safari user I actually found the lack of an auto-update feature, which Firefox offers, a nuisance. Initially Apple were "forcing" users of products such as iTunes to download and install the Safari browser by way of its updating software, an idea that drew a lot of criticism, especially from the makers of Firefox. Apple have since allowed ... Read full entry

Mozilla boss John Lilly says Apple's inclusion of the Safari browser in iTune's update software is comparable to methods used to distribute malware, and undermines the trust between software producers and their customers. There's an implicit trust relationship between software makers and customers in this regard: as a software maker we promise to do our very best to keep users safe and will provide the quickest updates possible, with ... Read full entry