Internet Explorer & AOL Problems (Warnings from Homeland Security, Microsoft, and AOL) Youve probably seen the news reports about the security issues regarding Internet Explorer - on Sunday Microsoft announced that a significant security vulnerability was discovered in essentially all versions of Internet Explorer. Shortly afterwards the US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning for everyone to avoid using Internet Explorer until Microsoft fixes the problem. The DHS warning is unprecedented, but necessary since there is evidence hackers are already using this bug to take control of peoples computers when they visit certain websites. We expect Microsoft to issue a fix sometime this week for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. We do not expect a fix for Windows XP since Microsoft has said there would be no more fixes after April 8 for that version. What should you do? • We recommend Google Chrome or Firefox as a better alternative to Internet Explorer. In general these browsers are faster and more secure than Internet Explorer, and they are not affected by this latest bug. • If you must run Internet Explorer, limit its use to only the websites or services that require it. • When Microsoft issues updates this week, install them right away. • If you are using Windows XP and accessing the internet, understand you are at extreme risk for virus & spyware problems since security issues like this wont be fixed for Windows XP. The sooner you can upgrade, the better. In a completely unrelated issue, AOL reported a security breach and is urging anyone using AOL email to change your password right away. As always if you have any questions about anything IT-related, feel free to contact us anytime, and/or to discuss a service plan to better address issues like this in the future.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:43:10 +0000
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