If the statistics for this website are anything to go by then the vast majority of web surfers are still using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for their browsing.
That may be their undoing.
Security experts are currently urging web users to switch to other browsers until a serious security flaw in Internet Explorer has been fixed.
The flaw that has been discovered in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could, potentially, allow criminals to take full control of other people’s computers and steal their passwords.
The flaw is currently under investigation by Microsoft who are frantically preparing an emergency software patch to resolve it.
‘Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer’
Microsoft says that they have detected attacks against version 7 of Internet Explorer – the most popular revision of their browser.
However, they also warned that other versions of their browser may also be at risk.
Anti-virus producer Trend Micro warns that up to 10,000 websites may have been compromised since last week.
Whilst these websites have simply been infected with programs designed to steal online gaming passwords thus far, the potential is also there for the browser to be exploited for financially based crimes too.
Update :
Get the Internet Explorer patch here (just make sure you choose the correct version for your browser).
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Apple iTunes keeps trying to get me to download Safari. Is that a good browser?
That’s very true – Firefox is not without it’s own vulnerabilities, though I am of the opinion that it is still far more secure than IE and also targeted less too.
Yes, Firefox is very secure. I prefer not to use Internet Explorer and am only forced to open it for Windows Updates…
But beware, there are now some special hackers and trojans designed especially for Firefox.
You can never be too safe these days…
Firefox rules the roost where browsers are concerned. Why does anybody use IE any more?
Possibly because it comes bundled with the most popular operating system and most people don’t feel competent enough to change it?
I can’t comment on that Peter as I’ve never used Safari myself.