Microsoft on March 30 released an emergency patch for a weakness hackers are exploiting in earlier versions of its Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser software. Microsoft routinely releases software patches the second Tuesday of each month and only resorts to "out-of-band" fixes when it deems it too dangerous to wait.
Hackers could use the flaw to remotely seize control of computers. The new IE 8 Web browser and an old IE 5 version are not affected, according to the US software giant. The warning came less than two months after Microsoft released a patch for an IE 6 software hole through which China-based cyber spies attacked Google and other firms.
No matter which Web browser people use, upgrading to the most current version promises to increase protection against hackers. Nine other software patches, some for IE 8, released on Tuesday along with the high-priority fix, according to Microsoft.