 There are many things to love about computers and the Internet including instant communications, constant access to information, free software, informative newsletters, and connections to people around the world. There is, however, one thing to hate: the need to constantly be vigilant about the safety of your computer.
Sometimes even following all the rules about not falling for phishing schemes, not opening unsafe email attachments, and keeping your software updated isn't enough to keep you fully protected. That was the case recently because of a critical security flaw that was uncovered in Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser. The defect was found in all versions of Internet Explorer including IE6, IE7, and the beta version of IE8.
The flaw was discovered and immediately used by some hackers. They put special computer instructions on websites that they controlled. These instructions used the Internet Explorer flaw to gain control of Windows computers and steal passwords. So unsuspecting people who visited these websites had their computers compromised. The web visitors didn't have to download anything. Just visiting the website passed the infection to their computers.
Security experts estimated that within a week as many as 10,000 websites were exploiting the browser flaw and as many as 2 million computers were infected. Many of these websites were focused on stealing gaming passwords which could be sold on the black market. That seems fairly mild, but it is almost inevitable that others will use this flaw to perpetrate more serious thefts of personal information.
Microsoft was slow to issue a patch to correct the problem; so many security experts told Windows users to use an alternate web browser like Firefox, Opera, or Chrome. Since all of these browsers are free, it is fairly easy to download one and use it instead of using Internet Explorer. Microsoft was under pressure to find a solution to the problem before their base of Internet Explorer users started to dwindle. So on Wednesday, December 17th , 2008, a little more than a week after the discovery of the flaw, a patch was finally issued to repair the problem.
We could blame Microsoft for this situation. We could blame the hackers and identity thieves. But no matter who we blame, we all need to be alert to situations like this so we can keep our personal information secure and our computers free from infestation.
Every Windows computer user needs to make sure that they install the Microsoft update that corrects this problem. If you have Windows automatic updates installed, the patch should have already been downloaded and installed on your computer. If you don't have automatic updates turned on, here's how to turn them on:
In Windows XP, Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Depending on which Control Panel view you use, Classic or Category, do one of the following: Click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab. Click Performance and Maintenance, click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab. Make sure Automatic Updates is turned on and choose the options that you want.
You can access the Windows Updates in Windows Vista by following the same instructions, but after you enter the System area, you will choose Windows Update from the list on the left at the bottom of the window. You can click on Change settings to make adjustments to the time and the way that the updates are downloaded and installed.
In both XP and Vista, you can also access the Automatic Updates by clicking on the Security Center icon in the Control Panel.
Automatic updates are set by default to check for new updates everyday at 3 am. If your computer is not on at 3am, it will check for new updates when you turn it on. You can adjust the frequency, the time, and the way that the updates are downloaded and installed. It is best to have Microsoft install the updates automatically and to check for new updates every day.
Depending on the settings that you choose in the Automatic update area, the updates may request your permission to install them. If that is the case, you will see a yellow shield in the bottom right corner of the screen, and a request to allow the update. You should download and install this and all other Microsoft updates as soon as possible. As Sergeant Esterhaus from Hill Street Blues would say: "Hey, let's be careful out there!"
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