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