From the otherwise excellent and usually reliable Windows Secrets newsletter comes this guffaw from the usually serious Fred Langa responding to a reader’s question about outdated browsers (with massive security holes) being required by the “feddle gummint’s” FAFSA web site:
First of all, it appears the site has been updated since your phone call. The FAFSA help page lists all the supported browsers, which now include IE 8 and Mozilla Firefox 3.5.4.
Second, consider the threat level: most browser security features exist to protect you against hostile sites that might try to stuff malware into your system or steal information from you. Why would the government need to attack your browser? If the government wants your personal information, it can get it quite openly through legal channels.
Oh. Wait. He was serious. “Why would the government need to attack your browser?” It’s not “need” that drives a “feddle gummint” bureaucrap to do anything, Fred. They pretty much do as they want, because they can. Government of the government, by the government and, especially, for the government shall not perish from the Earth, Fred… *sigh*
Frankly, I consider “feddle gummint” websites to BE malware, unless proven differently.
Windows Secrets newsletter doesn’t have all that many secrets, but it is a concatenation of three of the better popular content sites for Windows users: Windows Secrets, Langa List and “Gizmo” Richards’ freebies site. It’s an easy way for me to stay juuuust on top of new questions users may come up with for me, not because it’s an in-depth source on, well, anything, but because it gives a good look at what generally advanced Windows users have questions about, and those users are usually several months ahead of the curve of the general Windows population concerning issues arising on the Windows front. Between that and my own separate readings and my doing of stupid things to see what happens and… you get the picture. 🙂
Well, that and Woody Leonhard taking M$ to the woodshed with articles like the current, “The EULA you click may not be the one in effect ” concerning Windows licensing issues. Woody Leonhard: gottalovehim.