Google Chrome: First Metro version is out

A few days ago I mentioned that Google was about to release the first Metro version of the Chrome browser. As you all know, Windows 8 will ship with two user interaces, the desktop interface that you are all familiar with, and the new Metro interface that is limited in terms of functionality when compared to the desktop. Software developers are now in a position where they need to create special Metro-versions of their applications to support that part of the operating system as well. And while they simply could plant an icon there that launches the desktop version, some believe that it is better to create special Metro versions instead.

Microsoft is for instance providing a copy of Internet Explorer 10 for Metro that is limited in functionality. It for instance does not support plugins, and seems to have been optimized for touch-based devices. Mozilla too has been working on a Metro version of Firefox for some time now and seems to have made great progress so far.

And now it is Google with the company’s Chrome browser. The latest Chrome Dev release is now featuring the first public implementation of the Metro-version of the browser. Windows 8 users who have Chrome Dev installed on the system will notice that the browser is now opening up in Metro when executed there.

The browser itself does not look that different from its desktop counterpart, at least not when you first start it.  What you will notice though is that there are no window controls to maximize, minimize or change the size of the window in the Metro version. You can however use Metro’s feature to drag the Chrome browser to the left or right sidebar of the screen to display another application besides it. The menus seem to be larger and optimized for touch-input.

Themes, extensions and all that good stuff work in Chrome for Metro. What you will notice however is that the Metro version and desktop version of the browser do not share contents or information right now. When you install a theme or extension in Metro, it won’t be available on the desktop and vice versa. The same is true when you sign-in to Chrome, as you need to sign-in in both versions of the browser if you want to use the functionality in both. You can however make use of the browser’s synchronization feature to sync data between the desktop and Metro version.

When you look at the Chrome user directory on Windows 8, you will notice that Metro has its own directory in the root folder. Basically, the two applications are completely independent from each other at this point of development.

Interested users who want to check out the Metro version of Chrome need to install the dev version of the browser on their Windows 8 system.

Google Developing A Chrome Metro Version For Windows 8
Google Chrome: Windows 8 Metro version preview coming soon
Mozilla Begins Work on Firefox Metro Version
Mozilla To Release Firefox Version For Windows 8 Metro UI
Google Chrome Canary Builds Reach Version 11

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Tuesday June 12, 2012 -
Tags:google chrome, metro ui, windows 8

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Facebook Logout Ads, Bing First to Advertise

In the past year, Facebook and Microsoft have started to work closely together. Microsoft has for instance added Facebook to its recently purchased Skype software, and to the company’s Bing search engine, where Facebook users who are logged in to their account will see their friend’s likes in the search results.

Bing on the other hand became Facebook’s web search provider. Facebook yesterday has launched a new ad unit that is poised to increase the company’s revenue noticeably.

The new Facebook logout ad unit is displayed to users who log out of their account on the social networking site. The Facebook header with the company’s logo and log in options is still showing up on the logout page, but the rest of the page is filled with the new ad unit.

The first company to take advantage of the new ad format? Microsoft with their Bing search engine of course. The ad looks like a cross-breed of Bing’s homepage and a new Facebook timeline profile. The Bing logo, search form and background image are displayed on top, while likes and popularity information are displayed in the ad’s footer.

Users who use the search form to search on the Internet will notice that their results open in a new tab in their browser, and not in the same tab.

According to Techcrunch, there are 37 million users in the U.S. alone that log out of Facebook every day.

Some Facebook users are already seeing the new ad unit when they log out, while other’s do not. It is not clear if the ad unit is only displayed to Facebook users from the U.S., or if it’s visible worldwide. With Bing being mediocre in localized markets, it is likely that the campaign is targeting Facebook users from the U.S. only. There has been no official confirmation though yet.

The ad campaign could help Bing snag away additional search market shares from its main competitor Google. Facebook users who are not interested in the ad can click on the close button to see the usual Facebook logout page instead.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Bing And Facebook Merge Search And Social
Bing Search Improves Facebook Integration
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Facebook Improves Security, One-Time Login, Remote Logout About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday March 3, 2012 -
Tags:bing, facebook

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How RIM Spoiled my first day with a Playbook

I received a new Blackberry Playbook 16Gb tablet today, actually it’s not completely new as it’s two weeks old and was owned by a family member who bought it because prices had been discounted recently here in the UK.  She liked it so much that she decided she’d rather have the 64Gb one and bought that, giving me her ‘old’ tablet as she felt I was perhaps spending too much time with Windows (on this I did point out I didn’t own an iMac but this was just met with a “nice try” comment).

I was excited about its arrival today.  I already own an HP TouchPad that I picked up in last year’s fire sale and I love WebOS.  It is an extremely friendly and usable OS but, alas, sometimes the 10 inch form factor is a little large and the TouchPad weighs more than its equivalent iPad.  I was looking forward then to trying a dinky 7 inch Playbook and when it arrived I opened the packaging with scant regard for reusing it sometime.

