Microsoft warns of Internet Explorer security flaw

[sam76]

I tried Chrome.

It sucked.

I couldn't write any emails at all with it.

 

[MrBurns]

Fixed.......... for now

Microsoft releases emergency patch for IE

Posted 44 minutes ago

Microsoft has released an emergency patch to fix a software flaw that allows hackers to get into Internet Explorer browsers and take over computers.

The head of Microsoft's security response team says all users of Internet Explorer should test and install the update as soon as possible.

Experts say without the emergency patch, the flaw could allow criminals to take control of computers and steal users' passwords even when they are not downloading material.

Microsoft says less than 1 per cent of Australian PC users have been affected by the problem

 

[noirua]

Fixed.......... for now

Thanks for that MrBurns as I new about the problem but not about the patch. The article I read advised use of Firefox and Opera instead, but Microsoft reckons the other browsers may have other problems, that might be worse.

 

[white_crane]

The article I read advised use of Firefox and Opera instead, but Microsoft reckons the other browsers may have other problems, that might be worse.

Of course Microsoft would say that. Scaremongering to make sure you use their browser.

 

[rhen]

Downadup Worm Bores into 9 Million PCs
Finnish security firm says Downadup (aka Conficker) worm has done most of its damage in the past four days.

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Jan 17, 2009 7:30 am

Calling the scope of the attack "amazing," security researchers at F-Secure Corp. today said that 6.5 million Windows PCs have been infected by the "Downadup" worm in the last four days, and that nearly 9 million have been compromised in just over two weeks.

Early Friday, the Finnish firm revised its estimate of the number of computers that had fallen victim to the worm, and explained how it came to the figure. "The number of Downadup infections [is] skyrocketing," Toni Koivunen, an F-Secure researcher, said in an entry to the company's Security Lab blog. "From an estimated 2.4 million infected machines to over 8.9 million during the last four days. That's just amazing."

On Tuesday, Koivunen put the number of infected systems at 2.4 million, then updated the estimate Wednesday to 3.5 million, an increase of 1.1 million in just 24 hours.

"We haven't seen outbreaks of this scale in many years," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, in an e-mail reply to questions. "[It] reminds me of the old Loveletter/Melissa/Sasser/Blaster cases size-wise," he added, ticking off some of history's biggest malware attacks.

Downadup -- which also goes by the name "Conficker" -- exploits a bug in the Windows Server service used by Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008. Although Microsoft fixed the flaw with one of its rare "out of cycle" updates in late October, about a third of all PCs have not yet been patched, according to Qualys Inc., another security company. Those PCs are the ones being hijacked by the worm.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157858/downadup_conficker.html?tk=rss_news

 

[metric]

i posted a thread on 2 new viruses, but was scensored by a mod. here is one of them from FOX NEWS.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVimewPmGoc

here is another interview on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqMt7aNBTq8

one wonders WHY anyone would moderate a warning about a virus????



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