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Microsoft warns of Windows, IE security hole

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CIOL Bureau
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SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp. on Thursday issued a "critical" security bulletin which said the company has discovered a security hole in its software which would let cyber-attackers run programs on Web servers and computers in homes and businesses. The software giant said that users of its Windows operating system, except for its latest Windows XP version, as well as users of its Internet Explorer, were vulnerable to malicious attacks.



The security hole can be fixed by downloading a patch from Microsoft's Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/), the world's largest software maker said. The security warning, Microsoft's 65th bulletin so far this year, said the "hole" can be exploited to gain access to Microsoft's database components in Web servers that make up the Internet as well as software running on desktops that are used to access the Web.



"Clearly this vulnerability is very serious, and Microsoft recommends that all customers whose systems could be affected by them take appropriate action immediately," Microsoft said in a statement. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft launched a company-wide effort at the beginning of this year to make its products more trustworthy, which temporarily halted product development so that they could be reviewed and that programmers could be trained. Microsoft shares closed 2.15 percent higher on Thursday at $57.84.



© Reuters

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