Netscape smart update

Netscape released the beta version of Communicator 4. Since then, the company has been garnering user feedback, which it described today as "overwhelmingly positive. However, the "Internet Keywords" feature has met with controversy. A generic name typed into the address bar of previous versions of the Communicator browser would take the user, in the case of the generic term "scripting," to "www.

But with the advent of Internet Keywords, those generic requests instead will yield a Netcenter page listing a variety of scripting resources on the Web. Smart Download is a 'plug in' which works in conjunction with Netscape's browsers. Plaintiffs claimed that Smart Download improperly sent information concerning plaintiffs' downloading activities to Netscape in violation of both the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Netscape sought to compel plaintiffs to arbitrate their claims pursuant to the terms of licensing agreements found on Netscape's web site. Finding that plaintiffs were not bound by the terms of the Smart Download license agreement, and that the Communicator license agreement did not cover the dispute at bar, the district court denied defendant's motion to compel arbitration.

On appeal, the Second Circuit affirmed. The software in question could be downloaded from a web page on Netscape's web site titled "Smart Download Communicator. Indeed, there was no mention of a license agreement anywhere between the top of the "Smart Download Communicator" web page, and the "download" button. Instead, the first mention of the license agreement occurred on a portion of the web page below the "download" button.

Typically, this notice was "below the fold" - unlike the "download" button, it was not displayed on that portion of the "Smart Download Communicator" web page which first appeared on the user's computer screen when he went to download the program. To locate the notice, the user had to scroll down the page.

Once there, he found the following language:. The use of each Netscape software product is governed by a license agreement. In the following example, you should substitute the name of your particular distribution for unix-TYPE : gzip -dc Fortify Once Fortify is installed, you can remove the Fortify Following these steps will cause a precompiled copy of Fortify to be executed during the upgrade.

If you are not happy with the thought of running a precompiled program that you have downloaded from the net, then feel free to rebuild it for yourself. You should flush your Netscape memory and disk caches. This is not strictly necessary, but it will avoid confusion if you are in the habit of checking the "Document Information" screen. This screen reports the SSL secret key length that was used when the document was fetched from its home web server - which might be earlier than the time when Fortify was applied if it is a cached document.

You should also check your SSL cipher preferences. If you normally use a non-default set of SSL ciphers, you may wish to review your choices. After running Fortify you will have an improved set of ciphers to choose from. Netscape has possessed the ability to perform SSL encryption ever since the version 2.

The cipher functions have no inherent key length limitations. However, the export grade browser only generates and uses bit secret keys padded out with clear text key material where needed. It achieves this by installing itself directly in to the browser at a small number of specific places. In other words, it directly imprints your browser.

Thus, no SSL proxy servers or relays are involved. No supplementary libraries or support programs are installed.

No helper applications are needed. No special certificates are required in either the server or the browser. You start with a vanilla copy of Netscape. You run Fortify against it. You finish with a Netscape executable that is equally as strong as the U.

You then use it in the normal manner. The next time you connect to any full strength SSL server, bit encryption will be used, end-to-end, from the server right through to your browser. No other re-configurations or adjustments are necessary. The maximum RSA generated key size is raised from bits export-grade to bits domestic-grade. Internally generated RSA keys are typically used for client certificates, i. With these ciphers in operation, your e-mail privacy is substantially enhanced.

Before upgrading your copy of Netscape, Fortify will perform a number of preliminary checks. It checks that a it has write permission on your Netscape program, b that it can recognize your Netscape program as a known version its file size and MD5 fingerprint are used for this , and c that the installation for that Netscape version can be applied without error. If all three tests pass, Fortify then proceeds with the upgrade. Fortify also has a 'nowrite' mode.

This is enabled with a '-n' flag on the command line version, or with a checkbox setting in the Options In 'nowrite' mode normal processing occurs, but nothing is actually installed.

You can use it to safely do a dry run of the program. For your added peace of mind, Fortify will offer to retain a backup copy of your browser in the same directory. The backup file is given a '. At any time you may remove the upgrade from your Netscape browser.

You do this simply by re-running Fortify against your copy of Netscape. Fortify will detect the upgraded nature of your browser and offer to reverse the upgrade.

Reversing the upgrade returns your browser exactly to its original form. Fortify does NOT introduce any new functionality into Netscape. Fortify will only recognise and upgrade export-grade browsers. Of course, if you have a U. But there is no risk of accidentally damaging your browser through the use of Fortify.

Unfortunately Fortify does not support all releases and all editions of the Netscape browsers. The "not recognisable" message can be triggered for any one of several possible reasons: Your platform or operating system is not supported. Please check the list of supported operating systems in the above table.

Your browser is too new for your copy of Fortify for Netscape. Each time a new Netscape browser is released, a matching release of Fortify for Netscape must be made.

This is inherent in its nature. So if you download a shiny new Netscape browser, you will normally find that your old copy of Fortify does not recognise it. You will also need to download a shiny new release of Fortify. Your browser is too old. Fortify for Netscape only supports browsers commencing from version 3.

The editions of Navigator and Communicator produced or rebadged by third-party organisations are not, as a rule, supported. There are simply too many of them. Typically these browsers are bundled with a machine, or with a larger body of system software.

You have an unsupported beta or preview release browser. Please refer to the above note. You have a U. Please refer to the above question. You have a copy of Communicator-for-France. Until recently, French national law outlawed the possession and use of strong cryptography. For this reason, the Communicator-for-France browsers have not historically been supported by Fortify. With the liberalization of French national crypto laws, it is now recommended that French citizens obtain and then fortify a copy of the vanilla, export-grade Netscape browser.

You browser has been modified in some way. Netscape Free. User rating User Rating 8. AOL stopped development of the Netscape browser in February so is no longer officially supported.

Netscape Browser provides more security options, streamlines more standard browsing tasks and arms internet users with more timesaving solutions to their browsing needs. Quickly view the status of security protection provided by the Netscape Browser. The browser will automatically let you know when there is a problem. The Netscape Browser provides real time Spyware scanning when you download files from the web. You may also run memory and disk scans for Spyware protection and prevention.

Create more than one profile to keep your bookmarks and passcards safe from other users. If you have a family, create a profile for your children and make use of the parental controls feature. Tabbed browsing lets you have multiple web pages open in one window.