An unofficial Singaporean Internet Explorer 11 mascot, from the browsers happier days last fall. Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET Microsoft has issued a fix for a dangerous Internet Explorer bug that left the browser highly vulnerable across every major version -- including those that run on Windows XP. The patch, delivered at 10 a.m. Thursday, comes out of Microsofts usual Patch Tuesday cycle because of its severity. It affected IE 6 through 11, and allowed attackers to install malware on your computer without your permission that could be used to steal personal data, track online behavior, or gain control of the computer. Security firm FireEye, which discovered the previously unknown and unfixed flaw five days ago, said it saw a vulnerability used to target financial and defense institutions on Internet Explorer 9, 10, and 11. Nevertheless, Microsofts patch today fixes all affected versions of the browser. The majority of customers have automatic updates enabled and will not need to take any action because protections will be downloaded and installed automatically, Dustin Childs of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, the companys security group, said in a blog post. If youre unsure if you have automatic updates, or you havent enabled Automatic Update, now is the time. Of the decision to fix Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8, the only versions of the browser that still run on the 12-year-old Windows XP, Childs was terse. We have made the decision to issue a security update for Windows XP users, he said, noting that Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and that Redmond continue[s] to encourage customers to migrate to a modern operating system, such as Windows 7 or 8.1.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 00:48:18 +0000
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