When I turned it on I found that it was still logged-in with the user account of my relative, complete with her settings and possibly even credit-card details for the marketplace.  I decided then to start from scratch and reset the device.  Now you might ordinarily expect a “factory reset” to restore a computer to the point it was at when it left the factory, yes?  On any other device, for example my TouchPad or an iPad, an iPhone, my Windows Phone or any Android tablet a reset would set the machine up for you as you would see it when it was first unboxed, complete with apps for the camera, mapping, photos, music, videos, possibly file management, a few games and of course a web browser.

All I can say is that when I had finished the reset and had created a new Blackberry ID for myself the web browser was there.  I was very alarmed at this point to discover that everything else had been deleted, including all of the apps that you might consider “default” and a part of the operating system.  You can see this in the screenshot above (which I was fortunately able to take despite the camera app being absent).

After a mild panic I hit the Blackberry forums to search for an answer.  Here I discovered a great many people having problems at the same time with, usually new, Playbooks.  A phone call to the support department (at least Blackberry have actual Human beings answering a phone which is an absolute blessing) confirmed my fears, that the company was having yet another server outage, this time to the update servers, following a botched maintenance operation.

The support person informed me that the default apps weren’t on the flash memory in the device, but were instead loaded upon a reset from the Blackberry OS and software update server, which was down, and that as a result I’d been given a corrupt version of the operating system and would have to wait until the servers were repaired and try the whole operation again.

Currently the Playbook is sitting on my desk, switched off as it’s not quite heavy enough to be used as a doorstop.  These server outages at RIM are regularly reported and the achilles heel of the company’s desire to direct all traffic through it’s own closed and secure servers.  The last time there was a Blackberry outage it lasted for several days and affected every country worldwide.  On my very first day with any Blackberry device, here was the evil gremlin laughing back at me.

I’m not saying this isn’t a reason to jump back to my TouchPad, I’ve not turned it on today.  This is a major problem affecting RIM however and its one that is causing them significant problems with lost market share as the 21st century progresses.  I can live without my Playbook for a few more days, frustrating as it might be, but for RIM to survive in the long-term, server outages such as this one simply must be the exception instead of the rule.

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UAE to block the Blackberry? About the Author:Mike Halsey is a Microsoft MVP for "Windows Expert". He is also the author of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press and the Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Facebook, Twitter or on his own website The Long ClimbAuthor: Mike Halsey MVP, Saturday February 4, 2012 -
Tags:blackberry, outage, playbook, rim

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Microsoft Releases First 2012 Security Update

Microsoft today has released seven security related bulletins that fix issues in the Windows operating system and in Microsoft’s Developer Tools. One bulletin has received the maximum severity rating of critical, the highest available rating, while the remaining six bulletins have all received a rating of important, the third highest rating.

It is interesting to note that the severity rating of the first bulletin is critical on Windows XP and Vista, while only important on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. When you look at all bulletins you will notice that Windows XP is affected by all, Vista by five and Windows 7 by four of the vulnerabilities addressed in the bulletins.

The Security Bulletins have just been posted on Microsoft’s Technet website. Here is this month’s summary with links to each security bulletin.

MS12-004 – Vulnerabilities in Windows Media Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2636391) – This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted media file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.MS12-001 – Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Allow Security Feature Bypass (2644615) – This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to bypass the SafeSEH security feature in a software application. An attacker could then use other vulnerabilities to leverage the structured exception handler to run arbitrary code. Only software applications that were compiled using Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2003 can be used to exploit this vulnerability.MS12-002 – Vulnerability in Windows Object Packager Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2603381) – This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a legitimate file with an embedded packaged object that is located in the same network directory as a specially crafted executable file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.MS12-003 – Vulnerability in Windows Client/Server Run-time Subsystem Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2646524) – This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. This security update is rated Important for all supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. All supported editions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are not affected by this vulnerability.

The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on to an affected system and runs a specially crafted application. The attacker could then take complete control of the affected system and install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. This vulnerability can only be exploited on systems configured with a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean system locale.

MS12-005 – Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2584146) – This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file containing a malicious embedded ClickOnce application. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.MS12-006 – Vulnerability in SSL/TLS Could Allow Information Disclosure (2643584) – This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0. This vulnerability affects the protocol itself and is not specific to the Windows operating system. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if an attacker intercepts encrypted web traffic served from an affected system. TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2, and all cipher suites that do not use CBC mode are not affected.MS12-007 – Vulnerability in AntiXSS Library Could Allow Information Disclosure (2607664) – This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability in the Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting (AntiXSS) Library. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if a an attacker passes a malicious script to a website using the sanitization function of the AntiXSS Library. The consequences of the disclosure of that information depend on the nature of the information itself. Note that this vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate the attacker’s user rights directly, but it could be used to produce information that could be used to try to further compromise the affected system. Only sites that use the sanitization module of the AntiXSS Library are affected by this vulnerability.

The updates are already available on Windows Update. The easiest way to open the updating tool is to click on the start menu orb and select Windows Update from the program listing there.

Windows users who do not want to or can’t use Windows Updates can download the updates from Microsoft’s Download Center beginning later today. Microsoft as usual will release an ISO image with all security updates of the month for easier distribution.

Update: The severity and exploitability index and bulletin deployment information have been posted.

The next security updates will be released on February 14, 2012.

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Tags:security bulletin, windows-update

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