Adobe Issues Update on Security Issues with Reader and Acrobat

Adobe issued an advisory today giving more information about the securityissues with Adobe Acrobat and Reader. They plan to release a patch on January 12, 2010. Here is the security bulletin from Adobe.

The Big Switch

Cloud computing is all the rage. According to Nicholas Carr, one of the unstoppable drivers is the economics of cloud computing. Carr uses the history of the electric industry to explain the historical forces that are in play today in the information technology market and that will move Information Technology to more and more of a utility computing model.

There is an informative description of companies such as YouTube who generate tremendous value by providing a platform with a small number of employees that millions of people add value to for free. This viral model has been used a number of times in the Internet space and is one of the forces that is negatively affecting traditional industries such as newspapers.

Carr also covers a number of the social changes that are occurring, including the loss of privacy, which in some ways was the opposite effect that early Internet pioneers predicted.

This is book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the major forces that are moving the Information Technology field.

Buy The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google
from Amazon now.

Adobe Reader is Vulnerable Again

Back in May we first discussed the vulnerability in Adobe Reader. Once again, an issue has cropped up. I ask the question again, why doesn't Adobe release a standard verison of the reader without Javascript? Sure, it would disable some forms, but the bulk of users in the world want to read documents safely and not use forms. They could certainly have a Premium Reader with Javascript support for those people that need it.
Here is the statement from them, "Adobe has confirmed a critical vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.2 and earlier versions that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. Adobe recommends customers follow the mitigation guidance below until a patch is available.

Adobe plans to make available an update to Adobe Reader and Acrobat by January 12, 2010 to resolve the issue."

Here is a link to the security advisory.

Who Stole Those Emails

I have started writing a column for Infonomics, the publishing portion of AIIM. The first column covers the basics of Information Security. Here is a link to The Article.

OWASP Releases 2010 - Top 10 Web Application Security Risks

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) released the preliminary version of the Top 10 Web Application Security Risks in a Request for Comment format.

According to OWASP they plan "to release the final public release of the OWASP Top 10 -2010 during the first quarter of 2010 after a final, one-month public comment period ending December 31, 2009. This release of the OWASP Top 10 marks this project’s eighth year of raising awareness of the importance of application security risks. This release has been significantly revised to clarify the focus on risk. To do this, we’ve detailed the threats, attacks, weaknesses, security controls, technical impacts, and business impacts associated with each risk. By adopting this approach, we hope to provide a model for how organizations can think beyond the ten risks here and figure out the most important risks that their applications create for their business."

The full document can be found on the OWASP web site.

The OWASP Top Ten has been a key driver in improving the security of Web applications across many industries. If you have any questions please ask Arthur, who is an active OWASP member.

HP Laserjet 3100 on Vista or Windows 7

I have a wonderful HP Laserjet 3100 that is still working reliably after seven years of use. I recently added a new laptop that is running Vista Business (no choice in the matter) to my stable of machines. I still want to use this printer with the Vista machine, but HP has no drivers for the printer. What to do?

The printer is connected to a machine on my network running Windows XP Professional.

1) I added a new printer on the Windows XP machine without using Plug and Play. It was set up as an HP LaserJet II Series printer connected to LPT1 (The parallel port).
2) I shared out the printer as \\Machine\HPLJII
3) I went to the Vista laptop and added a network printer. Of course it didn't discover it so I clicked on the option "The printer I want isn't listed."
4) I manually entered the Share \\Machine\HPLJII, which the Vista machine recognized as a LaserJet II and bingo I was up and running.

This solution should work for a Windows 7 machine as well.

AIIM Garden State Chapter Meeting - November 12th

I am attending the AIIM Garden State Chapter meeting on November 12, 2009.

The topic is "Social Media All You Need To Know: A to Z"

The meeting is at the Woodbridge Hilton, 120 Wood Avenue South -- Iselin, NJ

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to setup Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook


• Learn how to use Social Media to be found, find talent and promote your company


• Learn what and how enterprise tools are utilizing Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook
  

Speaker(s)

• Michael Potters, The Glenmont Group
• Rahul Nirula, OpenText
  

Meet with some of New Jersey's top IT recruiters at this event
Event Time Registration & hors d'oeuvres / Networking opportunities: 5:30 - 6:30 pm Presentation: 6:30 – 8:00 pm Dessert / Networking opportunities: 8:00- 8:30 pm
Fees* AIIM Members $30Non-Members $35On-Site + $10

REGISTER ONLINE

I hope to see you there!