Serious Security flaw in Microsoft IE 7

So far Firefox (FF) is considered as a secure browser, here is one more feather in the cap of FF.

As per wikipedia, here is a market share comparison among web browsers -

Internet Explorer: 70.72%
Firefox: 20.27%
Safari: 6.77%
Chrome: 0.78%
Opera: 0.73%
Netscape: 0.48%
Other: 0.24%

Adding to the security woes, CNN reports a serious vulnerability in Microsoft IE.

Here is the news:

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Users of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Internet Explorer Web browser could be open to attacks from criminals hoping to glean passwords and financial information as the software giant works to fix a security flaw.

"Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer," said the company in a release on its Web site.

The attack on Internet Explorer differs from many in the past that were successful only when users downloaded attachments that could exploit security cracks in the browser. In this case, victims' computers could be taken over simply by going to an infected Web site.

"This type of attack has been happening for a while, what's new is the unpatched IE tips off and draws attention that this sort of attack is working," said Cross Research analyst Richard Williams. "Ordinarily, by the time the news hits, the flaw has been fixed."

Microsoft said it is only aware of attacks on the Windows Internet Explorer 7 version of the browser, though all versions of the world's most popular program for surfing the Web are potentially vulnerable.

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Microsoft released an urgent security update today for Internet Explorer on all currently supported versions of Windows.

How to get the updates
If you are using Windows Vista you can manage your updates through the control panel. For more information, see Windows Vista: How to update your operating system.

To manually download available updates, go to Microsoft Update or in Windows Vista go to your control panel. After your computer has been scanned to see which updates it needs, click the Custom button to find and choose the update you want to install. We recommend you install all High-Priority Security and Critical updates immediately.

Microsoft Update is a new service that brings you all the features and benefits of Windows Update plus downloads for other Microsoft applications including Office.

As per the official site, there are much benefits to use Microsoft Update plus downloads,

Benefits :

Improve your computer’s health and security.
Regularly update your computer with the latest software from Microsoft to boost the security and reliability of your Windows PC.

Easy and flexible.
Microsoft Update is easy to set up and use. Download and install updates automatically, or customize the choices that are right for you.

New features, better performance.
Every month, Microsoft releases new drivers and software that increase the performance and functionality of your Windows-based computer. Get enhancements as soon as they are available using Microsoft Update.

The below URL can help you find your appropriate service packs and updates from Microsoft :

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-078.mspx