Makatha Design Studio Blog

Distributed as a compiled AppleScript called ASthtv05 or as an application, the Trojan allows remote access to the system and can transmit system and user passwords. SecureMac also said the Trojan is also capable of logging keystrokes and turning on file sharing.

The Trojan takes advantage of a vulnerability with Apple Remote Desktop that allows it to run as root. You must download and open the infected file for the Trojan to become active, but once it is active, it will add itself to the System login items.

SecureMac said its product, MacScan, has been updated to remove the Trojan.

Adobe Systems Incorporated announced that since its release on April 9, 2008, the new Adobe® Media Player now features 15,000 pieces of content with more than 400 shows provided from major broadcasters and content publishers. MTV Networks (MTVN) is one of the leading television broadcasters that have added new content to the catalog in Adobe Media Player. In addition to clips from MTV’s The Hills and MTV Cribs, viewers can now use Adobe Media Player to discover, organize, and subscribe to an added selection of MTVN’s popular shows, including clips from COMEDY CENTRAL’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Additionally, CBS has expanded its range of programming and added clips and full episodes of shows Million Dollar Password, Greatest American Dog and Flashpoint. Click here to read more.. »

Mozilla has announced that Firefox 3, the next version of its popular third-party web browser, will finally be released to the public on June 17th. Both the Mac and Windows versions should be available on the same date for free. Some new features in the browser include enhanced security, one-click bookmarks, tab scrolling and resumable downloads; on the Mac, users can turn on Growl notifications for items like completed downloads.

The announcement follows months of development and several release candidates, the most recent of which was just distributed Wednesday, and specifically addresses a bug in Mac OS X 10.5.3 connected to Apple’s “VerifiedDownloadPlugin” component. As Apple says it is still investigating the issue, Mozilla’s RC3 download is merely a temporary workaround.

Introduction

A while back I got into a forum discussion over the accessibility of CAPTCHA systems. That isn’t what this article is about (in fact it wasn’t what the thread was about either, but I soon changed that!). I only mention it because one comment in particular stood out as symptomatic of an attitude I come across time and time again:

“I am very much in favour of making the web more accessible to everyone, but …” Click here to read more.. »

There was a whole host of genuinely excellent presentations at Web Directions North back in January. The good news for people who weren’t there is that so many of the presenters were incredibly generous with their knowledge and expertise and have allowed us to publish their slides and podcasts.

Check them out yourself if you haven’t already - it’s the closest thing to being there, and spread them around at the workplace. If I do say so myself, these are an amazing learning resource.

• The Future of Web Interfaces - Cameron Adams
• Information Visualisation as a Medium - Eric Rodenbeck
• Ajax Security - Douglas Crockford
• Government 2.0: Architecting for Collaboration - Tara Hunt
• The Why and How: UI Case Studies - Daniel Burka
• Mobile Web Design and Development - Brian Fling
• The 3 Stages of Dynamic Systems - Boris Mann
• Where’s Your Web At? Designing for the Web Beyond the Desktop - John Allsopp & Dave Shea
• Developing With Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight - Andre Charland & Walter Smith
• Real World Accessibility For Real World People - Derek Featherstone
• Working with Ajax Frameworks - Jonathan Snook
• Serious Business: Putting social media to work - Anil Dash
• Movement (Web Directions North Closing Keynote) - Matt Webb
• Gina Trapani - Better Gmail: How Google Opened Gmail’s Web Interface to Any Developer Who Cares (And Why You Should)
• Bedroom to Boardroom - Josh Williams
• Five Essential Composition Tools for Web Typography - Kimberley Elam

Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.5.3 to Software Update. This relatively major release addresses a number of issues extant in previous editions of Mac OS X 10.5.x, including problems with AirPort, Time Capsule, Mail, iChat, iCal and more. With regard to general fixes, the update a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica and also addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices. It also fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up in the Finder.

AirPort fixes include improvements to 802.1X behavior and reliability and better reliability when using Time Capsule. iChat includes resolution of reliability issues with screen sharing and elimination of an issue in which saved chat transcripts may reported as “still in use” after opening and closing them in iChat. Also resolves is an issue with group chats not being indexed in Spotlight. The new release can also save an unlimited number of lines of active chats, up from 250.

In Mail, an issue was resolved in which the app may prevent idle sleep when set to automatically check for new messages every minute. Also addressed stability issues that may be encountered when dragging large attachments into an email message. 10.5.3 also fixes an issue that could occur if two compose windows are open when dragging a file to the Mail icon in the Dock.

The new edition of Parental Controls addresses reliability issues with application logging and time limits and resolves an issue in which Parental Controls may prevent forced sleep. It also eliminates performance issues with web content filters and fixes an issue with managed accounts in which iChat transcripts may not be created. ‘

Spaces no longer exhibits an issue in which switching to a different space and returning back to the original space may reorder the application windows with a different active window, and resolved is an issue in which activating an application from the Dock switches to a different space, even if there is a window for that application in the current space.

Time Machine has improved compatibility with Time Capsule and resolves certain issues when backing up a portable Mac that is on battery power. The new release also addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2 and reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Time Machine backup.

The new version of Automator addresses an issue in which some actions may not work with the “Show When Run” option enabled. It also resolves an issue in which the “New iCal Event” action may not work and another issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Finder’s contextual menu. The new release also includes fixes reliability issues for Automator scripts that search for files by date and an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Finder’s contextual menu. Another problem in which Automator workflows as Finder plugins do not work when the workflow begins with the “Get Selected Finder Items” action has been fixed as has an issue in which the “Copy Files” action does not reliably work when added from Automator’s warning dialog.

VoiceOver now includes Braille Update 1.0 which enables GW Micro, HandyTech, HIMS, Nippon, and Papenmeier Refreshable Braille displays. Also, an issue with Braille dot 7 and 8 underlining has been addressed, as has an issue in which HTML page anchors may be ignored by the VoiceOver cursor. The new release also fixes an issue that prevented Hot Spots from being used in text areas and resolves an issue with spell checking in which VoiceOver may only announce the first misspelled word if there are multiple words spelled incorrectly.