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[ Go to June 1997 Table of Contents ]
News
When you click on a hyperlink that wants to launch a local executable, Microsoft Internet Explorer by default prompts you before running the program. That prevents a malicious link from running a program that could do harm . . . well, at least without your consent. But under Windows 95 and NT, IE 2.0, 3.0 and 3.01 all have a security hole that permits hyperlinks that point to URL and LNK files (as opposed to the hyperlinks themselves) to launch local applications without prompting. A patch is available at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/security/download.htm. Windows CE hand-helds, especially Casio and Compaq models, contain a hardware bug that sometimes prevents their subsystems from entering low-power mode when the unit is switched off. This reduces battery life and can cause complete data loss. You can obtain a software workaround at: http://www.casiohpc.com/hpcsrvpk1.html or http://www.compaq.com/us/common/prodinfo/handhelds/detail.html. A bug in NT 4.0's Policy Editor deletes hidden, administrative shares when you use it to edit the Registry. However, you can restore the deletions by going into Local Computer and checking off three keys: Windows NT Network/Sharing/Create Hidden Drive Shares (Workstation), Windows NT Network/Sharing/Create Hidden Drive Shares (Server) and Windows NT Printers/Beep for Error Enabled. These extra steps are not necessary when you create and save system-policy files.
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