Critical: Emergency Patch Fixes Security Hole MS08-078 in Internet Explorer

For the past few days, users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) have been urged by experts to switch to another web browser until a serious security flaw could be resolved.

Microsoft asked its users to remain vigilant while they investigated the issue, which could allow criminals to take control of anyone using Internet Explorer and steal passwords and personal information. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

Attacks have been detected against IE 7.0 but the "underlying vulnerability" was present in all versions of the browser, and the problem could well encompass other versions of IE in time.

Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Apple Safari are not vulnerable to the flaw that Microsoft has identified. A fix for the exploit has been made available from Microsoft on December 17th, 2008. (Source: microsoft.com)

PC Pro magazine's security editor, Darien Graham-Smith notes that "every browser is susceptible to vulnerabilities from time to time. It's fine to say 'don't use Internet Explorer' for now, but other browsers may well find themselves in a similar situation."

Trend Micro says as many as 10,000 websites have been compromised since the vulnerability was discovered. Since malicious code can be planted on any web site, browsing carefully may not be good enough but users need to stay vigilant.

Download Internet Explorer Critical Fix (MS08-078)

Even if you don't use Internet Explorer, you should download the patch immediately:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-078.mspx

Alternative Web Browsers

To find information on and download alternative web browsers, visit Download.com. We recommend Mozilla Firefox (free).

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

http://www.download.com/windows/browsers/1921-2137_4-0.html

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