Oceanside CA– A zero day exploit of Microsoft IE , Internet Explorer, has tech companies and the governments of the US and the UK warning people to stop using the browser immediately. The vulnerability exist in all versions, IE6 and above, of the browser. People still using the unsupported Windows XP are even more at risk.
A zero-day exploit, the term given to a previously unknown, unpatched flaw, allows attackers to install malware on your computer without your permission.
According to CNET the Security firm FireEye, which discovered the bug, said that the flaw is being used with a known Flash-based exploit technique to attack financial and defense organizations in the US via Internet Explorer 9, 10, and 11. Those versions of the browser run on Microsoft’s Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8, although the exploit is present in Internet Explorer 6 and above.
Approximately 55% of people using the internet, still use the IE browser on their desktop computers. Microsoft said in the advisory that the vulnerability could allow a hacker to take complete control of an affected system, then do things such as viewing, changing, or deleting data, installing malicious programs, or creating accounts that would give hackers full user rights.
In other words, they take control of your computer, without you knowing and steal your stuff. Passwords, bank account information, credit card information, anything on your computer is available to the bad guys.
So, if you are reading this on Internet Explorer, you can use it to download unaffected browsers, Firefox [Link], Chrome [Link], or Safari [Link] As the old IT joke goes; Internet Explorer, the worlds number one browser for downloading other browsers.
Microsoft is currently working on a another patch for the browser.