Digital Samurai

ANOTHER ZERO-DAY FOR ADOBE

Well, here we go again. Adobe has confirmed another vulnerability in all the currently supported versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat (Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.1, 8.1.4, 7.11 and earlier versions). The zero-day vulnerability relates to a JavaScript memory corruption error. Secunia has placed the “highly critical” label on this bug. According to Adobe, the solution is to temporarily disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat using the following instructions:

1. Launch Acrobat or Adobe Reader
2. Select Edit>Preferences
3. Select the JavaScript Category
4. Uncheck the ‘Enable Acrobat JavaScript’ option
5. Click OK

Let’s hope it doesn’t take Adobe months to fix this problem like it did the last time.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

OFFICE 2007 SP2

Microsoft has just released service pack 2 for Office 2007. You can download it directly from the Microsoft site, but be prepared to wait a bit since this hummer is almost 300MB in size. Whatever happened to the days when updates would fit on a floppy disk? So what’s new in this service pack? Check out the knowledge base article (KB953195) to get all the details. Supposedly we should notice improved performance and stability of Outlook along with some charting improvements for Excel. Support for more file formats, such as PDF and ODF, is also included.

We’ve been running SP2 for Office 2007 for about four hours now and nothing has crashed yet.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

UNFIXABLE HACK - A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME?

Redmond has been challenged again, and this time there may not be an answer.

To our surprise, the problem was not with Windows Vista, but rather Windows 7. Two hackers claimed to have developed a Windows 7 hack that’s “unfixable.”

The hack, dubbed vBootkit 2.0, is a very small 3 KB program that loads itself into the computer’s memory during the boot up process, making alterations to Windows 7 files as they are loaded into the system’s memory. This process makes the hack very difficult to detect, because the files on the hard drive are not changed. Once loaded, the program can provide the hacker unfettered access to the hard drive, allowing the unwelcomed user to change user passwords, access password protected information, to provide remote accessibility or to destroy critical information and system files. All can be accomplished without leaving a trace behind, except for the fact that your files have “gone missing.”

Believe it or not, there is an upside to this exploit. Currently, the hack cannot be performed remotely and only works when a user has physical access to the computer. It’s probably a very good time to review your physical security plans.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

TIPS TO POWER YOUR PRACTICE

Looking for new, innovative and more efficient ways to kick your practice into overdrive? Our colleagues and friends, Reid Trautz and Dan Pinnington, have the “secret sauce” for you. They have just published their new book called The Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice, which is available directly from the ABA web store. Their book is structured in a “tips” type format to give you quick and succinct bits of information to help make your practice more efficient. Just open to a random page and immediately learn how to use a feature (like sorting columns in Outlook) that you probably didn’t know existed. This is a great way to move toward being that “power user” without spending days in a training class.

- John and Mike
 
(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

TO SAAS OR NOT TO SAAS

We’ve always cautioned our clients about giving data to a third party provider. Maybe we’re too old, are extremely conservative or have long memories about the failed Application Service Provider (ASP) days.

Our good friend and colleague, Ben Schorr, has posted an excellent entry on his blog that echoes many of our concerns and thoughts. Bravo for you Ben! There aren’t many of us fighting the urge to walk over to the SaaS Kool-Aid stand.

- John and Mike
 
(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

MONETASUITE CAPTURES TIME WITH E-MAIL AND MS OFFICE

John is speaking at TECHSHOW and observed a new product designed to capture the time spent dealing with e-mail and Microsoft Office files. The nice folks at MonetSuite are demonstrating the first version of their product on the vendor floor. The product works very well in its present state, but there are some enhancements already in the works. Probably the most significant improvements will be integration with your time and billing system and the ability to manually enter the actual text that will show up on the client’s invoice. You can download a free version of the software at their website.

As we’ve always said, it isn’t necessarily all about the technology. You need to trust the company you’re dealing with to provide a technology or product that will perform as desired. Customer feedback is highly desired by the MonetSuite folks. Please provide them with your “wishlist” so they can incorporate your suggestions.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com