The Register (an IT Web magazine) is reporting (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/07/browsers_idn_spoofing/) on a new vulnerability affecting most of the major Web browsers--for once, not Internet Explorer--which if exploited could cause users to unwittingly load malicious Web sites. The vulnerability test is here (http://secunia.com/multiple_browsers_idn_spoofing_test) at Secunia.com, with explanatory links for each browser below.

Opera 7.54u1/WinXPSP2 is vulnerable, while MSIE 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158/WinXPSP2 is not, at least on my machine.

The only workaround, until browser vendors release patches, is to not click links from untrusted sources, and to manually type URLs. Fortunately, the browser vendors do monitor these security warnings closely, and you should expect patches within days.

for once, not Internet Explorer

Ha ha! Take that, IE haters! :p

I got major problemas with firefox. It will not delete things, and when I go to type a letter its still there from the last time ( in perivatye messages) and it will not erase. weird heh. it also will not cut and paste, there is lots of problems I seem to be having with it.

Finally, IE benefits from being ungodly slow in instituting a feature that is generally accepted as having been a good idea.

That is interesting. On our Mac OS X, Firefox 1.0 fell for it, but Safari treated it as a mangled url. Of course, as Alex suggests, the IE in OS X is so old that it was "protected" too ;)

Hmmm... Firefox 1.0 on my NT machine is vulnerable. Hopefully there will be a patch soon.

I got major problemas with firefox. It will not delete things, and when I go to type a letter its still there from the last time ( in perivatye messages) and it will not erase. weird heh. it also will not cut and paste, there is lots of problems I seem to be having with it.

Based on other problems you've been having with your computer that you've mentioned here before I think you've got something fishy going on with your system and problems with Firefox are just some of the many symptoms.

Karla,

Invite your local geek over, ply him with pizza and Mountain Dew, and he'll have your problem fixed in twenty minutes.

If that's not feasible, PM me.

I just downloaded and installed the 1.0.1 update for Firefox and this problem is now solved. When I click the link in the test page the URL reads: http://www.xn--paypl-7ve.com/

...check this story out. ...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/03/mozilla.security.ap/index.html