Our latest edition of WIG is filled with news link coverage on topics such as the next version of Photoshop will not support Windows XP, Microsoft has found preloaded malware on PC production lines in China, Internet Explorer 8 users will lose browser support for Google Apps in November, and more.

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Weekly News Links

Original wallpaper for the image shown above is available at HD Wallpapers 4 Free.

• Download Firefox 18 Alpha (Features IonMonkey-boosted JavaScript JIT)
  If you thought that JavaScript engines couldn’t possibly become any faster, you were wrong. According to a recent blog post, Mozilla has just released the alpha version of the Firefox 18 web browser and boy does it look good.
• New Firefox for Android Beta supports more devices
  A new Reader Mode and more device support are the leading features of the newly released beta of Firefox for Android 16, the open source mobile web browser. The extended device support in the new “experimental” build is based around its ability to run on smartphones that use an older ARMv6 processor architecture.
• New FoxBrowser for iPad talks Firefox Sync
  Soon after Mozilla discontinued development on Firefox Home, developer Simon Grätzer released Foxbrowser on the iOS App Store. The application is an open source browser for the iPad that can synchronise tabs, bookmarks and browsing history with desktop and Android instances of Firefox.
• Google adds ‘Do Not Track’ to latest Chrome test build
  Google is jumping on the privacy bandwagon, adding Do Not Track tools to Chrome.
• Chrome for Android update strengthens sandbox
  The Chrome version for Google’s Android mobile OS has been updated to improve the browser’s sandbox. The changes make it harder for malicious web sites to break out of their containment and compromise the rest of the processes running in the browser.
• Opera 12.10 Closes In on Beta Release, Adds Retina Display Support
  Opera announced a beta candidate for version 12.10 of their web browser; Marlin is on hold for the moment. This means that there are still plenty of loose ends to tie up and that this release is a development snapshot, not yet ready for a wider audience.
• Windows XP users to lose Google Apps support in Internet Explorer
  Per its year-old policy on supporting browsers, Google will discontinue support for IE8 when version 10 ships in November.
• Mozilla shows off Firefox OS
  Mozilla has shown off a recent build of its Firefox OS for mobile devices, demonstrating more of the open source operating system’s features and functions. The demonstration video is embedded in the post.
• Microsoft said to have finalized Windows Phone 8 OS
  Microsoft is believed to have shipped the RTM version of Windows Phone 8 operating system, according to sources. Now it’s time for carriers and handset makers to test and preload before the October 29 launch.
• openSUSE to support secure boot in next release
  The latest release of openSUSE, 12.2, which became available last week, does not have support for secure boot. However, it does have support for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, or UEFI.
• Upcoming Features of GNOME 3.8
  Even if GNOME 3.6 has not yet been released, the GNOME developers have published some of the features that will be implemented in the next major release of the desktop environment, GNOME 3.8.
• Gmail Users Can Now Send and Save Attachments to SkyDrive
  A new enhancement for the service is available and involves Gmail users, providing them with the possibility to easily save attachments on SkyDrive, while also being able to send files directly from the cloud storage. These new capabilities are available courtesy of Attachments.me, which took advantage of the new SkyDrive APIs to connect SkyDrive with Gmail.
• Opus: a new, free, open audio codec that outperforms everything else
  The IETF has finished its standardization effort for Opus, a new free/open audio codec that reportedly outperforms all other codecs on all axes.
• Microsoft readies Office 2010 to Office 2013 upgrade program
  Microsoft is said to be prepping to launch its latest Office upgrade offer this fall, and give qualifying users a choice of different Office versions to which they can move.
• Adobe: Next Photoshop won’t support Windows XP
  Windows XP has been tremendously popular, but support for the 11-year-old operating system is waning. The next Photoshop will require Windows 7 or later.
• Windows 8 gets ‘browser ballot’ amid EU antitrust probe
  European user of Windows 8 can now select their choice of browser, amid an European antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s failure to include the software in Windows 7.
• Apple to iPhone 5 buyers: No free 30-pin adapter for you
  Some Apple Store sites were listing the adapter as free with the new iPhone, but that information was wrong.
• BlackBerry sinks to zero sales in ‘a meaningful number’ of stores
  An analyst claims that BlackBerry devices are being squeezed from retailer shelves, further hurting RIM’s chances of turning things around.
• Zuckerberg: Facebook to move into search
  Facebook CEO says that “at some point” Facebook intends to get into the search business.
• Your palm will be your next password
  Intel has demonstrated new ways for devices to recognize individual users.

Security News

Image courtesy of The Official Microsoft Blog. (PDF report file is linked in first paragraph.)

