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IE 7 Update Gotchas

As with the Agent bug, Internet Explorer 7 is safe from this flaw, and the new browser is a good security upgrade. But some typical update glitches have surfaced. Owners of HP printers, scanners, and all-in-one units have discovered that the popular HP Director image management program doesn't display properly with IE 7. HP's fix should be available on HP's Customer Care site by the time you read this; if not, you'll see a workaround.

QuickBooks 2004 and 2005 are likewise incompatible with IE 7. Browser-based features such as Help and Payroll don't function with the new browser. On its Web site, Intuit says that it is working on a patch for the 2005 version but notes that in the meantime you'll need to revert to IE 6. A patch for the 2004 version may not be forthcoming.

In this case, we can't fault Microsoft. IE 7 was available as a beta for company testing for a long while--so HP and Intuit should have taken care of these compatibility problems before now.

Mozilla Ending Firefox 1.5 Support

You now have a deadline to upgrade your browser: Mozilla announced that it won't release any patches for Firefox 1.5 after April 24, 2007. That's a fast end-of-life given that Firefox 2.0 came out only at the end of October.

The update to version 2 is relatively painless, though, and you'll want to make sure you can keep getting patches. Mozilla just closed critical holes in Firefox 1.0 and 1.5, in its Thunderbird e-mail software, and in the SeaMonkey applications suite--all share the same problematic code. Move to the newest versions using the programs' built-in automatic upgrades, or get the latest Mozilla Downloads.

A Month of Bugs

Expect more bug disclosures than ever: Hackers embarked on an escapade to find and publicize one new bug in kernels (the heart of operating systems) every day during November. Online attackers had a months-long romp creating exploits for browser bugs published in a similar project last summer. For a peek at what's in store this time, check out the Month of Kernel Bugs (MoKB) archive.

Stuart J. Johnston is a contributing editor for PC World.