Long gone are the days where if you wanted to open another page in a web browser, you had to open another window to view it (unless you are still using IE6 or earlier). Introducing the simple yet totally useful 'Tabs'. Mozilla Firefox has been using them for ages. MS Internet Explorer has introduced them into their latest IE7 release. They are one of those little gadgets that always make you think "how did I ever cope without them before".
Here's the problem:
While IE7 seems to have it sussed, Firefox has a minor letdown in the fact that when you open a new 'Tab' it opens up a blank page. Seriously now....what is the point of that! There is an option in IE7 that allows you to pick how the new tab opens i.e. opens your homepage in the new tab, yet in Firefox there is no option for this. Search as you may, its just not there!
Here's the fix:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/777
Its an add-on that you'll need to download and it will open up your chosen homepage whenever you open a new tab.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Monday, 28 July 2008
Some Really Big Numbers...
In the middle of June, 2008, Mozilla released version 3 of their popular Firefox web browser. At the time they sought to break the world record for the most number of downloads in 24 hours which they succeeded in doing by achieving in excess of 8 million downloads. We blogged about that at the time and it got us thinking about some other really big numbers related to the Internet.
Mozilla estimate there are 140 million Firefox users and Firefox has about a 20% market share so (according to my 'O' Level maths) the browser market world wide must stand at around 700 million. A counter on Mozilla's site also shows that Firefox has been downloaded over 600 million times in total.
However, things don't stand still. China is now the biggest Internet-using country in the world with more than 253 million users, overtaking the USA with 223 million users who had held the number one spot since records began. Experts predict that China's user count may hit 500 million by 2012.
So just how big is the Internet? Well, if anyone should know the answer to that question then it's probably Google, the worlds most popular search engine. Google announced this week that they now search and index over 1 trillion web pages - that's 1,000,000,000,000 which is a really big number!
That's more web pages than people, so if you don't yet have a web page now would be a really good time to start planning one before they sell out.
Mozilla estimate there are 140 million Firefox users and Firefox has about a 20% market share so (according to my 'O' Level maths) the browser market world wide must stand at around 700 million. A counter on Mozilla's site also shows that Firefox has been downloaded over 600 million times in total.
However, things don't stand still. China is now the biggest Internet-using country in the world with more than 253 million users, overtaking the USA with 223 million users who had held the number one spot since records began. Experts predict that China's user count may hit 500 million by 2012.
So just how big is the Internet? Well, if anyone should know the answer to that question then it's probably Google, the worlds most popular search engine. Google announced this week that they now search and index over 1 trillion web pages - that's 1,000,000,000,000 which is a really big number!
That's more web pages than people, so if you don't yet have a web page now would be a really good time to start planning one before they sell out.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Google Maps Launches Walking Directions
Google Maps today rolled out a new feature to the public: walking directions. Google tested the walking directions earlier this month and Search Engine Roundtable reports that they were rolled out to all US locations earlier this morning. Hopefully with us soon.
The walking directions feature is in beta, and warns users to “use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas,” but it already knows not to send people on certain roads. If getting from point A to point B includes hopping on the interstate highway, for example, Google won’t even offer walking directions.
The main difference between walking and driving directions? There are two that I can see: walking directions will send you the shortest, presumably safest (i.e., with sidewalks) route, including against traffic down one way streets, and the time estimates are adjusted for foot power. This map for example, picture below, gives directions from the Bleecker St. Station in New York City to Washington Square Park. Walking directions send you the wrong way down three one way streets, while driving directions send you in a loop the other way.
The walking directions feature is in beta, and warns users to “use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas,” but it already knows not to send people on certain roads. If getting from point A to point B includes hopping on the interstate highway, for example, Google won’t even offer walking directions.
The main difference between walking and driving directions? There are two that I can see: walking directions will send you the shortest, presumably safest (i.e., with sidewalks) route, including against traffic down one way streets, and the time estimates are adjusted for foot power. This map for example, picture below, gives directions from the Bleecker St. Station in New York City to Washington Square Park. Walking directions send you the wrong way down three one way streets, while driving directions send you in a loop the other way.
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Major DNS security flaw
In a major collaborative effort over 80 vendors simultaneously released patches to their DNS software to address a critical vulnerability. DNS, the Domain Name System, forms the basis of how today's Internet works by translating domain names into IP addresses and vice versa. Without DNS you wouldn't be able to type a domain name (such as bbc.co.uk for example) into a web browser and reach that site.
