posted on January 29, 2010 06:43:47 AM new
<a>http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/159968/microsoft-patches-massive-internet-explorer-hole/;_ylc=X3oDMTI1a210M2RpBFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDYzZmMGRmYTY3ZWU3NzE5MjA4M2MyODIzMDViNDRmODIEUl9sdHADMQ--</a>
[ edited by shagmidmod on Jan 29, 2010 06:47 AM ]
posted on January 29, 2010 07:51:21 AM new
Here's the article. I use Firefox but my system automatically updated when I rebooted on Weds:
"What with all the iPad hype, you can be forgiven if you missed some of the news that's been happening in the rest of the tech world.
This one you might have heard a bit about already: The one about some Chinese hackers who broke into some servers at Google (among other companies), prompting an outcry from the American tech community.
How'd they do it? In large part, thanks to a security hole in various versions of Internet Explorer web browsers, which let attackers take advantage of a memory flaw to execute code of their own design. The depth of the attacks is so deep that investigators still haven't sorted it all out.
Meanwhile Microsoft has issued a rare "out of band" patch for the problem, which affects all versions of IE from 5 through 8 and all operating systems dating back to Windows 2000. (Microsoft normally only issues patches once a month except for cases of severe security risks, of which this is definitely one.) Assuming you use automatic updates, your system should have automatically installed and updated itself by now, but if you look in your Add/Remove Programs control panel and don't see something along the lines of "Security Update for Windows Internet Explorer (KB978207)" listed (click "Show Updates" first), you'll probably want to go here to download the fix now, especially if you're an IE user.
The security problem has reinvigorated discussion (hardly new) over whether users should be working with Internet Explorer at all, as this is scarcely the first time the browser has been hit with a problem of this magnitude. And it's not just theoretical or targeted at certain companies; this is a problem that could definitely affect anyone: The code used for the attack has now been spread far and wide across the Internet because it is so very effective. If you're using an unpatched version of IE right now, you're definitely at risk.
Even Microsoft is begging users to upgrade to at least IE7 and preferably IE8 as soon as possible... though it has still stopped short of dropping support for older versions of the browser.
I, on the other hand, can assure you that you're better off with one of the many alternative browsers that are freely available... "
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posted on January 29, 2010 08:29:37 AM new
was just copying Shag's link that wasn't linkable. Dumb thing to do anyway as no one would want to click on it.
posted on January 29, 2010 08:33:42 AM new
when I did copy and paste with his first link it came up home refinance. I screwed up as didn't copy and paste properly from his link. Just ignore it, please
