Stan's List

Wikipedia: BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting, and bandwidth resources. Instead, when data is distributed using the BitTorrent protocol, each recipient supplies pieces of the data to newer recipients, reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source, providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence on the original distributor.

There are a number of BitTorrent applications, but few if any equal Transmission in features, a Macworld Summer of Mac Gems selection. Small envelope and simple interface may lead you to think not much under the hood.

While the article is about Transmission 1.22, version 1.30 has been available since June.

Transmission 1.30 is available for download

what is new:

All Platforms:
+ The “Clutch” web interface is now bundled with Transmission (as a beta)
+ Ability to add and remove tracker addresses
+ Ability to create torrent files with multiple tracker addresses
+ Added support for HTTP/FTP Seeding (GetRight style)
+ Added proxy support for communicating with trackers
+ Allow torrent creation with no tracker address (required by some trackers)
+ New JSON-RPC protocol for clients to interact with the backend

Mac
+ Quick Look integration in the main window and inspector’s file tab
+ Transfers can be dragged to different groups
+ Option to only show the add window when manually adding transfers
+ Status strings are toggled from the action button (they are no longer clickable)
+ Colors in pieces bar and pieces box more accurately reflect their corresponding values
+ The port checker now uses our own portcheck.transmissionbt.com
+ Turkish localization

RealPlayer has patched a number security vulnerabilities, a good number critical. As for Mac, the update addresses a buffer overflow due to an error in handing Shockwave Flash files, the rest are mainly for the darkside. Download

A mail and newsgroup reader, the update addresses some low to moderate security issues.

Firefox 3.0.1 fixed several stability issues:

Fixed an issue where the phishing and malware database did not update on first launch. Under certain circumstances, Firefox 3.0 did not properly save the SSL certificate exceptions list.

Fixed a Linux issues where, for users on a PPP connection (dialup or DSL) Firefox always started in “Offline” mode (bug 424626).

Plus 3 security patches:

MFSA 2008-36 Crash with malformed GIF file on Mac OS X
MFSA 2008-35 Command-line URLs launch multiple tabs when Firefox not running
MFSA 2008-34 Remote code execution by overflowing CSS reference counter

Safari 3.1.2 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 patches a WebKit vulnerability.

Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution

Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.11, Mac OS X Server v10.4.11

The formal release of Firefox 3 is available. I have been using Firefox 3 since the first final candidate. Much better performance and very stable. Some new features:

• Gecko 1.9 engine
• One-click site info
• New Web Forgery Protection page
• New SSL error pages
• Add-ons and Plugin version check
• Secure add-on updates

Mozilla is trying to break the Guinness Record for the most downloads of a single piece of software in a 24-hour period. Download

AOL Radio, with over 200 internet radio stations, iChat integration, small size and low memory usage. The new version doubles the program presets to 10.

Download AOL Radio 1.2.1

AOL also has a web client which requires installing a browser add-on.

ITunes has 2293 radio streams. You can make make playlists of your favorite stations

Macworld reports that as a result of the popularity of iTunes, it has become a new avenue of attack, by those same cybercriminals who take advantage of eBay customers. Just as when they would tell you there was a problem with your eBay account trying to persuade you to had over your account information including credit card numbers, they are sending spam email which tells the user there is a problem with their iTunes account. Just like eBay, not every recipient will have an iTunes account. Just the same, many will take the bait. More …

Safari 3.1.1 for Leopard and Tiger, includes improvements to stability, compatibility and security. The security fixes address two vulnerabilities .

WebKit

CVE-ID: CVE-2008-1025
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.11, Mac OS X Server v10.4.11, Mac OS X v10.5.2, Mac OS X Server v10.5.2
Impact: Visiting a malicious website may result in cross-site scripting

WebKit

CVE-ID: CVE-2008-1026
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.11, Mac OS X Server v10.4.11, Mac OS X v10.5.2, Mac OS X Server v10.5.2
Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted web page may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution

If you need further reason to update your Flash Player and plugin, this should do the job. Here is the most important section of the bulletin:

Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Flash Player that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these potential vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. A malicious SWF must be loaded in Flash Player by the user for an attacker to exploit these potential vulnerabilities. It is recommended users update to the most current version of Flash Player available for their operating system.

Flash Player v9.0.124.0 is available for PPC and Intel