From the Book of Danstrodamus, Danalonians 5:8:

Listen ye to Danstrodamus* as I have seen a vision of the future… The news in the next few weeks will be full of stories of impending doom and disaster, warmongering, glorification of ignorance, and political posturing (primarily, sayeth Danstrodamus parenthetically, from Neocons).

From ABC News:

Aug. 11, 2006 - The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Wednesday advising Windows PC owners across the nation to update their computers or face a potential attack from hackers.

“The Department of Homeland Security is recommending that Windows Operating Systems users apply Microsoft security patch MS06-040 as quickly as possible,” the statement read. “This security patch is designed to protect against a vulnerability that, if exploited, could enable an attacker to remotely take control of an affected system.”

I don’t recall the Department of Homeland Security ever issuing a warning about critical security vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s products. While this is a legitimate software security issue (actually 12 issues rolled into one), this isn’t the first critical security vulnerability in Microsoft’s products… by far.

Digression: these types of security vulnerabilities aren’t just in Microsoft’s products… they’re in almost any major appliction or operating system you might use (MacOS, Firefox, Linux, etc., etc., etc.). Security issues caused by buffer overflows are incredibly common. So common, in fact, that you’d think they’d be a primary focus of most software testing. The reality is that business requirements for features and the need to get a product out into the market usually outweigh the comittment to Quality. Aside from that, it’s impossible to test anything as complex as an operating system 100%… this is the reality of Software Development.
Light from my inner QA Engineering Self shines through…

Why is the Department of Homeland Security promoting patching security vulnerabilities in software now?

In an unusual move, the Department of Homeland Security has warned Windows users to protect themselves against the latest vulnerability in the Microsoft system. (ABC News)
(emphasis added)

It’s hard to shake the idea that this isn’t a political tactic to expand and inflate the wave of fear and terror from the recently “foiled” terrorist bomb plot. “Foiled” is in quotes as it really looks like the terrorists have accomplished their objective of generating fear and terror in the world, even though they didn’t manage to step foot in the airport with their physical weapons. Their psychological weapons are being enhanced, promoted, exaggerated and hyped by uber-liberal-media outlets like Fox News…

Terror Plot Suspects Planned ‘Dry-Run’ of Attacks in Next 2 Days, Sources Say

The development came as British authorities said they were “urgently” seeking the arrests of up to 10 more suspects in the terrorist plot uncovered early Thursday morning to blow up U.S.-bound flights with liquid explosives carried onto planes via carry-on luggage, FOX News learned.

An American law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation said it appeared the liquid to be used was a “peroxide-based solution” to be detonated by an electronic device that was not specified, but could be anything from a disposable camera to a portable digital music player. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because British authorities had asked that no information be released.

Bush Praises Effort to Thwart Terror Plot

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Thursday praised the coordinated government efforts to stop a terror plot to blow up airline flights from the United Kingdom to the United States, and said American flyers will be inconvenienced for a while in order for officials to keep them safe.

“The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation,” Bush said on a tarmac in Green Bay, Wis., before delivering a speech on the economy.

Massachusetts Governor to Activate National Guard for Logan Airport

BOSTON- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will activate the National Guard to help with security at Logan International Airport for the first time since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The security alert was raised at Logan and airports around the nation early Thursday after officials in Great Britain disrupted a terror plot to blow up airplanes from London to the United States.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the alleged plot appeared to be engineered by Al Qaeda, the terrorist group that hijacked two planes from Logan on Sept. 11, 2001, and flew them into the World Trade Center towers in New York.

Romney’s spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, confirmed the governor was activating the guard. Romney met first thing in the day with public safety and transportation officials to get a status report and consider any additional response to the thwarted plot.

*Important Note: Danstrodamus is not Captain Obvious, though they basically have almost identical things to say.