Flaw In Internet Explorer Not Fixed Yet

(AP)  Users of all current versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser might be vulnerable to having their computers hijacked because of a serious security hole in the software that had yet to be fixed Monday.

The flaw lets criminals commandeer victims' machines merely by tricking them into visiting Web sites tainted with malicious programming code. As many as 10,000 sites have been compromised since last week to exploit the browser flaw, according to antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc.

The sites are mostly Chinese and have been serving up programs that steal passwords for computer games, which can be sold for money on the black market. However, the hole is such that it could be "adopted by more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem - that's a big fear right now," Paul Ferguson, a Trend Micro security researcher, said Monday.

"Zero-day" vulnerabilities like this are security holes that haven't been repaired by the software makers. They're a gold mine for criminals because users have few ways to fight off attacks.

The latest vulnerability is noteworthy because Internet Explorer is the default browser for most of the world's computers. Also, while Microsoft says it has detected attacks only against version 7 of Internet Explorer, which is the most widely used edition, the company warned that other versions are also potentially vulnerable.

Microsoft said it is investigating the flaw and is considering fixing it through an emergency software patch outside of its normal monthly updates, but declined further comment. The company is telling users to employ a series of complicated workarounds to minimize the threat.

Many security experts, meanwhile, are urging Internet Explorer users to use another browser until a patch is released.

[jsd330]

Thats what happens when your tech support and programming go to India.

[sandy19731]

Google Chrome has been working well for me. I downloaded it the day it came out.
Google home page and gmail are also very, very good, I love the document and picture storage.

[drinuk]

SAFARI By a Mile, works well with LINUX ! Up Yours MS.

[rf35]

Microsoft goes out of its way to design c*r*a*p. Vista belongs in fish tanks, not computers.
Posted by BRdeckard at 04:17 AM : Dec 16, 2008

What do you have against fish?

[smackim1son]

im with you rf35. stop whining about the flaws and get extra security. if people weren''t so stupid to click on every fast act scheme that pops up, like "congrats you''ve just won a free xbox" then maybe they would be a lil safer. i go to alot of sites that claim can hack your computer but i never got hacked. cause of the security system i have installed. if you don''t like microsoft software then don''t use it. plain and simple.

[jjp735i]

Firefox........best browser out there. It''s free and simple to install.

[evian_ycnan]

Visit Gibson Research (grc.com) for handy tools and test kits for cruising the info-highway safely.

Regards,

[rf35]

Seems like IE is always in need of some kind of security patch. Maybe it''s the sites I visit (or rather, DON''T visit) or maybe I just have all the right additional security, but I have never had a breech using IE. Safari crashed my system the first time I tried to launch it. It snuck onto my desktop after an iTunes update so I figured I''d try it. It now goes straight to the bin whenever it shows up. I''ve tried various alternative browsers since the time of Netscape Navigator, but I always end up going back to Explorer. It just works better on my rig.

[oneworldusa]

Is it possible this flaw is the result of outsourced operations?

[cg37102006]

Has there been a moment in time when Internet Explorer did not have a security flaw? I cant think of one at the moment...