Internet Explorer 8 Released

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 on Thursday 3/19/09. IE8 is the latest version of Microsoft's browser. It brings more security and several more features to the Internet browsing experience. A new, smarter address bar allows searches to be done right from the address bar. At the same time, the address bar will present search suggestions that can enhance the Internet Search process.

A new function called Accelerators is included. This features allows you to highlight text in any website and perform web based functions using that information automatically. For instance, you could highlight a street address and instantly go to a mapping site which will present the directions to that address.

Another new feature is Web Slices. Web Slices are a way to stay up to date with a small piece of a website. For instance, if you wanted to keep an eye on the weather in your area, you can install the Web Slice from the weather site and it will install a little button in your IE Toolbar. Any time the weather info changes the little button will light up and you can take a look. You don't have to keep going to the website to check the weather. I think you're going to see a bunch of Web Slices get created.

Tabbed browsing has been available since IE7. IE8 adds a bunch of new features and refines the tabbed browsing experience quite a bit.

I have been using IE8 at home since the early betas. I like it a lot. However, there can be some compatibility issues so you need to be careful. Some websites may not display correctly. Fortunately, IE8 includes a "Compatibility Button" that has corrected any problems I have run in to.

As usual, I suggest our Clients hold of a little on installing IE8. At least install it on one or two machines to test your environment before rolling it out to everyone. At some point it will be offered as a critical update in Windows Updates, so it will get installed automatically if you are not careful. My experience with IE8 has been very good. Because of the new features and the increased security, I suggest Clients move to it as soon as they complete their in house testing. More info on IE8 and the download link can be found here.

Crtical Patch For Internet Explorer

As has been reported in the news, a serious security issue was recently acknowledged in most versions of Internet Explorer. On Wednesday at 1:00pm EST, Microsoft released a critical patch that mitigates the problem. Following our process of installing new patches on various machine configurations for testing, we installed the patch on several machines on Wednesday and Thursday. I also attended a Webinar presented by Microsoft regarding the issue. At this time we have seen no problems with the patch and advise all Clients to install the patch as soon as possible.

For Clients that are on our Remote Monitoring Plus service which includes Windows Updates, we have released the patch and your machines will receive the patch automatically. Note that the patch requires that the device is rebooted in most cases.

Clients that need the patch installed can simply call us to schedule service or download and install the patch themselves. The link to the patch is here. Be sure to select the proper patch for the workstation that it is being installed on. Please do not attempt to install the patch on your servers. We will do this remotely. As a general rule Internet Explorer should not be used on servers, therefore it is less urgent to install the patch on the servers.

Some notes about the patch

1. The patch will require that the device it is installed on gets rebooted. The patch will not take affect until the machine is rebooted. In some cases the patch may not require a reboot. Every machine we have installed it on has required a reboot.

2. Don't forget those laptops and other remote workstations. Those employees working from home need to install this update on the remote devices.

Links to KB958644 Security Patch

I have posted the links to the KB958644 security patch on our Answers Website.  You can find them here.  I have also posted instructions on how to determine if the patch has been installed on your computer.  You can find that here.

Don't forget to install these patches on your home computers as well!

Microsoft Releases Critical Patch

Generally, Microsoft releases patches on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.  This schedule is used to minimize the amount of server and workstation reboots that must be done as this process interrupts businesses.  It also gives Microsoft time to properly test the patches against the various configurations of operating systems that are available, a major task.

On occasion Microsoft will release an "Out of Band" patch.  The most common reason for an "Out of Band" patch is a serious security related issue.  If the issue is serious enough and there are known exploits that are being seen they will release a patch as soon as it is available.

This is the case with a patch that they released on October 23rd.  The patch resolves a very serious security issue with all versions of Windows although Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are a little less of a concern but not immune.

We are in the process of completing in-house testing of the patches on the various operating systems.  I believe the patch is safe to apply at this point although there are some potential problems with some configurations of Windows Server 2003.  We have fixes for these problems if they should occur.  Installing the patch will require a reboot of both workstations and servers.

We are strongly recommending that all our Clients install the patch for their servers and workstations.  For Clients that are on our Remote Monitoring Service the patches will be released over the weekend.  We will be contacting you early next week to install the patches on your servers and to rebooot the servers. Note that this does not include Clients that are running the free trial of our Monitoring Service. 

For Clients that are not covered by Remote Monitoring, we have 2 options.  First, simply give us a call and we will take care of it for you.  Second, we will be posting the various patches to our Answers Website later today.  Please do not attempt to do these patches yourself unless you fully understand how to apply which patch to which operating system.  The process is not difficult but you must do it right.  We do NOT recommend users install the patch on any servers themselves.  Again, the patch WILL require a reboot after it is installed.

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call us.

Misys Merges with Allscripts

In a little bit of a surprise, I have learned that Misys has merged with a company called Allscripts as of today.  The new company name is Allscripts.  Allscripts has been involved in the medical technology business since 1986.  They have several applications and services in various areas of healthcare. 

The Misys website has already been changed to reflect the new branding.  It is running slow today as I'm sure they are getting many hits.

Here is a link to the merger Press Release.