New Problem with IE8 and Frames

There's a new problem with IE8. Some pages in frames aren't displaying images correctly. Redirecting to a new page within a frame doesn't seem to work at all in some cases, probably when going to a new URL. This same thing works fine in older versions of IE and Firefox.

Windows Defender Startup Programs

[UPDATE: Windows Defender had all the useful functionality removed in Windows 7. So someone will have to write another application to do this all over again so Microsoft can by it for billions of dollars all over again.] 

Windows Defender has a nifty tool which allows you to see which programs automatically run at start up, in addition to looking at which programs exist in your start menu. I did notice that Windows Defender does not tell you all programs / services that have started however, because I recently installed the Pronto Edit Professional2 from Philips (for customizing/programming remotes to control devices) and it seems to start up the ProntoData.exe service but is not listed in the programs that run at start up in Windows Defender. This is a service so maybe the Windows Defender tool is only intended to list programs, not services, but seems like it would be good to list services as well.

IE 8 Copy / Paste URL Bug Fixed

Looks like the copy paste bug mentioned in prior blog posts has been fixed in IE8. Not it's a bit more usable. I noticed that it seems to load some web sites faster than Firefox but I think I installed something Google related in Firefox that allows me to promote and demote urls in Google - perhaps it is a browser add-on and not Firefox causing this difference. I haven't had time to dig into it further.

Excel Exploit Can Take Over Your Machine

Beware of opening Excel files from people you don't know:

Excel Exploit

This exploit allows running random code when the Excel file is opened and can allow an attacker to compromise and take over your machine. Secunia reports that this attack is being actively exploited.

Slow Going on Email Solutions

Ok I got one email problem solved. My mail provider sent me a server I can use to send mail to my customers via TLS. I plugged it in at Postini and it seems to work so one problem solved.

I also finally got a response from Google - asking me if my issue had been resolved. I guess a response to my email from November is a step in the right direction, however they still have not resolved the problem yet. I am hoping they are working on it now however. I forwarded them a copy of the email that is failing due to the mail not being properly sent through Postini. As noted in previous posts, Postini claims this is due to Google Apps not correctly running a script to send my mail out through Postini. So far it is still not working, but at least I can hope again.

Google's Motto - Don't Be Evil

[UPDATE: The site in question was apparently finally put out of business]

Here is Google's stance on slander, defamation of character and other such things posted on web sites:

http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/request.py?contact_type=defamation1&ctx=contactpolicy

Recently someone contacted a fried of mine and sent a post on a web site which was anonymously posted and contained clearly made up, derogatory information. Many requests have been made to Google to remove the information and they are apparently not getting the requests or ignoring them.

Additionally, Google provides information on how to contact a web site's owner. However in the case of the above site, the site owner is hidden by GoDaddy's DomainsByProxy service. Therefore contacting them is virtually impossible. Contacting them via the web site does no good. Whomever is managing the site refuses to remove the information.

I understand the idea that Google cannot police the world and remove information from every bad web site in existence, however when information is clearly being posted about someone who doesn't want that information and they provide clear requests to Google and can prove that they are the person about whom the unwanted information has been posted, doesn't Google bear some responsibility, similar to how a newspaper may be liable for publishing inaccurate information?

Take the case of Annie Oakley - a newspaper organization published in newspapers around the country some defamatory information. She successfully sued and won in something like 23 out of 25 court cases around the US to get back her good name. The newspaper didn't make up the story, but they spread the story. By leaving these clearly unwanted and untrue pages posted in Google after someone requests they be removed, Google is aiding and abetting the web site owner in posting information that can hurt other peoples' reputations and lives.

As a side note, in the case of Annie Oakley, she wasted her life away trying to get back her good name and probably didn't do her a lot of good. It's probably just best to ignore the ridiculous things posted on the Internet because people who really know you will know the truth.

I understand it will be hard for Google to control every web site out there and we don't want them to really, but when the information is completely untrue and unwanted, can they not be a "good citizen" of the world and take it down? Wasn't Google's motto at one point "Don't Be Evil"?