Technology news and Jobs arrow Fuzzy Logic arrow Microsoft IE vulnerability to receive urgent fix Wednesday
Microsoft IE vulnerability to receive urgent fix Wednesday E-mail
Fuzzy Logic - The gadget blog
by Alex Zaharov-Reutt   
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Tomorrow, the 18th of December at 5am (Australian Eastern Standard Time), the 0-day security vulnerability that has embarrassed Microsoft into action will receive the urgently needed patch that will restore balance to the force and (temporarily) shut Linux zealots up.

After an Internet Explorer vulnerability was “accidentally” let loose onto the world the day before the most recent “Patch Tuesday” by the Chinese security researchers that discovered it, pressure has been building on Microsoft to urgently release a patch to fix the embarrassing problem.

Security researchers, companies, technology journalists, Mac fans and Linux zealots have all been as one in urging (or lambasting) Microsoft into fixing the problem quickly, shutting down an attack vector in place on thousands of websites that could allow “remote code execution” to take place on any computer running any recent version of Internet Explorer.

Although the attack is most likely to occur on sites offering pornography or pirate software, or other rogue sites (particularly in China), legitimate web sites have also reportedly been attacked by hackers to trap users who either wouldn’t normally go to unsavoury sites or who are avoiding them while the bug remains unpatched.

Microsoft had initially issued instructions on its “security page” to set Internet Explorer security settings to a higher level, while another common piece of advice on the Internet simply revolved around using Firefox or some other browser, either in perpetuity or at least until an official patch was issued.

Microsoft Australia has issued the following statement which closely mirrors statements issued by other Microsoft offices around the world, in response to the threat:
 
“In light of a recently discovered vulnerability in Internet Explorer that affects all versions and allows for remote code execution, Microsoft teams world wide have been working around the clock to develop a security update to help protect our customers and has just released the Advanced Notification Service advising customers that Microsoft will be providing a Security Update at roughly 5am, December 18th, to protect them from the vulnerability discussed in Microsoft Security Advisory 961501.

“To date, the impact on Microsoft’s Australian customers has been minimal and Microsoft is not advising Internet Explorer users to switch browsers.

“The Microsoft Security Response Center continues to monitor the threat landscape while working, and sharing information with, partners around the globe through the Microsoft Active Protections Program to help protect our mutual customers.”

Microsoft’s advisory and notification on how to protect your computer both now and importantly from tomorrow onwards when the patch is launched continues on page 2, as does information on software that would protect your banking transactions whether you are affected by the vulnerability or not... please read on.



 
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