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	The BugBlog uses monthly archives. All the February bugs will be on this page. Use the links on the left or below to jump back to past months. The BugBlog is free- but if you want to help support its existence, please make a donation via PayPal using the button at left. Better yet, subscribe to the BugBlog Plus. A three month subscription is only $5. Read the special report on bugs, incompatibilities and other problems in entertainment software and hardware.
2/29	ISS BlackICE and RealSecure aren't Really Secure Internet Security Systems (ISS) RealSecure and BlackICE servers have a bug that leads to a heap overflow when processing of Server Message Block (SMB) packets.This may allow attackers to run circumvent security and run their own code on the servers. You can read the details at eEye Digital Security at http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Advisories/AD20040226.html. They credit Barnaby Jack for finding the bug. You can get patches from ISS to fix this bug at http://www.iss.net/download/.
2/28	TurboTax Can't Create Necessary Files When installing Intuit TurboTax 2003, you may see this error message "Error Creating Necessary Version Files" If you do, you need to download this fix, http://sharedld.intuit.com/pub/turbotax/2003/ErrorCreatingVersionFiles.exe, and put it in your TurboTax install directory. Then run that program, and leave the window open, following the prompts that appear. At the end of the installation, do not select the option "I would like to launch TurboTax now." Intuit says this repair program still needs time to work -- wait till the window opened by the fix program closes.
2/27	File Preview Crashes Photoshop on the Mac If you are using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 on a Mac OS X 10.2 computer, Photoshop may crash when previewing a file in the File Browser. Fix this by upgrading to Photoshop 7.0.1 at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=39&platform=Macintosh. If you've already done that, and you still crash, get the File Browser Update Plug-in (at the same URL). Still crashing? Adobe says to try the Photoshop 7.0.x AltiVecCore Update plug-in, at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2087.
2/26	Mac OS X 10.3.1 Client Security Update Apple released a security update for the Mac OS X 10.3.1 client on 2/23/04. It includes security fixes for DiskArbitration, IPSec, Point-to-Point Protocol and tcpdump. Get the 1.6 MB download at http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/. There's information on more Apple security updates, plus bugs and fixes for other software and hardware, on BugBlog Plus.
2/25	W32.Bizex.Worm Attacks Via ICQ The latest virus/worm threat to pop up attacks via instant messaging. The W32.Bizex.Worm comes in via an ICQ message that will have a link to all contacts in a user's ICQ contact list. This worm will affect all Windows systems from Win 95 on up, but will not affect Linux/Mac/Unix systems. Most AV vendors have updated their signatures by 2/25/04. If you are vulnerable, make sure you get the update.
2/24	Final Forms for Tax Cut 2003 If you are using H & R Block Tax Cut 2003 (all versions) make sure you have used the program update feature to upgrade to at least version 7601. That is the first 2003 version that had all the final forms for the year. The IRS probably won't like it if you use the beta versions of their forms.
2/23	Progress Bar Doesn't Progress in TurboTax State Download Intuit says that in some of the earlier versions of TurboTax 2003, when downloading the TurboTax State program from within the federal program it may appear that the progress bar stops at 25 percent or 37 percent. They say that the program is still downloading, the problem is that the progress bar is not updating properly. This may be a problem if you are downloading with a slow dialup connection. They advocate patience in waiting for the download to finish. The latest update to TurboTax replaces the non-progressing Progress bar with a message "Note: download may take up to 1 hour on dial-up connections."
2/21	Patch for Buffer Overflow in ZoneAlarm Zone Labs has released an upgrade for all their ZoneAlarm 4.x products and Integrity 4.x clients. This fixes a potential buffer overflow in their Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) processing that may give an attacker access to your computer. Use ZoneAlarm's update feature on the Overview tab to get the fix. Zone Labs credits eEye Digital Security for finding this bug.
2/20	Kernel Update for Red Hat Linux; Also for Other Distributions Red Hat has an updated kernel for Red Hat Linux. This fixes some bugs discovered by Paul Starzetz that may allow a local user to get root privileges. This bug apparently does not allow remote attacks, however. Get the updated kernel package at https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004-065.html for Red Hat Linux 9, and at https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004-066.html for the various flavors of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If you use other distributions of Linux, check for updates for those, too.
2/19	Older iPod Software Won't Like OS X 10.3; News on Latest Mail Worm If you are using your iPod with Mac OS X 10.3, make sure your iPod Software Updater is at least version 1.3.1 or 2.1. Older versions of the updater will crash when used with OS X 10.3. The newest versions are available at http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/. Another mass-mailing worm is making the rounds. This one is called W32.Netsky.B@mm, and installs its own email program to send out messages to email addresses it finds on your hard drive. Symantec AV signatures were updated on 2/18/04 to catch it -- check with your AV vendor to make sure.
