Internet Explorer, one of the most commonly used browser, is currently facing a dispute today. A new bug is circulating in Internet Explorer causing the hackers to seize your computer. If you are running your Internet Explorer browser and you click on erroneous links, the intruders can hijack your machine.
Microsoft is rushing to denote the vulnerability in Internet Explorer that has been revealed by the security experts of FireEye. They have discovered that the intruders have manipulated the bug and made a new form of attack. Intruders established a site that will install malware on their machine when they visit that site through their Internet Explorer browser. Malware will leak on your computer, giving the intruders a full control of your machine without noticing it. This way, the intruders can easily steal your personal information, get access to your E-mails and more. This is where the vulnerability lies. Someone who is in control of your own machine can pry on all your activities; it doesn’t matter if it’s an office PC, intruders can get hold on everything. This Zero-Day vulnerability is present in all versions of Internet Explorer.
According to the Security firm FireEye, this flaw is being utilized through a renowned Flash-based feat method to deal with the financial and defense organizations in US through IE 9, 10 and 11. And those versions run on Windows Vista, 7 and 8, even if this exploit also exists in Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8.
FireEye urges to disable Flash plug-in in your Internet Explorer browser if you cannot change your browser, utilize the Enhanced Protected Mode or the EPM in Internet Explorer 10 and 11 or use your browser with Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Experience ToolKit or the EMET 4.1 and EMET 5 Technical Preview. However, this is not as safe as switching your browser. Microsoft made an advisory to forewarn the Internet Explorer users about the remote code executions. According to Microsoft, “This issue allows remote code execution if users visit a malicious website with an affected browser. This would typically occur by an attacker convincing someone to click a link in an email or instant message.”
It is strongly recommended to stop using Internet Explorer until a patch is released. Attackers who effectively exploited this weakness could acquire equal user rights as the present user. Those users that have configured their machine with lesser user rights could be less affected than those who are operating their computer with administrative user rights. Microsoft has ended their support to Windows XP last April 8, 2014 and XP users should be aware that this zero-day vulnerability will not be patched for them. But the EMET Toolkit will be helpful and available in Windows XP. Microsoft will most likely release a patch to fix this either by May 13 or through an off-schedule patch. But it is uncertain if Windows XP will receive the patch since the support was already ended.
At this point of time, it is essential to keep our system protected. Attackers are very consistent in creating new and more powerful bugs that will surely affect our computers. Intruders will convince the users to click on fraud websites, allowing them to run the malicious software they created. This is a very serious matter and Microsoft is still investigating this issue. Install a legit and effective anti-virus software and be very cautious of visiting websites when browsing. For the meantime, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are both remarkable browsers that you can use as an alternative to Internet Explorer. This flaw will surely be fixed the soonest.