The current flaw in DNS potentially allows hackers to poison the DNS system and redirect users to malicious sites rather than the site they intended to visit. The researcher that discovered the flaw, Dan Kaminsky, had attempted to keep technical details of the vulnerability secret until next month in order to give system administrators time to patch their servers against the flaw. However, details of the vulnerability were revealed yesterday before many systems have been patched.
In a worst case scenario a major ISPs DNS servers could be subverted redirecting a major site such as Google to a malicious site designed to infect visitors PCs with malware. Such a scenario could result in hudreds of thousands of computers being infected in a very short period of time. With such rewards on offer you can bet the bad guys will be all over this in a flash.
What should you do?
Users are strongly advised to test their DNS servers now to see if they're vulnerable. Dan Kaminsky has a "Check My DNS" applet available on his site here.
If your DNS servers are vulnerable you should contact your ISP (or whoever provides your DNS) and inform them, plus ask them when they intend to patch their servers.
If your DNS servers are vulnerable then you can use the freely available DNS servers provided by OpenDNS until your normal servers can be patched. Windows users should go to Control Panel > Network Connections and right click on the connection and select "Properties". Then select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties. Select "Use the following DNS server addresses" and enter the following two IP addresses for the Preferred and Alternate DNS servers, respectively: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. Linux users should edit the nameserver values in /etc/resolv.conf
Additionally, if you use a home router to automatically assign network settings then you should also update the DNS server settings in your router.
Users are then advised to retest to ensure their DNS servers are no longer vulnerable.
The current flaw in DNS potentially allows hackers to poison the DNS system and redirect users to malicious sites rather than the site they intended to visit. The researcher that discovered the flaw, Dan Kaminsky, had attempted to keep technical details of the vulnerability secret until next month in order to give system administrators time to patch their servers against the flaw. However, details of the vulnerability were revealed yesterday before many systems have been patched.
In a worst case scenario a major ISPs DNS servers could be subverted redirecting a major site such as Google to a malicious site designed to infect visitors PCs with malware. Such a scenario could result in hudreds of thousands of computers being infected in a very short period of time. With such rewards on offer you can bet the bad guys will be all over this in a flash.
What should you do?
Users are strongly advised to test their DNS servers now to see if they're vulnerable. Dan Kaminsky has a "Check My DNS" applet available on his site here.
If your DNS servers are vulnerable you should contact your ISP (or whoever provides your DNS) and inform them, plus ask them when they intend to patch their servers.
If your DNS servers are vulnerable then you can use the freely available DNS servers provided by OpenDNS until your normal servers can be patched. Windows users should go to Control Panel > Network Connections and right click on the connection and select "Properties". Then select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties. Select "Use the following DNS server addresses" and enter the following two IP addresses for the Preferred and Alternate DNS servers, respectively: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. Linux users should edit the nameserver values in /etc/resolv.conf
Additionally, if you use a home router to automatically assign network settings then you should also update the DNS server settings in your router.
Users are then advised to retest to ensure their DNS servers are no longer vulnerable.
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Take a break from all this IT
Today's Website of the day features a site on History.
Ancienthistory.org
The Ancient web is an online resource for Students, Teachers, and anyone interested in the cultures of the ancient world.
I especially liked this bit from the Irish section
Brigit - goddess of agriculture, fire, healing, inspiration, learning divination, occult knowledge, poetry, prophecy, smithcraft. Her Gaelic name of Breo-saighead means "fiery arrow" or "fiery power". Celts often referred to her as being three in one - the Triple Brigits or the Three Mothers. An ever-burning fire was kept in her honor by her nineteen priestesses who lived in a sacred temple at Kildare. She was also a daughter of the Dagda. Variants: Brid, Brig, Brigid, Brighid.
Ancienthistory.org
The Ancient web is an online resource for Students, Teachers, and anyone interested in the cultures of the ancient world.
I especially liked this bit from the Irish section
Brigit - goddess of agriculture, fire, healing, inspiration, learning divination, occult knowledge, poetry, prophecy, smithcraft. Her Gaelic name of Breo-saighead means "fiery arrow" or "fiery power". Celts often referred to her as being three in one - the Triple Brigits or the Three Mothers. An ever-burning fire was kept in her honor by her nineteen priestesses who lived in a sacred temple at Kildare. She was also a daughter of the Dagda. Variants: Brid, Brig, Brigid, Brighid.
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