12 Apr 2006
Patches released for critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft's software
|
| Microsoft has described some of the
vulnerabilities as critical. |
As part of its monthly patch distribution, Microsoft has issued
a series of new security updates, some of which are categorized as
critical.
Sophos reported
last month how hackers were actively exploiting an unpatched
security hole (known as the "CreateTextRange" vulnerability) in
Internet Explorer to attack innocent computers. At the time some
computer users reported they were turning off Active Scripting or
switching to alternative web browsers such as Firefox to ensure
their systems were not at risk. Amongst Microsoft's new security
patches is a fix for the vulnerability.
"Businesses have been chomping at the bit to patch against this
latest vulnerability in Microsoft's code, as there were many
instances of hackers attempting to exploit the flaw in the wild,"
said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "A security
hole which allows hackers with malicious intentions to run
unauthorized code on Windows computers is very serious, and all
affected users should ensure they have put the right defenses in
place."
Home users of Microsoft Windows can visit update.microsoft.com to have their systems scanned for
critical Microsoft security vulnerabilities.
Sophos suggests 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.
Sophos continues to recommend companies protect their desktops
and servers with automatically updated
anti-virus protection.
About Sophos
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.