Hackers are finding more holes than ever in Microsoft's Internet
Explorer Web browser. So much so, the government's Computer Emergency
Readiness Team (CERT) issued a strong warning to Internet Explorer
users on the Windows platform to switch browsers due to known security
holes.
The warning stems from a recent virus that spread to possibly thousands
of Web sites that allow hackers to steal personal credit card and
information from visitors. The infection made barely noticeable
changes to an infected site that transmits a piece of code to Internet
Explorer users that record their keystrokes and send personal data
back to hackers.
A second warning, issued by the SANS Internet Storm Center, warned
users about pop-up ads that tracked user traffic to 50 worldwide
financial institutions, captured log-in information and sent it
to another site before banks could encrypt the data.
Both attacks exploit security holes within Internet Explorer, but
Microsoft hasn't released patches to block either problem.
Evidently, many regular Internet users took notice. The day CERT
issued its warning, downloads of related alternative browsers, Mozilla
and Firefox, rose sharply to more than 200,000--twice as much than
on an average day. The user base for Firefox alone has doubled every
few months too. Experts say that's an indication of the level of
frustration users have grown used to with Windows-based products
and, specifically, Internet Explorer.
Another good reason Mozilla software is growing in popularity:
The browser doesn't use or support Active X, a plug-in that allows
Web sites to include multimedia and interactive features, making
it much more secure than Internet Explorer.
USA Today July 2, 2004
Wired
News July 2, 2004
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