Microsoft rushes to fix browser after attacks; no fix for XP users

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Microsoft rushes to fix browser after attacks; no fix for XP users

BY JIM FINKLE
BOSTON Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:55pm EDT

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is rushing to fix a bug in its widely used Internet Explorer web browser after a computer security firm disclosed the flaw over the weekend, saying hackers have already exploited it in attacks on some U.S. companies.

PCs running Windows XP will not receive any updates fixing that bug when they are released, however, because Microsoft stopped supporting the 13-year-old operating system earlier this month. Security firms estimate that between 15 and 25 percent of the world's PCs still run Windows XP.

Microsoft disclosed on Saturday its plans to fix the bug in an advisory to its customers posted on its security website, which it said is present in Internet Explorer versions 6 to 11. Those versions dominate desktop browsing, accounting for 55 percent of the PC browser market, according to tech research firm NetMarketShare.

Cybersecurity software maker FireEye Inc said that a sophisticated group of hackers have been exploiting the bug in a campaign dubbed "Operation Clandestine Fox."

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/27/us-cybersecurity-microsoft-browser-idUSBREA3Q0PB20140427

[unblock]

1. meanwhile, they put out an "important update" to windows 8.1 that has all kinds of problems.

for me, i can't even install the update successfully. i tried their command line tool fixes, but nothing worked; their next suggestion is to refresh windows, which involves re-installing all my applications. as if i want to risk that!

[penultimate]

2. I can't fault them for not releasing patches for internet explorer 6....

That's like expecting updates for Netscape 6...