Emergency patch for Internet Explorer coming today
Microsoft is today issuing an emergency patch for the Internet Explorer bug which has reportedly infected 2 million computers. While potentially embarrassing to be forced into such a move, it’s considerably better than letting the problem continue to be exploited.
The firm has confirmed the problem is critical for all editions of Windows; originally it appeared only XP and Windows Server 2003 were affected. The confusion may be down to Vista machines having a ‘protected mode’ switched on by default. Microsoft also says only Internet Explorer 7 has been hit so far, though in theory the problem could affect all editions of the browser.
The update was scheduled for release from 1 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and will be available to download at both the Microsoft Update and Microsoft Security Center sites. It will also be distributed through the Microsoft Update service and Microsoft is advising all users to switch to the automatic download and installation setting to make sure they get the patch as soon as possible.
The firm is holding two webcasts to give further advice, scheduled for 4 p.m. (EST) today and 2 p.m. tomorrow.
There will no doubt be some embarrassment in having to issue a second emergency patch (or ‘out-of-band’ update in Microsoft speak) in the space of two months, particularly given the last one before that was 18 months ago. It certainly won’t help Internet Explorer’s battered image in mainstream and industry media alike.
However, even the most PR-conscious of firms would have realised there was absolutely no alternative in this situation. As soon as the scale of the problem became clear, Microsoft had to patch it as soon as possible. The company will now be crossing its fingers and hoping that the patch fixes the problem before the hackers switch their targets from online game passwords to credit card information or simply wreak havoc on machines.
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