windows patch

Internet Explorer Security Problem.

 

Many of you may have seen reports in the press this week of Microsoft problems with Internet explorer, a serious vulnerability was found last week by a number of security companies and reported to Microsoft. Within hours of the problem being reported it was found the vulnerability was already in use by hackers and was being used to infect Windows computers.

 

These sorts of vulnerability are not unusual and not restricted to Windows alone, Apple had to rush an update out a couple of months ago and both companies will probably need to do so again at some point.

 

Microsoft has responded quickly in its investigation of reports that a zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer is being actively exploited. Microsoft issued a security advisory with workarounds, and mitigating factors to help customers guard against attacks pending a fix. Then, it released a one-click Fix-It tool to protect customers while kicking its developers in to high gear to create a more permanent fix. Microsoft’s has been praised for its quick turnaround in protecting customers from attacks.

 

To Microsoft’s credit, this is the first “zero-day” to hit Internet Explorer in nearly two years. It used to be a much more common occurrence, and once upon a time Microsoft wasn’t good at cranking out the fix. Microsoft has come a long way in improving its own response to identified security issues, and now releases patches and updates via it Automatic Update service very quickly.

 

The problem this times applies to Internet Explorer 7, 8, and 9. Microsoft also addressed a critical security issue in Internet Explorer 10 (only in Windows 8 which is yet to be released).

 

 

There is an update available now, if you have Automatic Updates enabled, you don’t need to do anything. However, if you don’t have Automatic Updates enabled, you should download and apply these updates as soon as possible! (Click on Start, All Programs, then click on Windows Updates, Install all Important updates).

 

Other browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox are not affected but you should still update windows as the system is at risk if you don’t.