Technology

Social Media Roundup: Internet Explorer’s Latest Headache

Security experts sound the alarm on the popular browser because of an out-in-the-wild exploit. Also: the pitfalls of being too jokey during a presentation.

You may not use Internet Explorer, but a lot of people around you probably do (based on a quick check of our stats, just over a quarter of Associations Now readers use IE, version 11 being the most popular).

Even if you don’t use the browser, if you have friends who do, you may want to let them know about what’s in today’s Social Media Roundup:

Internet, Exploited

Over the weekend a major vulnerability was discovered in all versions of Internet Explorer going back to IE6. Attackers are able to corrupt a system’s memory using a rogue web page, allowing them to execute arbitrary code. On the security front, it’s pretty significant—so much so that you should probably use a different browser entirely, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends. The flaw is bad enough, but it’s drawing extra attention because it’s the first major security issue that Microsoft has faced since sunsetting Windows XP. And don’t expect a fix, XP users. (ht @MemberClicks)

Humor Isn’t Easy

“Few things are worse than a joke that falls flat.” That’s the take of Pattie Shock, an academic consultant for the International School of Hospitality, writing on the Cvent blog. Her point? Nonprofessional speakers at your events may not be adept enough to really do humor the justice it deserves, so they have to be careful about how and when they pull out a joke or two. She offers some tips on the kinds of jokes to avoid: Don’t go too obscure, don’t go blue, and avoid jokes that may offend certain segments of your audience. “Popular culture may embrace questionable humor, but it has no place in presentations that are designed to educate and inspire audiences,” she writes. Agree, disagree? Or is the idea of thinking too hard about jokes making you wish that we’d make a couple to lighten the mood? (ht @adrianoarwin)

(iStock Editorial/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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