Flash and Adobe Reader Denial of Service Exploits Discovered

During the final hours of 2006 exploits in both Adobe Flash 8 and Adobe Reader were revealed by MonstersandCritics.com. The flaws expose Windows users of Flash, Flahs Media, Flash Player, and Adobe Reader to Denial of Service attacks. Users of Internet Explorer who click a normally looking but malisciously code hyperlink embedded in a Web page will have their computers frozen and locked.

With Flash, such code exploits a vulnerability in the Flash8b.ocx Active X control. The solution is prevent Active X from running in general via Internet Options.

The Acrobat exploit freezes the Reader window embedded in the user’s Web browser by making Reader believe it is opening a PDF when no file exists. Again, the system then locks-up. Because the vulnerability is within the AcroPDF.dll file and cannot be disabled without uninstalling Acrobat or Reader entirely, there is no easy solution. At-risk users should be careful when clicking links to unknown PDFs on the Web.

The issues only came to light on 31 December, and security patches are expected from Adobe this week.

[1] Read More…

Top 10 Apple Rumors of All Time

CNET’s Crave blog has a list of the Apple-watchers’ favorite rumors. Our favorite is number ten because it ends with the line: “The poisoned apple won’t be edited out of Snow White and replaced with a Windows logo anytime soon.”

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Microsoft Hints at Post-Vista Windows Releases

With Windows Vista due for general release 30 January, 2007, Microsoft is talking about the five-year-late upgrade to XP. Meanwhile, blogger James Kyton is talking about what’s next—Fiji and Vienna—and the features Windows users can expect after Vista—or, expect to be hyped and then ultimately dropped, anyway.

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Photoshop CS3: Cloning and Healing Improvements

Adobe’s John Nack picks up where Martin Evening leaves off ([4] here) with more information about the improvements in Photoshop CS3’s cloning and healing touch-ups.

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Forty Percent of U.S. & Canadian Employers to Add Jobs in 2007

According to surveys conducted by job search and career advice Website CareerBuilder.com, U.S. and Canadian workers can look forward to the following in 2007: bigger paychecks, promotions, better training, retiree re-employment, job-sharing, and more diverse domestic and overseas hiring.

[6] Read More for the U.S….

[7] Read More for Canada….

Wired Blog’s Cult of Mac Poses the 10 Questions Apple Must Answer in 2007

With anticipation building for the 2007 Macworld Expo, the Cult of Mac blog asks some tough questions of Apple, and presents its own theorieis.

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OnOne Software Announces Free Upgrades

When Photoshop CS3 releases into retail, OnOne Software promises free updates to Photoshop plug-ins PhotoFrame Pro, Intellihance Pro, Mask Pro, and more to take advantage of CS3.

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Cenveo, Inc. to Acquire Cadmus Communications

Richmond, VA-based [10] Cenveo, Inc. (NYSE: CVO) is a design and print company with 85 facilities and more than 10,000 employees, ranked second in the printing and publishing category as Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies. [11] Cadmus Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: CDMS) is the nation’s 5th largest periodical printer and services scientific, technical, and medical publishers with content management, packaing, and publishing systems.

On 27 December, Cenveo announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Cadmus. Under the terms of the agreement, Cenveo will purchase all shares of Cadmus for US$24.75 in an all-cash buyout. The merger is expected to close during 1Q2007.

Free New Year’s Graphics

If you’re the type who just can’t get enough celebration, check out [12] www.New-Year.in, which provides numerous new year Flash animations free for use on your Website, forum signatures, or MySpace pages. Flash versions [13] here with more animated GIF versions [14] here.