iGoogle - 30 Day Notice!

This morning I was presented with the message from iGoogle that their "start page" service was being shut down in 31 days. This had been announced about a year ago but I had forgotten all about it. Finding a good internet "start page" is actually not that easy. Sure there is MSN and Yahoo! but I have never really been that happy with either of those webpages.



Oh No! iGoogle Please Don't Go!

Here I am asking you, my readers for ideas and suggestions regarding the internet "start pages" you use. Please respond in the comments area with your suggestions. I am starting to panic now that iGoogle will no longer be available in a month. 

Microsoft's Bounty Program

Microsoft is following in the footsteps of Google, Facebook, and Mozilla by finally implementing a bug bounty program. These programs have helped Google and Mozilla create very competitive internet browsers which of course have been stealing market share away from Microsoft's Internet Explorer for years.

Starting on June 26, Redmond will kick off three bounty programs for exploits related to Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11. Those who manage to crack Microsoft's programs can collect up to $100,000 in reward money.

These programs will allow Microsoft to reward work by researchers and improve the security of their software — all to the benefit of consumers.

The three programs include:

Mitigation Bypass Bounty: Earn up to $100,000 for an exploit against Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 update, Windows 8.1.

BlueHat Bonus for Defense: Earn up to $50,000 "for defensive ideas that accompany a qualifying Mitigation Bypass submission," Microsoft said.

Internet Explorer 11 Preview Bug Bounty: Earn up to $11,000 for vulnerabilities on IE11 within Windows 8.1.

Microsoft did not set a hard deadline for the first two programs, but participants have 30 days, or until July 26, to uncover a bug within IE11.

The highest rewards will be given to those who demonstrate the ability of the exploit to bypass Microsoft's security layers.

Aside from offering heaps of cash to researchers, the three researcher-focused programs "will also help to fill gaps in the current marketplace and enhance our relationships within this invaluable community, all while making our products more secure for our customers," Mike Reavey, senior director of the Microsoft Security Response Center, said in a statement.

This move marks Microsoft's first step into the world of bug bounties which their competitors have been using for years. I expect Microsoft's Internet Explorer to improve as a result of this new program. I just wish they had done this years ago. 

Keep Your Web Browser From Crashing

Nothing kills productivity like that dreaded message from your web browser that it has encountered and "unexpected problem". Or in many cases you simply can get stopped in your tracks by a web browser that simply will not respond.



There are many reasons why this can occur and here are four of the most common reasons and some advice that can help you prevent web browser disaster from striking.

1. Uninstall Java. We talked about this before and although there can be an argument for keeping it there is no arguing with the ongoing security risks Java has been responsible for. You can try going without it to see if you actually miss it.

2. Update Flash. yes - Flash must be updated constantly and it can be a pain when you are asked to do so several times a month. However if your Flash is updated your web surfing will go much more smoothly.

3. Get rid of toolbars. This drives me crazy. Many times when users ask me for help with their "slow web browsing" the first thing I find is several toolbars installed in their web browser. Get rid of them! Also be aware that many programs today will "ask you" if you want their toolbar when you install their application. Always say no! Be careful however - the default answer is almost always, "yes please install your toolbar".

4. Update the browser. This could be the root cause of your problems. Keep your browser up-to-date and you will almost always be surfing the internet faster.

Get Ready for IE 10

If you’re one of the 50% of PC users with Windows 7, be prepared for an essential update coming your way very soon. Internet Explorer 9 has been officially retired to make way for IE10. The new browser will be installed as part of the standard Windows Update unless you explicitly prevent it.

This is also an an important milestone for web developers. While IE9 was a radical step up from IE8, it was missing features that many of us take for granted in Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera: CSS3 gradients, text shadows, animations, transitions, column layouts, flexbox, ECMAScript strict mode, media query listeners, the file API, web workers, local storage, etc. IE10 plugs many of the HTML5 gaps.

There’s another vital feature in IE10: automated updates. While Microsoft has yet to use it, IE10 can receive smaller incremental tweaks over time. I’m not expecting a Chrome or Firefox-like six-week delivery schedule, but two or three times per year would be significantly better than the current 18-24 month delay.

IE9 is likely to die rapidly especially since system administrators will not experience the upgrade issues which dogged previous versions.IE9 will remain the default browser on Vista but that OS currently holds only 6% of the PC market and it is dropping fast.

IE6 and IE7 are dead. They still roam zombie-like across certain sectors of the web but, for most of us, the days of IE-specific hacks and fixes are long gone.

It would have been great had Microsoft released a version of IE10 for XP and Vista but it’s probably not worth their effort. IE8 will die a natural death regardless of Microsoft’s aging OS platforms.

Be assured that IE10 does much to catch up with the competition. As is typical with Microsoft it has taken too long to arrive but now that it is here I believe it will become the most dominant version of IE within a few short months.

New MSN on the Horizon

Back on September 13, 2012 I was reporting that my favorite internet home page, iGoogle was going away late next year. Now I know iGoogle's retirement is almost a year off but I really was not happy about this. Finding a good internet home page is harder then you think.

So you must realize how thrilled I was when I saw that Microsoft lifted the curtain on their new MSN.com design yesterday, which will be made available to Internet Explorer 10 users later this October. The new look MSN.com will definitely share design DNA with Microsoft’s “Metro” layout, and will be a Windows 8 exclusive for users of the new operating system this coming October 26th.

From what I can make out Windows 7 and previous OS users will be left out. This is because the only way you can get Internet Explorer 10 is with the new Windows 8. Maybe this will change, but I doubt it. I believe this because Microsoft really wants users moving to the new operating system.

When it comes to performance Microsoft claims that it will also be able to render pages twice as fast compared to its predecessor, the classic version of MSN. As long as it is functional as promised, I am all for it, especially considering the sad fate about to occur to iGoogle.

I will be keeping a close eye on this story and will be sure to report back as soon as I get a chance to use the new MSN later this month.

IGoogle Going Away

The internet is a very big digital universe. Finding a start page that works for us can be very difficult. For the past couple of years I have used iGoogle. This start page offers everything you could want as a starting point on the internet. Tabs where you can separate your interests, great widgets, awesome customization options and a great way to organize your internet links. This start page also looks great on mobile devices. Anyway all good things really do end. This is proven once again because apparently iGoogle is going away on November 1, 2013. I know this because it is being announced on the webpage. See below image.

There are not really that many good options for internet start pages, which has always surprised me. Sure there is Yahoo and MSN. However these are "out of the box" designed and I was never satisfied with the limited ability to design or personalize these particular start pages.

The good news here is Google has given us plenty of warning. I will be researching start pages over the next month or so and looking for good options. Watch for my report.

What start page do you use? Let me know maybe you can come to my rescue!

Internet Speed Enhancement

I hope that everyone has noticed an improvement in internet speed on their workstations in the office starting last week. As part of the move to the cloud for email services I was able to improve the internet speed for all DHCP clients from 3mbps to 25 mbps.

Enjoy workmates.