2/18	Backup and AV Filters May Cause Problems in Saving Files According to Microsoft if you are using a third-party file system filter driver, such as the VERITAS Backup Exec Advanced Open File Option (Vsp.sys filter driver), in conjunction with an antivirus filter driver such as Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition's Symevent.sys, you may be causing problems saving files on your Windows system. When you try to save Excel, Word, or Outlook files, you may get error messages resembling this Disk is Full - not enough resources If you think the VERITAS filter is the problem, see information about their update at http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/264490.htm. For more detailed information from Microsoft, see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=830265.
2/17	Leaked Code Leads to Internet Explorer 5 Exploit The first security threat due to the leaked Windows 2000 source code was documented on SecurityTracker.com's BugTraq mailing list. It affects Internet Explorer 5 but not IE 6. The bulletin, and the anonymous posting by the person who posted this exploit, doesn't make it clear whether it is actually Internet Explorer 5.x, which would include IE 5.01 and 5.5, or just IE 5.0 that is affected. (Microsoft no longer supports IE 5.0- they want users to upgrade.) Apparently because of sloppy coding practices, viewing a specially crafted bitmap file may allow an attacker to run their code on your computer. There is no word yet from Microsoft on whether there will be a fix. For more coverage of bugs and their fixes, subscribe to the BugBlog Plus.
2/16	Mac OS X 10.2.8 DVD Problems If you use Mac OS X 10.2.8, and have problems with the DVD player, then you need to get the updated graphics drivers at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120319. The only reason given by Apple for this driver update was "to restore DVD Player functionality."
2/14	Office 2003 Apps Need Outlook (or a Registry Fix) The Microsoft Office 2003 applications Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, Project and Visio all have an option on the File menu that allows you to send the document you are working on to an email recipient. This will only work if you have Microsoft Outlook set as your default email application. If you want to use some other email application as your default, you are going to have to edit your Registry if you want this option to work. See the details, and important safeguards on what to do, at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=834008.
2/13	ATI Catalyst Fixes Problem with WinDVD ATI has released their Catalyst 4.2 driver for Windows XP. It fixes the incompatibility that caused display corruption in WinDVD 4 or 5, when you originally logged on to Windows XP as an administrator, and then did fast user switching to a limited user account.
2/12	Word 2002 Has Problems Mail Merging with Windows Server 2003 If you are doing a mail merge in Microsoft Word 2002, and the mail merge main document is on a Windows Server 2003 computer, you may be prompted more than once to find the data source. To make sure that you only have to find the data source once, Microsoft has three suggested workarounds: either move the documents to the local computer; make the location of the data source a trusted location in Microsoft Internet Explorer; or do the mail merge on a different version of Microsoft Windows. (This last one was Microsoft's actual suggestion.) See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=834699.
2/11	Major Security Hole in Windows XP/2000/NT; Takes Over Six Months for Microsoft to Fix Microsoft released a patch for a Windows component, the ASN.1 Library, that has far-reaching consequences for Windows systems. It affects all versions of Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 SP3 and earlier, and all versions of Windows XP. This component is used in Windows security functions, so it affects Microsoft Internet Explorer, Outlook, Outlook Express, third-party applications that use certificates, Kerberos (UDP/88), Microsoft Internet Information Server using SSL, and NTLMv2 authentication. This flaw was discovered by Derek Soeder and Yuji Ukai of eEye Digital Security on7/25/03. Microsoft released the patch on 2/10/04. eEye's report says that "The MSASN1 library is fraught with integer overflows" that give attackers, through multiple ways, the ability to run their own code on the attacked system. This is a critical update -- you will need to get your systems patched right away from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms04-007.asp. The best technical details are in eEye's bulletin at http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Advisories/AD20040210.html.
2/10	MyDoom.C, and a BlueTooth Bug Even a virus can have bugs. Some of the inner defects in MyDoom.A and MyDoom.B have been fixed, and there is a new version of the virus, MyDoom.C that is out there. Make sure to keep your AV signatures up-to-date, and don't open strange email attachments. A story in ZDNet UK says that Nokia 6310, 6310i, 8910 and 8910i phones with Bluetooth functionality switched on may be susceptible to "bluesnarfing". That's where an attacker may read, modify, or copy a phone's address book and calendar. Accoding to Nokia, these attacks can be prevented if the phone is kept out of "visible mode" while actively searching for other Bluetooth devices. Cell phones from other manufacturers may also be vulnerable.
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2/9	Iomega Patch for Active Disk, IomegaWare and HotBurn Iomega has an update for any of their products that use Active Disk, IomegaWare, Iomega HotBurn or HotBurn Pro. Their Iomega App Services patch will fix a memory allocation bug that was causing Blue Screen of Death errors that referred to iomdisk.sys. Get the update at http://www.iomega.com/software/appservices.html.
