JPEG “Virus”

Reports are growing regarding the flaw in Microsoft�s JPEG parsing software. Many people have not even heard about it. The flaw is a buffer overrun that allows someone to execute code. This is not a virus but rather a trojan downloader, it has no ability to spread on its own. However it does have the potential of causing some nasty problems.

It only affects people running Windows XP service pack 1. Update to SP2 right away and you should be fine. All major anti-virus programs with current signatures are detecting the vulnerability.

An alternative would be to use Firefox which does not have the JPEG vulnerability. I’ve been using Firefox for months and it’s been working well for me. I highly recommend you download and start using it.

Google’s Gmail has some new features. You can now search within your contact list, forward messages to other email accounts and save drafts. Let me know if you would like an invite, I have several left to give out.