Internet Explorer unsafe (again!)

Remember my neighbour who tried uninstalling Internet Explorer? Well he could have had good reason according to latest reports.

Microsoft have admitted that a serious flaw in security has left the majority of the world’s internet users exposed to attacks from hackers hoping to steal personal data and passwords.

A loophole in Internet Explorer (IE) allows criminals to commandeer victims’ PCs by tricking them into visiting unsafe websites.

It is thought that two million computers have already been affected as Microsoft conceded that 1 in 500 internet users may have been exposed.

Computer users are advised by some security experts to switch to an alternative internet browser, such as Firefox or Google Chrome, to avoid the hackers who have so far corrupted an estimated 10,000 websites.

Microsoft’s advice for Internet Explorer users

1. Keep your anti-virus up-to-date. Microsoft has circulated the definitions of these vulnerabilities to all the major anti-virus providers.

2. Reset Internet Explorer to run in protected mode. This is the default mode in Windows Vista but not XP or the earlier versions.

3. Set zone security to high.

4. Ensure Windows is updated. You can do this manually through Windows updater or set it to automatic updates.