Heard about this on the radio this morning, and just found some more details. Yes, more people are taking advantage of the security problems in Internet Explorer. The best part is that there's no patch, so any and all Windows Internet Explorer users are vulnerable.
The researchers believe that online organized crime groups are breaking into Web servers and surreptitiously inserting code that takes advantage of two flaws in Internet Explorer that Microsoft has not yet fixed. Those flaws allow the Web server to install a program that takes control of the user's computer.
As is often the case, there's also this sentence towards the end:
Meanwhile, the average Internet surfer is left with few options. Windows users could download an alternate browser, such as Mozilla or Opera, and Mac users are not in danger.
Now I know I shouldn't do this, because as soon as I do someone is likely to find some nasty way to go after Mac users, but I see this sentence (or a variation of it) often enough that as a Mac/Safari/Mozilla user I just have to say:
Neener.
Neener.
Neener.
Posted by Jason at June 25, 2004 10:38 AM