patch

Microsoft has released a patch for a serious security vulnerability that allows attackers to seize control of millions of computers.

The bug was found by ethical hacker and software engineer Beau Butler last month. The trouble is in the way IE automatically configures proxy settings and leads to PCs downloading configuration information from the internet instead of their ISP. All a hacker has to do is register a special domain name and feed bogus configuration information to affected PCs. It is then possible to hijack their connections to the internet and take control.

The problem affects all versions of Windows, including the company’s most recent release Vista. Butler told AP that the glitch is also present in the open source browser Firefox.


This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 2:35 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.