cursion - Slashdot User

+ - Acer bugging computers

Submitted by tomjen on Sunday January 07, 2007 @08:50AM

tomjen (839882) writes "What if a well known laptop company had silently placed an ActiveX Control on their computers that allowed any webpage to execute any program?

Well Acer did and they have (based on the last modified-by date of the file) been doing this since 1998.

"Checking the interface of the control reveals it has a method named "Run()" as shown below. The method supports parameters "Drive", "FileName", and "CmdLine". Isn't it strange for a control that's marked "safe for scripting" to allow a method that is suggestive of possible abuse?""

+ - ExxonMobil removes their climate change webpage

Submitted by

amigoro

on Sunday January 07, 2007 @06:59AM

amigoro writes "ExxonMobil has removed the webpage where they admit to climate change, according to this article. This is all to do with the report "Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to Manufacture Uncertainty on Climate Change" published by Union of Concerned scientists. At first ExxonMobil denied the report, but admitted their role in climate change. Now they have just pulled down the whole webpage without giving any reason.

"What is clear today is that greenhouse gas emissions are one of the factors that contribute to climate change, and that the use of fossil fuels is a major source of these emissions," the original ExxonMobil statement read.

What do you think is going on?"