Security Ripcord

I was talking with a few of the Trusted Catalysts who were pondering the vagueness of the recent advisory released by Microsoft concerning multiple versions of Microsoft Word on multiple platforms.  I started thinking about how many people use this application to create letters and cards for the holiday season.  Do you really want to stop opening MS Word documents until they can get this issue resolved, especially now?  Answer: probably. 

So, as all security professional should do, I started to try and think of a solution.  Okay, if MS Word is vulnerable then we should convert to another format.  First choice, Adobe PDF.  Unfortunately, there is an advisory from Adobe concerning a vulnerability in all Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions prior to version 8.  Fortunately they provide a workaround and upgrade.  But, can we be certain that all of our family has upgraded.  Not really.  So, what now?  Well, I guess it is back to the old notepad and saving everything as text files.  But, Cutaway, what about pictures?  Well, I am glad you asked.  Why not consider ASCII Art.  I just went to ASCII Art Generator and converted the double dragons you see in the background.  The results follow this article.  Sure, not all pictures will generate viable pictures, but it sure is fun. 

Happy Holidays, and, if you know how, try to help your family and friends protect themselves from these new vulnerabilities by assisting them with updating their applications or by finding a good picture to convert to ASCII Art.

Go forth and do good things,

Cutaway

Security Ripcord, Microsoft Word, ASCII Art Generator, Adobe, Security Catalyst

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