Internet Explorer versions 6 to 11 have been subject to various attacks after a new vulnerability was unearthed in the browsers.
Microsoft itself issued out a security warning regarding the vulnerability, which allows hackers to access users’ computer, files and user rights, saying: “Microsoft is aware of limited, targeted attacks that attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11.
“The vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website.”
Microsoft confirmed that they are working on a solution to this problem, adding: “On completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.”
In order for a hacker to successfully infiltrate your browser, it seems likely that they’d need you to access their “specially crafted” website, so it would be in your best interest to switch to another browser until Microsoft rectifies these security issues.
