Emergency IE Patch Fixes Critical Bug

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Microsoft's out-of-cycle patch for the Internet Explorer browser addresses the "IFRAME" bug that had already been exploited by hackers through ad servers. Download it now!

[Connie]

Well, this patch sure fixed IE for me.  It totally won't work now.  I don't know how to uninstall the update or if it's even possible to uninstall it.  I'm trying this Mozilla browser to get online but it can't seem to access my earthlink homepage.  When I set it to the address for the start page it says something like "no data" or something.  I made Mozilla the default browser, but I bet the shit's gonna hit the fan in the morning when my husband goes online and can't figure out what's going on.  If I can't figure out what's going on, no one else around here will be able to.

I also can't find anything in this browser to import the bookmarks from IE.

Can anyone help me?  I'm totally lost and this Mozilla (it's the latest version apparently) seems to be acting funny.  The loading bar at the bottom doesn't look like the page is completely loaded, the cursor blinks erratically, and so far I hate this browser.

Oh yeah, and Microsoft's update info and pages are so confusing with all the update versions and crap that I obviously did SOMETHING wrong but what, I don't know.

-CLC
No patience for this stuff and can't figure it out anyway even if I HAD the patience.

PS  Oh yeah, plus this browser seems to eat up a lot of memory.  Is that usual??

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, this patch sure fixed IE for me.  It totally won't work now.

Ah yes, the "joy" of using Windows/IE. I haven't missed it for a second - but I can certainly sympathize. 

I also can't find anything in this browser to import the bookmarks from IE.

Bring down the "Bookmarks" drop down menu and click on "Manage Bookmarks...". Once that comes up, bring down the "Tools" drop down menu, click on "Import...", navigate to the directory on your hard drive where IE has stored its bookmark.html file, then either double-click on bookmarks.html or highlight it and then click the "open" button. After that you should be good to go. 

this browser seems to eat up a lot of memory.  Is that usual??

Mozilla itself shouldn't be using any more memory than IE or any other browser might. But it might depend on how many Mozilla features you've installed (i.e. Mozilla Mail, Composer, etc.). A good rule of thumb is that if you already use a different piece of software for something, don't install that feature. Well, unless you'd like to test it out with a look toward switching to using it instead of the software you're presently using. 

[Connie]

Hi MB....

The IE seems to be working now but it just can't recognize or load earthlink pages for some strange reason - Mozilla won't either.  I have the feeling earthlink is "married" to IE in some way and this update fix did something.
"The document contains no data" is the error I get with Mozilla.  And with IE I get "Can't find server."

I can't find where IE has its Bookmarks file.  I did a search and also went into the IE folder in Program Files -- nothing.  All I can find are some bookmark folders in Windows having to do with earthlink stuff but the folders are empty.  I think it has to do with earthlinks favorite pulldown menu -- nothing to do with IE favorites.  Any idea where IE favorites file might be hiding?

I WOULD really like to switch to Mozilla or Netscape - especially since I've seen most of the links you've posted about all the things that suck re: IE -- vulnerabilities, etc., but it's the fear of all these possible problems switching over to a different browser, not understanding how things work, etc. that's kept me from attempting it.  Also, I read in one of the articles you linked to that Windows and IE are so immeshed (sp?) somehow, that you have to have IE on your system or things won't work or something.  Does that sound right?

I HATE this stuff.  It's too complicated.

-CLC

Yeah - I did download the whole package.  Especially interested in trying out Composer to make web pages.  I assume it's similar to the webpage editor in Netscape and I used to have it a couple of years ago but lost it in a system crash.  It seemed pretty straight forward and easy to use.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The IE seems to be working now but it just can't recognize or load earthlink pages for some strange reason - Mozilla won't either.  I have the feeling earthlink is "married" to IE in some way and this update fix did something.
"The document contains no data" is the error I get with Mozilla.  And with IE I get "Can't find server."

The problem seems to be with Earthlink. I just tried to access their home page with a few different browsers without any luck. So, things might not be as bad with IE as you might think. 

I can't find where IE has its Bookmarks file.  I did a search and also went into the IE folder in Program Files -- nothing.

Hmmm - that's odd. I could have sworn that it's usually in IE's folder. And doing a search with Windows Find utility should have definitely found it wherever it was. 

What version of Windows are you using?

Any idea where IE favorites file might be hiding?

They're usually in C:- WindowsFavorites

I WOULD really like to switch to Mozilla or Netscape - especially since I've seen most of the links you've posted about all the things that suck re: IE -- vulnerabilities, etc., but it's the fear of all these possible problems switching over to a different browser, not understanding how things work, etc. that's kept me from attempting it.  Also, I read in one of the articles you linked to that Windows and IE are so immeshed (sp?) somehow, that you have to have IE on your system or things won't work or something.  Does that sound right?

IE needs to be installed for Windows itself to run correctly, but you don't have to use IE as your browser.

As for being afraid to switch, just take a deep breath and try a different browser for a week or two. I know it's a frightening prospect, but switching is easier than you might think. 

Yeah - I did download the whole package.  Especially interested in trying out Composer to make web pages.  I assume it's similar to the webpage editor in Netscape

I think they're pretty similar if not exactly the same, but I'd need to check - and I can't do that right now because Netscape and Mozilla are tied very closely together in Linux. After I post this, I'll check them both out.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I think they're pretty similar if not exactly the same

Yup - boith the Netscape and Mozilla versions of Composer are identical. 

[Connie]

Well. I finally found a folder in Windows, App Data, nested in a bunch of other folders but all the links are listed separately.  There isn't one html file containing them all so there doesn't seem to be a way to import them.     NOW.....IE is working fine and Mozilla won't work right -- it disappeared and won't restart. 

Yes, I've lost my mind and I'm going to bed.

Computers are the root of all evil......

"They are the devil's playthings."
                   -Rev. Gregory Trask

I need an emmissary from the All Mighty - sent to strike the cloven hoof from this poor wretched computer.



I've grown to LOATHE this thing.

[Mark Rainey]

Note that this patch is for Windows machines not running SP2, which does not appear to be vulnerable to the bug. So if you're already running SP2, the fix isn't required.

I tell you, though, I'm so pleased with Firefox, I have no reason to ever use IE -- except when I need to update something from Microsoft!