• Microsoft: Malware preloaded on PC production lines in China
  The company finds cybercriminals had infiltrated unsecure supply chains to hijack brand new computers, prompting an operation to disrupt the emerging Nitol botnet, and over 500 other strains of malware.
• Report: Half of Android devices have unpatched holes
  Researcher says carriers are more focused on developing new products than securing the old ones.
• Chat app used by activists has security flaws, say critics
  Security bloggers are piling on with the criticism of WhatsApp, saying there are serious problems with how data is protected from prying eyes in the popular mobile IM software.
• BlackHole 2.0 gives hackers stealthier ways to pwn
  A new version of the BlackHole exploit kit is now out on the web and ready to start infecting. The developer of the toolkit, who goes by the handle “Paunch,” recently announced the availability of Blackhole 2.0, which removes much of its trove of known and patched exploits, and replaces them with a whole new crop—along with features that will make it harder for antivirus companies and site owners to detect trouble.
• Vulnerability in SSL encryption is barely exploitable
  Researchers have discovered that, where data sent over an encrypted HTTPS connection has undergone prior compression, the door is opened to attackers who, by modifying the data traffic in a targeted manner, are then able to crack the encryption. Browser makers have, however, already reacted by disabling the additional functions which enable the vulnerability.
• Microsoft to deliver Flash update to Windows 8 users ‘shortly’
  Microsoft has reversed course on a decision it announced last week. According to an official statement, Windows 8 users will receive critical security updates for Flash Player “shortly.” But larger questions remain.
• Possible hosting error hinders Apple’s Software Update
  A hosting error — ‘NSURLErrorDomain error -1100′ — is causing a number of users to see error warnings when attempting to update their Macs.
• Microsoft Issues First Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 Updates
  Windows 8, Microsoft’s next major operating system release, won’t arrive on the market until the end of the next month, yet the company is already issuing updates for it, while preparing some more of them for the near future.
• Apple closes more than 160 security holes in iTunes
  The latest update to the Windows version of Apple’s popular iTunes media player closes an alarming number of security holes. According to the company, iTunes 10.7 for Windows addresses a total of 163 vulnerabilities, all of which are in the WebKit browser engine used by the media player to display HTML-based pages in its iTunes Store.
• Google Gets Serious about Chrome Security on Linux
  Google was a bit slow in the beginning getting its Chrome browser ready for Linux. That’s now changing as Google is now set to take advantage of an advanced Linux kernel feature that could well make Chrome on Linux more secure than any other OS.
• PHP 5.5 should reduce password sloppiness
  Version 5.5 of PHP will come with an API designed to allow administrators and developers to safely store passwords. With its help, developers will be able to use just one line of code to generate a secure salted password hash using bcrypt.
• Is Microsoft forgetting what it knows about security process?
  With the fight over who can put a browser on Windows RT still simmering away and with Windows RT tablets only a month off, now is not the time for Microsoft to make careless mistakes with Windows 8.
• Microsoft axes many of its Forefront enterprise security products
  Microsoft is ceasing development of many of its Forefront products, choosing, instead to integrate more security capabilities into a number of its other products and services.
• Identifying state-sponsored malware increasingly difficult
  The rising sophistication of cybercriminals is blurring the characteristics between their tools and state-sponsored malware, making it harder to attribute attacks.
• Kaspersky: Shamoon malware nothing more than ‘quick and dirty’
  Kaspersky’s analysis of Shamoon malware has concluded it was a job pulled off by talented amateurs.

TinyHacker Links

• Windows 8 Removed Nine Features from Windows 7
  Which are the 9 features that have been removed or replaced? Learn from this article.
• Tablets Compared
  Great chart and short accompanying article at iMore. Comparison is on Kindle Fire, iPad, Nexus 7, Surface RT, and Playbook
• “It’s the ISP”
  A humorous comic looking at reasons why people who work with computes seem to have a lot of spare time.

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Windows 7′s Task Manager
• 5 Ways To Quickly Launch Programs On Windows
• How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools
• How To Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates
• Why Does Chrome Have So Many Open Processes?
• How To See Who Logged Into a Computer and When
• How To Create a Shortcut That Lets a Standard User Run An Application as Administrator
• How to Make More Space Available on the Windows 7 Taskbar
• Desktop Fun: Feathered Friends Wallpaper Collection Series 2
• The Best Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most out of Internet Explorer 10

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• Super Computer Built from Raspberry Pi Boards and LEGO Bricks
• Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 is an Awesome Replacement for Microsoft Office
• What Comes After The Standing Workstation? [Comic]
• Google+ versus Facebook [Comic]
• Can You Recover My Data? [Humorous Image]
• Using Tablets with a Desktop Computer [Comic]
• How Designers Came up with the New Microsoft Logo [Humorous Image]
• How Standards Proliferate
• How to Use Binder Clips to Fix Broken Keyboard Feet [Geeky Quick Fix]
• YourFather [Wallpaper]

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• How to Speed Up Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010
• Create a Master Document in Word 2010 from Multiple Documents
• Create One Table of Contents from Multiple Word 2010 Documents
• Change the Type for a Section Break in Word 2007 and 2010
• Compare and Merge Different Versions of Your Presentations in PowerPoint
• How to Backup and Restore Your Office 2010 Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar Customizations

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• Assets versus Profit Margins
• Multi-Tasking Ambulance Chaser
• Cop Shows and Cold Cases
• On the ‘Do Not Call’ List
• Pinterest in the Kitchen
• Unsurprising File Corruption
• Content Delivery Systems

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• What Is The Most Ubiquitous Animated Image File Type?
• Skimmers Are Used To Capture What Kind Of Data?
• What Was The First Commercial USB Flash Drive Called?
• A Popular Sci-Fi Show Forced The US National Park Service To Post Warning Signs Where?
• What Determined The Direction Of Clock Hand Movement?
• What Is The Most Expensive Video Game Console Of All Time?
• What Religious Movement Began On The Silver Screen?