Mozilla nudged Firefox 3.6.4 one step closer to its official release by pushing out the first release candidate version of the browser. Meanwhile, Weave Sync has been re-branded Firefox Sync in anticipation of its eventual inclusion in the Mozilla product. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Firefox 3.6.4 Release Candidate 1 began rolling out to Firefox beta users on May 28th and is notable for locking down the features and fixes the browser maker has been working on since January. For its part, add-on Firefox Sync 1.3 introduces a menu option under History for automatically pulling up the about:sync-tabs list of tabs synchronized from other computers. It also adds further refinements to the setup process, alongside its name change.

Assuming no major bugs are discovered, Mozilla is expected to quickly graduate Firefox 3.6.4 as the final version of the browser because of the new Out-of-Process Plug-in (OOPP) "sandboxing" feature. OOPP prevents plug-in crashes from Adobe Systems' Flash, Apple's QuickTime, and Microsoft's Silverlight from bringing down the entire browser. Mozilla's calendar says that this version of the browser, code-named "Lorentz," should be ready at the beginning of June.

Other browsers, such as Google's Chrome, also offer sandboxing. Mozilla's version, which the publisher touts as allowing users to experience "uninterrupted browsing," is slightly different in that it relates only to the specific aforementioned plug-ins, and that when one of them crashes, only the plug-in component of the page becomes unusable. A page crash in Chrome leads to a replacement of the entire page with an icon indicating that a crash has occurred. Non-OOPP crashes in Firefox will still take down the whole browser.

Firefox Sync marks a level of maturation in the synchronization project that indicates Mozilla's confidence in the add-on. In a blog post, Mozilla stated that it will be working toward incorporating Sync as a standard feature in Firefox. While not common for Mozilla, this isn't unusual since the theme-switching Personas started off in Mozilla Labs as an add-on, and is now a core feature of the browser.

Sync can be found under the Tools menu or on the Status bar at the bottom of the browser. It currently allows users to synchronize bookmarks, preferences, passwords, history, and tabs. The new option to easily access synced tabs has been added as Tabs from Other Computers under History. Users can also toggle synchronizing an account without having to re-enter their username or password using the Disconnect button next to their account name in the Sync tab on the Option menu. Firefox Sync replaces features that have been previously available only from third-party add-ons such as Xmarks.

Firefox Sync's setup has seen refinements in nearly every iteration of the add-on. It's currently not overly complicated, but for users who want clear instructions Mozilla has created a step-by-step guide through the most recent setup changes.

The technology used in Sync has also led toward mobile development. The new Firefox Home app for the iPhone will let iPhone OS users access their Firefox history, bookmarks, and open tabs without actually browsing in Firefox.

Firefox Sync started a bit rough, with frequent user complaints about stability and effectiveness. While those haven't died off completely, it's clear that if you had a bad experience with the plug-in earlier, it's worth giving it another look now.

Mac users downloading free screensavers and a video converter app from several popular download sites also got spyware that installs a back door, collects data, and sends encrypted information to remote servers, security company Intego said on Tuesday.

The high-risk spyware, dubbed OSX/OpinionSpy, was being installed along with nearly 30 screensavers developed by a company called 7art and an app called MishInc FLV to MP3, according to a list compiled by Intego.

They were found on Softpedia, MacUpdate, and CNET-owned VersionTracker, according to a post on Intego's Mac Security Blog.

VersionTracker had removed all of the items on the Intego list by late afternoon. A MacUpdate representative said the company disabled the screensavers earlier on Tuesday and had never offered the MishInc converter. "Our users were discussing the software installed alongside the 7art screensavers as far back as March," the company said in an e-mail. Softpedia, 7art, and MishInc publisher Brothersoft did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment late on Tuesday.

The spyware, a Windows version of which has existed since 2008, is not contained in the apps but is downloaded during the installation process. It is often marked as a "market research" program called PremierOpinion that claims to collect browsing and purchasing information for use in market reports, but it can also come with no warning or message, Intego said.

It's unclear exactly what data is collected and sent to the remote server, but it could include personal information like usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers, the post said.

Here is what the spyware does:

-runs as root with full rights to access and change any file on the computer,

-opens a back door using port 8254,

-scans all accessible files on local and network drives,

-analyzes packets entering and leaving the computer over a local area network, enabling one infected Mac to collect data from different computers on a school or business local network,

-injects code with no user action required into Firefox, Safari, and iChat and copies personal data from those applications, infecting the code of the applications in the Mac's memory but not the actual application files,

-regularly sends encrypted data to a number of servers using ports 80 and 442 about files scanned, as well as other information including e-mail addresses, iChat message headers, and URLs.

