UPDATE: IE Chinese hacker fix due at 5am tomorrow

Dan Warne
21 January 2010, 3:23 PM


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Microsoft says it will issue a software fix to block Chinese hackers at 5.00am Friday, Australian time after "working round the clock" to fix the problem.


The software giant, which has been embarassed by hackers using the flaw in Internet Explorer to hack some of the worlds largest companies undetected since mid-December, says the update will be the standard February cumulative update, with the inclusion of the security flaw fix.

Microsoft said the release would be issued as a "critical" package.

In the meantime, Microsoft continued to recommend people stop using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 immediately, and upgrade to Internet Explorer 8, which has some level of protection against the hackers (though not complete protection). For the protection to be effective, you must also install the latest patches to Windows such as XP SP 3, or Windows Vista SP1 (both of which have data execution prevention enabled by default.)

However, it did not go as far as repeating the German and French governments' advice that people should stop using Internet Explorer altogether, and switch to Firefox or Google Chrome instead, which are not subject to the same security flaw.

Microsoft continued to state that it had only seen live attacks targeted at Internet Explorer 6 users, even though the attackers could exploit machines running IE7 or IE8.


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Tin (Regular user):

They'll have already lost some market share over it. Most of the users spooked enough to change browser will stick to their new choice. Few will return to IE once they've spent a few days on Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

21 January 2010, 9:52 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Ausman (New user):

> even though the attackers could exploit machines running IE7 or IE8.

So is IE8 on Win 7 vulnerable? Not that I use IE but I want to know if there's a volnerability by having that junk in my O/S!

22 January 2010, 4:16 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Chode (New user):

Can this post be any more racist? Come on, "IE Chinese Hacker"? Where is the proof?

22 January 2010, 10:42 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

petert (Advanced Forumologist):

Quoting Chode:
Can this post be any more racist? Come on, "IE Chinese Hacker"? Where is the proof?

It has been widely reported that the attacks came from China. There is nothing in the article that is remotely racist and it is about time that people like you stopped "Crying racist" every time a person's nationality is reported.




22 January 2010, 12:08 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Chode (New user):

Quoting petert:
It has been widely reported that the attacks came from China.

Being widely reported doesn't mean that it is true. It was widely reported that Iraq had nuclear weapons, TWICE! Look what happened? Wake up to reality.

22 January 2010, 1:36 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

 x  (User):

Quoting Chode:
Can this post be any more racist? Come on, "IE Chinese Hacker"? Where is the proof?

hahaha, oh where to begin, well, from the very begining of course, see those first two works "Microsoft says..."

If this were racist, and I'm trying not to laugh here, but if this were racist, it is not the post but Microsoft that you should be crying out to.

I would't be surpirse if it were Russian hackers useing Chinese websites to exploit IE6, that being said, the tie would be to the Chinese websites and Hackers, so therefore 'Chinese Hacker Fix' is still an appropirate term.

If some Australian went to America and robbed 200 banks, you could expect the media to refer to it as the American Bank Roberies, assuming the theif's identity was keep secret.

22 January 2010, 2:15 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

petert (Advanced Forumologist):

Quoting x :
If some Australian went to America and robbed 200 banks, you could expect the media to refer to it as the American Bank Roberies, assuming the theif's identity was keep secret.

A few years ago, a couple of foolish Australians did rob a couple of banks in USA. They were caught and quite properly identified as Australians. That was not a racist term and there was no racist intent in the reporting. There was no intent in the reporting to label all Australians as thieves and bank-robbers. The reporting was merely about their country of origin and they were in fact Australians. This is why I find those, like Chode, who throw-around the racist word so intolerable. His post clearly demonstrates that he does not even understand the meaning of the term!


22 January 2010, 2:24 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Chode (New user):

Can this post be any more racist? Come on, "IE Chinese Hacker"? Where is the proof?

22 January 2010, 1:36 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

petert (Advanced Forumologist):

You are absolutely right Chode. Dan Warne was pondering what to do this morning and decided that it would be a really good idea to just make-up a story about the Chinese; afterall, we all know that they don't get enough bad publicity.

True, just because something is reported does not make the report correct. Concomitantly, it also does not make it incorrect.

By the way, before you throw-around the term "racist" anymore, you may want to go to a dictionary and look-up the meaning of the word. Dan Warne's article shows not one sign of racism. To do so, he would have to have labelled all Chinese in some pejorative form - and he has not done that. What he has done is merely identify that the alleged person's involved are Chinese. That a huge difference!

I am really sickened by fools like you who at every chance are quite willing to use the "racist" word without even have a modicum of understanding of its actual meaning!

Quite simply, you owe Dan Warne an apology, but I will leave it to him to pursue that matter with you!

22 January 2010, 2:13 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (User):

Quoting petert:
Quite simply, you owe Dan Warne an apology

Damn straight!

It's funny that the most racist and non accepting groups in our wide brown land are those that choose to cling to perceptions of other lands.

Those who scream for tolerance and acceptance of foreign cultures and yet refuse to show tolerance to the laws and inhabitants of this country are the ones who demonstrate the real ugliness of racism.

To falsely concoct suggestions of racism is one of the most racist acts possible and something that does nothing to encourage acceptance and integration.

Be ashamed, be very ashamed!

22 January 2010, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

apt.pupil (User):

Quoting Raindog:
...in our wide brown land...

Z0mG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you said brown.
Racist post RACIST MAN. you better start apologizing

/jokes

Also on a serious note- it is actually a combination of Google and Trend Micro that narrowed down the attacks to being based in China. Google even went as far as blaming the chinese government for the attack, because of the recent tensions between google and the Chinese Government's censorship of information.
Also note that Microsoft's statements in regards to it being IE6 that is the culprit browser also hold true- as evidenced by Trend Micro




23 January 2010, 11:18 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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