IE Security Woes

That more security flaws have been found and exploited with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is hardly news. That these new flaws have played a major negative role in a potentially nasty diplomatic event is news.

To recap, Google has recently announced that they are considering pulling out of China "following a "sophisticated and targeted" cyber attack originating from the country" [read more]. Needless to say, this has generated more than a little concern within the Chinese and U.S governments as well as on the Internet. The fact is that hack attacks believed to originate from Chinese sources against industry and government sources is nothing new. What makes this attack newsworthy, besides the target, is the revelation that flaws in Microsoft's Internet Explorer was an integral factor in making the attacks possible.

"Based upon our investigations, we have determined that Internet Explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks against Google and possibly other corporate networks," said Microsoft's director of security response Mike Reavey in the post. [read more]

What can you do to avoid becoming a victim of hackers exploiting Internet Explorer flaws? The simplest solution is not use IE. There are alternative browsers available. Most noteworthy of these is Firefox.

While antivirus and firewall products are great protective tools, it is important that you use relatively secure programs, as well. And never forget that the single most important security component is YOU.

Surf safe!

UPDATE January 17, 2010: The German government is now warning users of any version of Microsoft Internet Explorer internet to find an alternative browser [read more].