Critical Password Flaw in Firefox and IE

Both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7 are vulnerable to a flaw that could allow attackers to steal passwords. This flaw is called a Reverse Cross Site Request vulnerability (RCSR) and was discovered by Robert Chapin. The flaw compromises users' passwords and usernames by allowing a hacker to use a fake login form hosted on the same servers as the parent site.

Firefox Password Manager will automatically enter any saved passwords and usernames into the form. The data can then be sent automatically to the hacker's computer, without the user's knowledge. This flaw has already been used on MySpace, and could easily affect anyone using a blog or forum that allows user-generated HTML code to be added, fake login pages could as a result be hosted on the sites own servers, appearing to be safe to the users' browser.

For more information visit this page on Chapin Information Services, which demonstrates and explains the exploit in depth.

Another week of tech news

Wireless Power
It appears that the boffins at MIT, have come up with a system that could supply power to portable devices such as laptops, mobiles and MP3 players, and all through the use of magnetic fields. I don't know about you, but the idea of more magnetic fields, than we already have, worries me, but the MIT boffins have said that the proposed system uses magnetic fields that shouldn't affect humans. Scientists know their stuff, don't they? I'm taking a wait and see posture on this one ... if they are right, then it'll be cool. I wonder though, could someone use this system as a weapon? I hope not.

Nikon D40 Officially Announced



So the rumours going around the digital photography sites have proven to be right, Nikon officially announced the release of their new D40 D-SLR. This 6 megapixel plus baby is supposed be the smallest, lightest, easiest DSLR Nikon have made to date. Featuring In-Camera Editing, a 2.5 inch display, SD Card compatible and bundled with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens, it'll be worth checking out. At US$599 it could be on many shopping lists this Christmas.

Dell Release Quad core XPS
Dalls new XPS 710 is tricked out with Intel's 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core CPU. Talk about Multi-Thread heaven. The 710 also has four memory slots and seven expansion slots. Starting at US$3,699 - I'm wondering what the cost here in the UK is going to be. Update - UK pricing starts at £2,749

More PS3 Mayhem
In my last post I made a few comments about the whole PS3 insanity ... so a few robberies and brawls later it continues, visit Engadget for more crazy stories and links.

Playstation 3 hysteria

I'm not sure why, but it seems that the old nutcase brigade are out and about again. What with people lining up to buy Sony Playstation 3's at stores and some reportedly even quitting their jobs to do so (Star Wars Fans Maybe). I have to wonder if humanity is really worth worrying about anymore. We may just be a species that self destructs without a global pandemic or some kind of asteroid wiping us out. Obesity and psychological instabilities aside we're becoming victims of our own imbalances.

I've be waiting for this new toy too ... but lining up to buy one or quitting my job to do so is a real stupidity as far as I'm concerned ... how old are these people anyways.

The PS3 does look like the gadget of the season, or at least it does outside of Europe. Here, we will not generally see one, till the spring of 2007, or thereabouts. Thanks Sony ... Merry Christmas.

Vaja Ivolution Silver for iPod video

For those of you who use your Ipod for storing your photos and other media, I've just received notification from Vaja Cases about their new Ivolution Silver, leather case for the Ipod Video. All I have to say is, wow, what a perfect gift for Christmas. Vaja have been making cases for all sorts of devices for a few years now, and in my opinion, they are one of the finest examples of a company understanding their clients needs and desires, that I've come across.


Their sites are well designed and well worth the time exploring. Visit Vaja Cases for their standard products and Vaja Choice for their customized lines. The latter site is an excellent example of what is possible in presenting products which offer custom features.

Tech News - November 8th 2006

Apple to release Core Duo Mac Book
No longer are Powerbook Pro users the only one to benefit from the newest Dual Core Processors. Mac Book fans can now have their own Intel Core 2 Duo machine. It makes for a nice portable solution for photographers and other creatives.

Samsung Reveal 1 GB S-SIM for GSM Mobiles.
Mobile Phone users can at last rejoice, the days of running out of space on your GSM SIM card are about to be over. A new GSM SIM card from Samsung is set to be released to boost your storage capacity by combining 1GB of NAND flash with a traditional SIM and all without changing the size of the card. I look forward to hearing more about this in future, this will be an boon for growing numbers of media hungry phone users.

Fujitsu Release T4125 and P1610 Tablet PCs.
These new models are going to be something for me to investigate, The new T4125 and P1610 Tablets feature convertible displays, allowing for usage in both laptop and tablet modes. The T4215 features a 12.1-inch display, whilst the P1610 is an ultraportable with an 8.9 inch screen. Only the 4125 features a coreduo processor and built in optical drive.

Dell Release their First AMD Laptop
It was bound to happen sooner or later, Dell have expanded their line of laptops, but this time with one sporting an AMD based processor. Their new Latitude 131L and the Inspiron 1501 feature a Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor or a Sempron processor.

On a smoke filled evening, on the anniversary of the gunpowder plot.

Here I sit, in London, on the night of Guy Fawkes and all I can hear from outside is the percussive reports of rockets and other explosive fireworks. I've been hearing these explosions now every night for about the last month ... beginning with the Indian holiday of Diwali. If I step outside my house, I can see there is a thick man made fog settling in, which smells sulphurous in nature.

Some of you may ask, what this has to do with technology ... my response is quite a bit actually. The firework is a modern day cousin of its earliest incarnation which the Chinese used for religious festivals and other occasions. The first fireworks are thought to have been created in the second century BC. The adaptation of this technology was to take many years and give birth to firearms, artillery, military rockets and other high explosives.

Much of the technology we own today has grown out of our desire to wage war, protect ourselves, revere the spiritual and also to entertain ourselves. As crowds of us, collectively ooh and ahh at the spectacle that fireworks present, we also carry around with us the results of the many developments the military have created for waging war more efficiently; cellphones, optics, cameras, hi-tech fibres and much, much, more ... enjoy the lightshow.