Microsoft investigates public IE CSS XSS flaw; Twitter, Hotmail vulnerable

Late last week, a security flaw in Internet Explorer 8 was publicly disclosed to the Full Disclosure mailing list. The flaw allows attackers to steal private information from online services such as web mail and Twitter, allowing attackers to, for example, delete e-mails or send tweets from their victims' accounts.

The post was made by Google employee Chris Evans. He stated that the reason for going public was to try to persuade Microsoft to fix the problem—the new flaw is a variant on an older attack, and the details of the flaw were made public in a paper authored by Carnegie Mellon students that Evans reviewed. While the other major browser vendors have made fixes to their browsers to prevent attack—Chrome 4.0.249.78, Safari 4.0.5, and most recently Firefox 3.6.7 and 3.5.11 all include protection against the flaw—Microsoft has thus far failed to update Internet Explorer to provide protection.

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Etc: The Windows Phone 7 revolution is coming, according to an advertisement shown at a film event in the UK at the weekend.

The Windows Phone 7 revolution is coming, according to an advertisement shown at a film event in the UK at the weekend.

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Windows Phone 7 advertisement

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Feature: Review: Microsoft Hohm and a whole-house power monitor

Microsoft's Hohm energy efficiency and tracking service, still in beta, has a unique sense of style. Who expects a discussion about insulation R-values to involve pirate jokes?

"What do pirates look for in attic insulation?" Hohm asks. "The arrrr value! Insulation R-value measures how well a material stops heat flow, the higher the better."

This can be a bit jarring at first—are the sorts of people who write about "arrrr value!" really the ones you go to for home improvement questions?—but if you're going to use Hohm, you'd better get used to it.

"Read and follow the instructions that came with your new refrigerator. (This will not harm your street cred)," says a tip on buying more efficient iceboxes. You'll also want to keep the new fridge away "from anything hot like an oven, direct sunlight, or visiting supermodels." 

When it comes to lighting your room, consider task lighting; it can save money because, the site informs us, "you won't need to turn on the overhead light for your ironic cross-stitch." Advice from Bob Vila this is not.

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Week in Microsoft: here mousey mousey, best fake malware ever

Microsoft unveils shape-shifting Arc Touch Mouse: Microsoft has officially announced the $70 the Arc Touch Mouse. The device is available for presale now, starts shipping in December, and officially goes on sale in January.

New malware detects browser, shows fake malware warning page: There’s a clever new piece of malware that goes to extreme lengths to pass itself off as genuine software.

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