Microsoft has revealed that they are to finally fix a flaw in their windows system which originally dates back to their DOS operating system. February’s security update, which will fix five “critical” flaws in the system along with another 20 problems, will also mend a vulnerability which has been in the software since it shipped in Windows NT 3.1.
However, whilst the fault may be old, it has only just been discovered. Tavis Ormandy realised that the glitch in the system allowed for new Window’s versions to run on extremely old programmes, thus allowing it to be exploited in Windows Server 2003 and 2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista and the latest OS, Windows 7.
The latest security update, whilst not the largest that Microsoft has ever issued, will fix the ancient problem as well as critical bugs in Office 2003 and 2004, and Office XP. It follows the firm releasing a 34 bug fix last October in addition to an “out of band” fix last month for a serious issue within its IE operations, highlighted by the cyber attack on Google.
Whilst the debate continues between China and Google after Microsoft admitted that a flaw in their software had allowed for hackers to penetrate individual’s accounts, an internet security researcher revealed that they had also discovered another problem with IE. The new threat, which allows hackers to view files on an individual’s computer, is stated to be low in risk, and Microsoft have responded to concerns saying that they are developing a patch.
