Microsoft, creator of the very secure and robust Windows OS and the rock-solid Internet Explorer web browser, is warning Windows users not to use Apple’s browser Safari because it is unsafe and vulnerable to certain malicious sites that can take advantage of an exploit and “carpet-bomb” your Windows machine with EXE files.

According to Microsoft Security Advisory #953818 on the Microsoft website, there is a “Blended Threat from Combined Attack Using Apple’s Safari on the Windows Platform”:

Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a blended threat that allows remote code execution on all supported versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista when Apple’s Safari for Windows has been installed. Safari is not installed with Windows XP or Windows Vista by default; it must be installed independently or through the Apple Software Update application. Customers running Safari on Windows should review this advisory.

At the present time, Microsoft is unaware of any attacks attempting to exploit this blended threat. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate measures to protect our customers. This may include providing a solution through a service pack, the monthly update process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customers needs.”

In simple terms, Safari doesn’t seek user permission when malicious sites try to make the browser download an executable file to the desktop, even if it does this hundreds of times over and over (hence the term “carpet-bomb”). It’s a “blended threat” because this vulnerability stems from the combination of the default download location of Safari and the way Windows handles executables.

Microsoft’s Suggested Action is:

Restrict use of Safari as a web browser until an appropriate update is available from Microsoft and/or Apple.”

True, it’s a serious breach that should be fixed ay-ess-ay-pee, and we hope Apple fixes this soon. But it must be refreshing for Microsoft to be the one to call out Apple on something like this for once (I can almost here them go ‘Hah! How’d you like dem apples, Apple? Nyarharhar!’)

Researcher Nitesh Dhanjani, who first exposed this vulnerability more than a week ago, says that the flaw isn’t limited to Windows; OS X can be carpet-bombed as well, although I’m not quite sure Macs would know the first thing about running an .exe file.

After the Zinio freebie deal for the iPhone, there’s even mo’ better reading available for Mac users.

The NY Times released the beta version of the Times Reader for the Mac a few days ago. It’s a good standalone offline reader, and I get mileage out of it on the occasions when that sneaky wifi signal is hiding from me. I can now just read the newspaper, so to speak.

The Times Reader is an app that runs well on its own without the help of a browser, downloading and formatting the day’s issue in a clickable faux newspaper layout. Being a beta, it has its quirks. Mine has the irritating habit of zapping back to the first page of an article when you try to read beyond the first page. It’s an intermittent glitch though. Another niggle I find is that you can toggle a 7-day archive of past issues, but of the four days of downloads I’ve had so far, I can only access the current newspaper; the past few days just seem to disappear. (Maybe I’m just doing something wrong.)

The sections of the paper are aligned on top for quick access. So you don’t get lost wandering in all the verbiage, it helpfully grays out articles that you’ve already read, and if you’ve ever tried reading the New York Times, that’s an awful lot of text indeed, and a gray-out feature like that is really useful.

The only part that doesn’t sit well with me is that it insists on installing Silverlight, Microsoft’s plug-in that is its version of Flash or Quicktime. I try to keep as much Microsoft off my Mac as possible (with the exception of Office, which I can’t seem to wean myself from no matter what I do.)

No offense to my mothership, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, but this newspaper is worth a daily look. All you need is the Times Reader app beta, internet access and a NYTimes account (which is free). Heck, you can even do the daily crossword puzzles.

(Courtesy of Paint.It.Black’s Flickr site.)

Remember when I told you guys of my experience at Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo a few weeks back? I was thinking during that rainy Friday afternoon for the Leopard launch that it was a bit disconcerting in that I was expecting the line I was in to be long , but not that long (almost 5 blocks!).

Wandering around Tokyo days before, I was already a bit surprised at the ubiquity of Macs, which was more than I was accustomed to in my home base of Manila. They were nearly everywhere I happened to be, and in the big press rooms of the Tokyo Motorshow I attended, nearly half of the journalists were tapping away at Powerbooks, Macbooks and Macbook Pros and iMacs in there.

Well, it seems to not just be a prevalent trend or fad.

Reports have it that Leopard is now the leading OS in Japan with the release of OS X 10.5. The amazing statistic is that Mac OS purchases went up over 60% for October, from 15% percent, which is nothing short of phenomenal. This figure topples Microsoft from the top spot for the first time.

In fact, Microsoft is on the opposite side of the slope, with sales plunging from 75.3% to 28.8% Phenomenal too - in the worst way.

In the six days following the Oct.26 release of Leopard, the new Apple OS now holds the lion’s share (so to speak) with 53.9% of the entire OS-only market. Hoo! Go Japan!

Arigato gozaimasu!

(If you didn’t catch it, read my story of Leopard Day in Japan here.)

I’ve only been excited by two Microsoft-made things lately. One is the Zune 80, and the other is Office 2008 (yeah, yeah, I hear ya - but I live on the darned thing, you know).

Our friends at MacNN have an extensive preview of the new productivity suite on their site. Much as I don’t have an evaluation copy yet and cannot give you a personal review, may I just point you to their wonderful preview?

Click here and here.