[clue-talk] From /. State of Colorado Calls Firefox Insecure, IE6 Safe

[Crawford Rainwater]

State of Colorado Calls Firefox Insecure, IE6 Safe

"The State of Colorado's Office of Technology (OIT) has set up a work skills website. The problem is that the site says 'DO NOT use FIREFOX or other Browsers besides IE. It has been decided that Mozilla based, non-IE browsers pose a security risk.' (Original emphasis from site.) If the leading IT agency for the State is making these uneducated claims, should the people worry about their other decisions?" 

Upon viewing the site (in Firefox none the less) one will see the following:

    Server Error in '/SKILLS' Application.

    Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

    Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

    Exception Details: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

    Source Error:

    An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

    Stack Trace:

    [NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.]
          Skills.Suggestion.doTheSend() in C:\Documents and Settings\qeuc34\My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\Skills\Skills\Suggestion.aspx.vb:137
          Skills.Suggestion.sendEmailLink_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Documents and Settings\qeuc34\My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\Skills\Skills\Suggestion.aspx.vb:127
          System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.OnClick(EventArgs e) +90
          System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) +76
          System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) +7
          System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument) +11
          System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData) +177
          System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +1746

    Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:2.0.50727.1433; ASP.NET Version:2.0.50727.1433


Which even is commented on /. and I concur with the assessment also posted.  To contact the CO OIT directly to voice your opinion visit http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1165692953912&pagename=OIT-New%2FOITXLayout (pardon the wrapping).

--- Crawford