Happy New Year, gang. This morning, I did a little research about this
security flaw in IE 8, 7 and6, and found the following FAQ's that explain it
in more detail on the Microsoft Security Advisor web site. It sounds like
engaging in safe browsing practices can minimize the risk of being exploited
by hackers who attempt to take advantage of this flaw. So contrary to the
advice offered by Kim Commando, it may not be necessary to ditch IE
altogether and switch to another browser as long as you don't click on
suspiciouslinks or attachments in email messages and otherwise follow safe
browsing techniques:
"What is the scope of the advisory?
Microsoft is aware of a new vulnerability that affects Internet Explorer.
Is this a security vulnerability that requires Microsoft to issue a security
update?
On completion of our investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate
action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution
through
our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security
update, depending on customer needs.
What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the
same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with
administrative
user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could
take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install
programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full
user rights.
How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to
exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a
user to
view the website. The attacker could also take advantage of compromised
websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or
advertisements.
These websites could contain specially crafted content that could exploit
this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to
force
users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would
have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a
link
in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to
the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.
I am running Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008,
or Windows Server 2008 R2. Does this mitigate this vulnerability?
Yes. By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server
2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 runs in a restricted mode that is known as
Enhanced Security Configuration.
Enhanced Security Configuration is a group of preconfigured settings in
Internet Explorer that can reduce the likelihood of a user or administrator
downloading
and running specially crafted web content on a server. This is a mitigating
factor for websites that you have not added to the Internet Explorer Trusted
sites zone.
What is the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit v3.0 (EMET)?
The Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) is a utility that helps
prevent vulnerabilities in software from being successfully exploited. EMET
achieves
this by using security mitigation technologies. These technologies function
as special protections and obstacles that an exploit author must defeat in
order to exploit software vulnerabilities. These security mitigation
technologies do not guarantee that vulnerabilities cannot be exploited, but
work to
make exploitation as difficult to accomplish as possible. In many instances,
a fully functional exploit that can bypass EMET may never be developed. For
more information, see
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2458544.
Does EMET help mitigate attacks that try to exploit this vulnerability?
Yes. The Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) helps mitigate the
exploitation of this vulnerability by adding additional protection layers
that
make the vulnerability harder to exploit. EMET is a utility that helps
prevent vulnerabilities in software from being successfully exploited for
code execution,
by applying the latest security mitigation technologies. At this time, EMET
is provided with limited support and is only available in the English
language.
For more information, see
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2458544."
Gerald
----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg Washington" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 5:53 PM
Subject: [JAWS-Users] Serious security flaw in IE7,8 and possibly 9?
I subscribe to the Kim Komando newsletter. She just sent out a special
security alert warning against hackers exploiting flaws in IE6,7,8 and
even
9 that can allow someone to completely take over your computer. She
recommends switching to either IE10 or Firefox or chrome. Which of these
alternatives to Ie6-9 work best with Jaws? I am using Jaws 13.0.1006 on a
windws 7 computer. The link to her alert is below.
http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=13834&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=ale
rts&utm_content=2012-12-31-article-in-body-a
Greg Washington
For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
