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| Microsoft has described some of the
vulnerabilities as critical |
Critical security holes discovered in Microsoft Windows,
Internet Explorer and Outlook Express
Sophos has urged companies and home users to act quickly as
critical new security vulnerabilities have been discovered in
versions of Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Outlook
Express, which could be exploited by a future internet worm.
"If Microsoft says there is a critical problem with its
software, companies should sit up and listen. All businesses should
ensure they have the resources in place to see which of the
vulnerabilities may affect them, and apply the fixes as necessary,"
said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "In
the past we have seen worms appear exploiting Microsoft security
holes within a couple of weeks of Microsoft's announcement. Smarter
businesses will be putting protection in place now rather than
waiting to see if an attack occurs."
Microsoft has posted details of the vulnerabilities and made
available updates which are reported to fix the issue on its
website. In the worst scenario echoing
the Blaster or
Sasser worm
outbreaks, the vulnerabilities allow a remote attacker to run code
on a user's system. The security holes could be exploited by
hackers or a future internet worm.
"Home users are particularly open to attack, because they have
often not downloaded the latest security patches from Microsoft,
and may not be running a personal firewall," continued Cluley. "All
computer users should ensure their systems are properly
protected."
Home users of Microsoft Windows can visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com to have their
systems scanned for critical Microsoft security
vulnerabilities.
Sophos recommends that every IT manager responsible for security
should consider subscribing to vulnerability mailing lists such as
that operated by Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/notify.mspx.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.