Not too long ago I upgraded my wife’s computer to Vista. My huge pet peeve with IE7 is a sneaky little piece of FUD intended to make Divx and Xvid files appear insecure. Under IE7’s Security Settings there’s an option called: “Launching applications and unsafe files (not secure)”
By default this is set to “Prompt” and it’ll prompt you every time you try to play Divx or Xvid movies on your own network. That’s right, your own network. And these appear to be the only two video formats which trigger the security prompt.
“Do you want to open this file? While files from the Internet can be useful, this file type can potentially harm your computer.”
I’ve never heard about any insecurities with either Divx or Xvid files. So the whole thing is just FUD from MS! And let me set this straight, I’d get this warning not from using IE7, just from accessing such files from mapped drives or the Network icon.
But it gets worse, if you disable the prompting IE7 warns you every time you open it that:
“Your security setting level puts your computer at risk. Click here to change your security settings..”
So you either get a warning every time you play a Divx or Xvid movie off your network or you get a warning every time you use IE7.
Luckily I found a fix for the IE7 warning. Not that anyone in my house uses Internet Explorer for much, anyway.
Not too long ago I upgraded my wife’s computer to Vista.
You really must hate your wife…
And you probably won’t get prompted when you play .wmv and .asf files that can carry unsecure code.
Get over it.
MS=LIFE
Or at least MS thinks it should.
This is usually caused by little NTFS tags attached (by IE / MS) in an alternate stream. You will find it’s usually the same files that cause the error every time, and if you source some (same content) files off a CD/DVD this will not occur. Copying the file to a FAT/FAT32 partition and back (USB stick?) will usually clear the tags. Alternatively, you could use something that strips Alternate Streams from NTFS partitions.
5. “if you source some (same content) files off a CD/DVD this will not occur.”
Not true, these are my own rips.
3. “Get over it.”
Baa, baa, baa. (That’s the closest to “fuck off” I can approximate in sheep.)
You’re wife watches porn too? You’re so lucky.
8. Best comment ever!
Could this FUD be part of Microsoft’s new business plan? Namely media extortion? If you don’t want to be labeled “unsafe” by Vista, you have to pay up to the Redmond boys. Kind of like the old “protection racket”, only its in your PC. Any other new media standards will probably be automatically labeled unsafe, until M$ gets paid enough to put in on Vista’s “OK” list. This replaces their old box label “Compatible with Windows XP” scheme.
I found a fix for IE7 too…. it’s called OS X
I’m going to admit… that I’ve been around some of the seedy parts of the web in my time… do you know the formats you should REALLY watch out for? WMV!
now I hate MS… so thats my disclaimer out the way BUT
Because WMV can require a license, if your trying to get your free porn fix and you download and auto accept WMV licenses then you might be giving up your computing rights to *anyone* on the internet because if you accept their license to fvck with your computer…. then thats exactly what happens 🙂
If anyone would like some of my DRM malicious WMV files then give me a shout… doubt it would take me too long to find you some 🙂
I use easynews and have global search set to thumbnail movie files… when it cant thumbnail the movie, you essentially know its ‘infected’
Course I use linux/OSX these days…. so I’m pretty much immune to all that crap 🙂
Its kinda hilarious that the Microsoft can suggest DivX is insecure when their own format is exploited far more often than most people know about…
moral of the day, watch your porn! =D
I haven’t used IE for anything in 4 years.
Even with all the IE problems, if you think just using Firefox makes you more secure, you’re deluding yourself.
#14
Microsoft didn’t create IE to provide a better surfing experience… they did it to gain dominance in yet another area and lock out competition. Well, let’s not fool ourselves… all software have bugs,,, but not only is Firefox more secure than IE, and Firefox gets patched faster than IE, as well as got more pro-user extensions etc that IE will ever get.
You can turn off the Security Settings Check feature with the folowing registry hack (if it is not there just add it):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Security
DWORD: DisableSecuritySettingsCheck
Value: 1
@7 Hmm an editor telling a commentor to F off how mature and responsible I would expect that from a TROLL!!!
Oh to have the old /Blog back from 2 years ago before these septic editors came along.
17. If someone says something incredibly stupid, I reserve the right to point it out.
As an example, please learn how to punctuate a sentence. You never heard of a period?! Or was that first “paragraph” supposed to be one pointless sentence?
>”You never heard of a period”
Mac users are always on their period.
I have the same sort of problem with applications that I have written.
I can run the application (.exe) from my C: drive with no problems. But if I copy the .exe to a network folder and run it, I get a warning message telling me the application has not been digitally signed and is a risk to the security of my computer.
The dialog window that displays this message used to have a check-box which allowed me to tell Windows to not display this message anymore. But ever since IE7 was installed on my PC, the message keeps appearing and the check-box option is gone.
And, naturally, the only way to get my application digitally signed is to pay Microsoft some money. In another world this would be called extortion.
And if I change the settings in IE7 to stop showing the warning, instead IE7 tells me (every time a web-page is loaded) that my computer is at risk.
So I use Firefox.
Yeah, more FUD from M$. I have to save to .csv now and then, and get the same ritual “are you sure you want to do this?” and “don’t you want to save the changes?”. There’s a “what will get messed up” option, that leads nowhere and says nothing useful.
I’ll be glad when my employer finally dumps MS.
#11
“I found a fix for IE7 too…. it’s called OS X”
Too bad you have to buy a $2000 machine that can only run games in Gamecube quality to run it.
I use IE v7 and FireFox, but I prefer IE,
I also use both Vista and Linux, tried OSX hated it.
I used IE recently… to download Firefox when we got a new computer!!!
Oh, and #23, that was the funniest thing I have ever heard!!!! ROFL!! Someone who loves IE and Vista! And doesn;t like OS X. HA HA HA
I am really sick of people complaining and whining about OS X and Windows.
Use whatever OS you want, they each have their own foibles and faults. None of them are perfect.
With the level of computer technology available to us today you’d think that human beings wouldn’t be so petty and childish about which operating system they use. It’s like wasting time over what’s your favourite colour.
Grow up. All of you.
You should look here:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Group-Policy-Extensions-Windows-Vista-Windows-Server-2008-Part1.html
In XP there is a similar setting in file associations. It has nothing to do with IE or Firefox.
Why is it you never hear carpenters screaming at each other over who’s hammer works best?! I think the only tools here are those that cant see past their OS and into its purpose.
I run all 3 of the leading desktop OS’s, all for different things and all work great!
It “WOULD” be nice if the 2 commercial ones came in better flavours such as stipped down lite versions but if you cant tweak your PC by now then be prepared to run factory standard headaches till the end of time.