A new bug was discovered in the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser yesterday, and while Microsoft is working like crazy to release a more secure version of Explorer, security experts are recommending that users temporarily switch to a new browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox in the interim.
Millions of users are affected by this security bug, which has the potential to infect the PC of somebody who visits a malicious website. The bug applies to Internet Explorer 9 and earlier, Explorer 10 is not affected.
Yup, this is the type of thing that can allow a hacker to take control of your computer and have their evil way with it.
If you don’t want to switch browsers while Microsoft tries to get this bug fixed, here’s what you need to do to protect your PC.
And if you clicked on that link above, I bet you’re now saying to yourself “Screw it, that’s too complicated... I’ll just switch browsers”, and I’d tend to agree with you - not just because I’m a MacHead, but because if you don’t know 100% what you’re doing when you start mucking around with things like scripts in your browsers, you could end up with an even bigger problem on your hands.
Aside from switching browsers, in the interim here are some things to keep your computer and data safe:
(Did you notice how I didn’t even talk about how this would never happen on a Mac? Okay, good.)
There’s just no such thing as a bad day when Apple has a product unveiling. Ever.
Yesterday the iPhone 5 was announced to an enormous gathering of like-minded geeks & tech junkies consumers in San Francisco. Being the Mac-head that I am, this was the kind of day that fell into the “We must get a cake” category. As in, “How was your day, kids? A new iPhone was unveiled today. Here, have some cake.”
The kids love it when technology news makes Mummy happy.
The two big questions that were asked before the iPhone 5 was revealed today were; Why isn't it being called the iPhone 6? Because technically, it is the 6th generation. If you want to find out the answer, do a quick Google search and enjoy reading some crazy Mac forum threads. And then there's the question of; Why bring out a new version of the iPhone when the last two versions are still relatively new?
Comedian Ricky Gervais put that question out perfectly on Twitter:
And can I just say, I would pee my pants if I ever had a tweet with 7,549 RTs. Just sayin'.
Here’s a snapshot of the main updates to the new iPhone 5:
Want some more good news? Now that the iPhone5 is about to hit the market, supposedly you will be able to get the iPhone 4S for $99 and the iPhone 4 for free.
You can preorder the new iPhone 5 on September 14th, and they start shipping here in the Great White North on September 21st.
Yes. There could be a new iPhone in GigaMom’s hands by the end of the month. Pretty dang fast when you think about when the first iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs in January 2007—it was six months before they were available to order.
The only thing that makes me sad about the iPhone is that it’s pretty much pounding Canadian-based RIM Blackberry phones into a blackberry jam of sorts. I’m a proud Canadian and always support Canadian businesses whenever I can.
But in this case, I love Apples more than Blackberries.
There are three things in this world that make me simultaneously cringe and shake my head back and forth in a WTF motion: Bad drivers, blue cheese, and Facebook contests that are run incorrectly.
It’s been over a year and a half since Facebook did some serious tightening up of their promotion guidelines. Before that, the guidelines were a tad more lax & fan pages/brands were able to run “sweepstakes” and contests simply by posting a status and getting people to comment or like the status.
That’s not allowed anymore and it hasn’t been allowed for a long time. But brands continue to do it. It’s driving me crazy.
When I read, “Click like on this post to be entered to win!” or “Leave a comment on this photo and we’ll pick a winner from all comments!"...
… that’s when my kids hear me release the biggest frustrated sigh ever and start comparing people to blue cheese again. And they know how much blue cheese makes me cringe.
The first few times I noticed brands doing it, I did the responsible GigaMom thing and sent them a little message to give them a heads up. I was absolutely gobsmacked when almost all of them replied back to me with “Oh, we know but we’ll take our chances. It’s just easier to do it this way.”
Here’s the kicker. If you don’t follow Facebook’s promotion policy on your fan page, they can shut you down. Yup. Shut you down. Eliminate your brand’s page that took you years to cultivate. You’ll lose ALL of your fans and have to start again from scratch. Is that really worth the risk? No. No, it isn't.
To run a contest on Facebook, you need to create it via a separate third-party app, like Shortstack or Wildfire. Apps are very easy to make with these third-party clients and once you get into making one and find out what kind of possibilities it opens up for you and connecting with the fans on your page, you’ll kick yourself for not doing it a year and a half ago when you were supposed to.
Running a promotion on Facebook isn’t hard and to be honest, if you value how important your Facebook page is for your business or brand, you should take the short amount of time needed to find out what you can and can’t do on your page.
If you want to take a look and see how YMC does Facebook contests, we’ve got one running right now—it closes on September 14th so hurry up and get over there!
You can read Facebook’s promotion guidelines here. Learn it, live it, love it.
And don’t ever make me think of blue cheese again. Please.
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