Microsoft IE Security Woes

Microsoft has never been known to offer the most secure software, but legions of users continue to be loyal to the brand. In spite of the seemingly countless issues plaguing the operating system– various iterations included – Microsoft remains at the top.

Microsoft IE Security Woes

The Latest Security Flaw
Early this month, Microsoft hit the waves again due to fresh security problems with Internet Explorer. Thanks to Eric Romang, a security blogger, the vulnerability was exposed. In a blog post titled “Zero-Day Season Is Really Not Over Yet“, Romang shared his discovery of an attack that makes use of Adobe Flash Player. The attack gets through Windows’s ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) protection, with the result of a code being run on the attacked machine.

The only good news in this story is that for this specific security issue, Internet Explorer 10 (as well as some versions of Windows Server) is not at risk.

The only thing that has to happen is for a user to visit a malicious web site, and he’s in trouble. Naturally, security experts and enthusiasts quickly jumped on the developments to find out more and help fix the situation.

To be fair to Microsoft, they were just as quick on the ball. The software giant promised to release a security update to deal with the vulnerability immediately, and sure enough by the end of the week, a security patch was released. Download the updates here.

Keeping Safe
Microsoft has said at some point that IE is more secure than other browsers (using Your Browser Matters), though this is surely up for heated debate. If you’re using older versions of IE, then it is highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest one. Else, make sure you keep a close watch on patches and security updates.

Then again, if IE security woes are too much for you, why not consider another browser?

[Image via Digital Trends]