Frequently Asked Questions ...
| Q | Critical exploit in Internet Explorer 7 - December 2008 |
| A | Microsoft issued a critical security warning Tuesday 16 December 2008 that a malicious exploit is attacking vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 7. The risk is believed to be widespread, given that IE 7 is the latest version of Microsoft's browser and is bundled with XP service pack 3 and also Vista. The AZN Trojan, which surfaced the first week of December has the potential of infecting a users system with a Trojan horse, or a "downloader" that can download other forms of malware onto a system. Microsoft announced it will release a security patch Wednesday 17 December 2008 via its automatic update system to patch users computers. Users can potentially get infected two ways; one is to visit a malicious Web site that already has the malware installed on the site or by visiting a legitimate site in which an attacker has inserted the malicious script to run in the background, leaving visitors unaware their systems have been compromised. A lot of Web sites are pushing out this exploit. Some of the infected sites include sites that offer free wallpaper for mobile phones to sites that feature property and product-related sites. Microsoft is encouraging users to update their systems once the patch is released Wednesday. Pure Energy's advice is to ensure that your PC is fully up-to-date and has the latest anti-virus updates downloaded. Run the Microsoft Automated Update as soon as you see it and in the meantime, stay off sites that could potentially be vulnerable or switch to a different browser - for example FireFox. |
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