The spyware can be automatically upgraded to add new features without the knowledge of the computer user. It occasionally asks for the user's name or prompts the user to fill out surveys via a dialog box.

In some cases the infected computer will not work correctly and the user will need to force a reboot. In addition, deleting the original app or screensaver will not delete or interfere with the spyware, Intego said.

"While its distribution is limited, we warn Mac users to pay careful attention to which software they download and install," the company said. "Given the type of data that it collects, the company behind this spyware can store detailed records of users, their habits, their contacts, their location, and much more."

To see if your system is infected, there are several free Mac malware scanners including ClamXav and iAntiVirus.

Updated at 5:08 p.m. PDT with MacUpdate comment and malware scanners.

Originally posted at InSecurity Complex

The Flash Player may be banned from the iPad, but that's not keeping Adobe Systems from other efforts to leave its mark on the Apple devices. The latest development: new viewer software announced Monday that lets publishers create splashy digital versions of their magazines.

With the software, publishers can use Adobe's new InDesign CS5 layout software to create the digital version, then distribute the content packaged with the viewer. The showcase example: Conde Nast's iPad version of Wired, available through Apple's App Store.

The software hasn't been launched yet. "We aim to make our digital viewer software available to all publishers soon and plan to deliver versions that work across multiple hardware platforms," David Burkett, Adobe's vice president and general manager of Creative Solutions, said in a statement. Adobe didn't release pricing information.

The viewer permits any number of glitzy effects in navigation, animation, and other user interface features shown off in Adobe's Wired for iPad demonstration video. And as pertinent to publishers struggling with hard financial times, it also "promises a new advertising paradigm," Adobe said.

Apple has spurned and scorned Adobe's Flash, an all-purpose programming foundation that lets developers reach any number of different computing systems. But, of course, Adobe has other software. In addition to the InDesign digital publishing tool, it has a Photoshop.com Mobile application available for the iPhone, and it's working on new software for the iPad and other tablets.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

Google's Chrome browser continued to carve away share of worldwide browser usage from rivals in May, new statistics show.

Chrome rose 0.3 percentage points to 7.1 percent of share, said Net Applications, which monitors browser usage on a network of Web sites.

The statistics reflect activity, not the number of people using a browser, as people load up about 160 million pages each month on sites Net Applications monitors. Because Web usage is increasing, the absolute number of people using a browser can increase even as its fractional share of usage drops.

The share losses came from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which dropped 0.3 percent to 59.7 percent, and Mozilla's Firefox, which dropped 0.2 percentage points to 24.4 percent. Fourth-place Safari from Apple rose 0.1 percentage points to 4.8 percent, and Opera rose 0.1 percentage points to 2.4 percent.

The browser market has become hotly competitive with new features being built in to support new Web standards. Even Microsoft, long considered a technology laggard even as its browser dominated, is back in the game with aggresive work developing IE9.

Microsoft has been trying to rid the world of Internet Explorer 6, introduced in 2001 and now considered outmoded, slow, and insecure. Even though IE lost share overall, Microsoft can point to progress in upgrading: The various versions of IE8 accounted for 28.9 percent of usage.

Meanwhile, another analytics firm, StatCounter, reported IE6 use had dropped below 5 percent in the United States and Europe and to 9.8 percent worldwide.

"At these levels, Web developers now have valid justification not to support IE6 in the future," StatCounter Chief Executive Aodhan Cullen said in a statement. The company collected its data from 15 billion page views of Web pages in May.

Net Applications also released statistics for iPad use, showing gradual gains since the Apple tablet's release. With the iPad now for sale internationally, usage peaked May 29 with 0.17 percent.

Net Applications' data shows the iPad is relatively popular on the weekend. Use generally is lowest as a fraction of browsing on Monday, climbs gradually as the weekdays progress, than roughly doubles on the weekend days.

The company also tracked mobile-phone browsing usage. Java ME, a mobile phone version of the technology from Sun Microsystems and now owned by Oracle, took the top spot with 40 percent of usage share.

Next in line was iPhone OS with 32.8 percent, Symbian at 14 percent, Android at 6.2 percent, and BlackBerry at 3.6 percent.

This post was updated at 4:34 a.m. PDT with details from StatCounter.

Originally posted at Deep Tech