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Blinkx users - You may be at risk


There is a critical bug in Blinkx that may actually delete files on your computer.

PCMag warns that Blinkx 2.0 Beta Users Must Upgrade - This is applicable to any Blinkx 2.0 release before version 2.0.10.

Specific versions of the blinkx implicit search engine have a dangerous flaw in the Smart Folders feature. Blinkx founder Suranga Chandratillake confirms the flaw in version 2.0.8; we at PC Magazine Labs have tracked it in version 2.0.7 as well. Current blinkx users should see an update reminder when launching the program, and the blinkx.com web site includes a warning as well. The flaw did not seem to manifest in versions before 2.0.7, but we still recommend that anyone running a beta version earlier than 2.0.10 upgrade immediately.

The problem does not occur on all systems, which made it difficult to track. On an affected system, files can be deleted unexpectedly and permanently under specific circumstances. Blinkx's Smart Folders feature automatically fills a folder with shortcuts to local files and web-based information that matches a particular query. A set of Smart Folders action is added to the right-click menu for such a folder. Selecting Clear from this menu deletes all the shortcuts – on an affected system it deletes some or all of the corresponding local files as well. Again, upgrading to the latest version of the beta will fix this bug.

Blinxk website reports that a significant bug reported. When using an old version Blinkx 2.0 (2.0.8), an issue has been identified when using the Clear command in Smart Folders which contain local content. All users of Blinkx version 2.0.8 are ADVISED TO UPGRADE to a later version, click here for details.

Download the latest release of Blinkx here.

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