2/8	Apple Updates Safari for Better Standards Support Apple has released Safari 1.2. According to Apple, they have increased Safari's support for web standards, which should mean the browser has greater compatibility with web sites and web applications. It also supports Java 1.4.2 so that websites that use LiveConnect should work. There is also full keyboard access for navigation. Get the update at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120311.
2/7	Scripts May Overwhelm Windows Media Player 9 According to Microsoft, Windows Media Player 9 for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 uses lots of CPU resources when it manages script commands. If you are playing back content in Media Player that uses lots of script commands, which Microsoft defines as two or more per second, Media Player may end up using up 100 percent of the available CPU time. You can fix this by getting the Windows Media Player update at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=832732.
2/6	Multiple Problems in Multiple RealNetworks Products RealNetworks says that three separate bugs open up security holes in a number of their products, including RealOne Player, RealOne Player v2 (all languages), RealPlayer 8 (all language versions), RealPlayer 10 Beta (English only), and RealOne Enterprise Desktop or RealPlayer Enterprise. Many of these bugs cut across platforms, too. To get the exact picture of which ones are affected, and to download fixes, see http://www.service.real.com/help/faq/security/040123_player/EN/. RealNetworks credits security researchers Jouko Pynnönen and Mark Litchfield for finding these problems.
2/5	When MS Word 2002 Loses a Template If you are running Microsoft Word 2002 on a Windows XP computer, be careful of documents that have attached templates. What you need to be careful about is to make sure the template doesn't get deleted, moved or renamed. If you do, any of the associated Word docs may take a long time to open. How long? Microsoft says it could be up to five minutes. It all depends on how big of a drive (or network) Word has to search. If something happens to the template, Microsoft has a number of different workarounds that you can try. See the details of each at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=830561.
2/4	Blue Screen of Death in an Apple PowerBook G4 If you have an Apple PowerBook G4 computer running Mac OS X 10.3, after you (or an application) changes the display resolution there may be display problems. According to Apple, the screen may turn a solid blue color (Apple's own Blue Screen of Death!) or the computer may crash when looking at full screen Visuals in iTunes. You also may not be able to advance a slideshow in Keynote. For now, Apple has no fixes or workarounds, although they note that this problem won't affect a connected external display.
2/3	Critical Security Update for Microsoft Internet Explorer Microsoft released a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer 5.01, 5.5, and 6.0. This was released earlier than in Microsoft's new, once-a-month security release schedule, and was marked as a critical update. It includes all the previous fixes for IE, and also takes care of three new ones: a cross-domain security risk that would pass data between different web sites; a bug that may allow a file to be saved on your computer without your knowledge, just by clicking a link; and a bug in the way that special characters are parsed in a URL. This fix helps counteract some of the doom voiced in the 1/30/2004 BugBlog, in InfoWorld, and other places. You can get the update at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms04-004.asp.
2/2	Internet Explorer Patch Causes Image Resizing Problems Microsoft says that cumulative patch MS03-015 for Internet Explorer 6.01 SP1 may break the automatic image resizing feature in IE. This means that oversized JPEG images might appear distorted. Microsoft has a hotfix to fix this patch. You can either wait for the next service pack or cumulative patch that might hold this fix, or you can contact Microsoft Technical Support and ask for the hotfix described in Knowledge Base article 828682. Note that you might get charged for this call. You can also just turn off this feature. In IE, click Tools, Internet Options. Go to the Advanced tab. In the Multimedia area, turn off the Enable Automatic Image Resizing check box.
2/1	Macromedia Patches ColdFusion 6.1 Against DoS Attack Macromedia says that a denial of service attack can be mounted against a ColdFusion MX 6.1 or MX 6.1 J2EE server, if the attacker creates a request that has a large number of form fields in it. Macromedia has a patch for this. Get the patch and installation instructions at http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/security/security_zone/mpsb04-02.html.
1/30	Potentially "Devastating" Security Hole in Microsoft Internet Explorer An article in InfoWorld, at http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/01/28/HNiehole_1.html, theorizes how you can link some previously announced vulnerabilities in Microsoft Internet Explorer, and create a worm or virus with a "devastating" impact. One workaround you might consider -- start using Mozilla as your browser.
1/29	Mac OS X Security Update Apple has released the 2004-01-26 Security Update for the Mac OS X 10.3.2 Client. There are fixes in this update for Apache 1.3, Classic, Mail, Safari, and Windows File Sharing. They also included the fixes from the 2003-12-19 Security update, too. You can get it at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120301. Apple also has security updates for the Mac OS X Server, plus earlier OS X releases. These are covered in the BugBlog Plus. For more coverage of bugs and their fixes, subscribe to the BugBlog Plus. You will get at least 100 more bugs per month.

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