Microsoft has patched a number of serious security flaws
in its Windows operating system, which mainly relate to holes in
the company’s Internet Explorer browser.
Released as part of the company’s monthly patching cycle, the
security bulletin plugs four security holes in Internet Explorer
(IE), two of them described as “critical” by the company.
“An attacker who successfully exploited the most severe of these
vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system,”
Microsoft said in its security advisory.
The flaws affect all versions of the browser running on all
types of Windows system.
Two patches stop remote attackers from taking over users’
machines, through specially crafted malicious websites visited by
users and IE has also been updated to tackle other
vulnerabilities.
IE now prevents Sony’s insecure anti-piracy rootkit from working
on users’ machines. The rootkit, which came with music CDs, was
installed without users knowing about it, and was discovered last
month as a possible vehicle for remote attackers.
It can be used to attack computer users once they put a Sony
music CD in their PCs.
With the patches now out and more details of the vulnerabilities
now being known, security software companies like Symantec have
warned that wider attacks using the flaws are imminent.
Users, they said therefore need to patch their machines as
quickly as possible.