Microsoft: whoops…
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has another big problem. There’s a zero-day flaw that, according to the Guardian, “could let hackers gain access to their computers and steal personal data”. This isn’t something that just exists as a proof-of-concept; it’s been used, mercifully so far only to steal game passwords. Trend Micro is advising people to change browsers until a patch is released.
Internet Explorer is closed-source; you can’t, should you wish to, get under the bonnet/hood of the programme to see how it works. The main alternative, Mozilla’s Firefox, is open source; as Linus’ Law goes, ‘many eyes make bugs shallow’. Because lots of people can and do look at it, problems like this are picked up and fixed earlier.
xD.
