As if we needed another reason not to use Internet Explorer, there is currently a security vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer (or “IE”) targeting financial institutions and defense companies/contractors. Computer users still using Windows XP are particularly vulnerable. It’s believed these attacks are an information gathering effort. Microsoft will most likely be providing a program update to fix the problem soon. But in the mean time, we would suggest you use an alternative web browser such as Firefox or Google Chrome.
For those of you who aren’t computer savvy, if you have Windows this program is probably what you think of as “The Internet.” It’s a big lowercase E with a gold circle around it.
As a helpful guideline, the University of Florida Information Security Office has issued the following recommendation: Avoid financial and defense (military) related Web sites until Microsoft releases a patch – only go to these types of Web sites if it is absolutely necessary and do not use Internet Explorer until a patch is released. And users are advised to avoid using Internet Explorer when possible until a patch is made available. Users should consider using an alternate web browser such as FireFox, Safari, or Chrome when use of Internet Explorer is not required.
A link to a CNN story about the IE threat »
Visit these pages to download the alternative web browsers: