Department of Homeland Security recommends discontinuing use of Internet Explorer

Gear & Reviews
1

FYI, This came from a service my church uses for its website, so I consider it reliable.

Department of Homeland Security recommends discontinuing use of Internet Explorer

Over the weekend, US-CERT became aware of a major security vulnerabilty in Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11. They believe this vulnerabilty is actively being exploited, and therefore, as of Monday, April 28, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security is advising users to stop using Internet Explorer until the bug is patched. Internet Explorer versions 8 and earlier are particularly vulnerable, since Microsoft discontinued extended support of Windows XP on April 8, 2014.

This vulnerabilty could allow a hacker to gain the same user rights as the current user, and that attacker could ultimately take complete control of the affected system. Microsoft has provided detailed information and recommended actions to reduce your risk. You can also download a current version of an alternative browser:
Chrome
Firefox

If you decide to download Firefox, go to www.mozilla.org and get it directly or you may end up with a bunch of tagalong programs you don’t want.

2

I heard that on NPR too.

3

Of course,

DHS is a VERY reliable source for things like this…trust your government, they have your best interests at heart always…

:wink:

4

He said with a twinkle in his eye.

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Department of Homeland Security recommends discontinuing use of Internet Explorer

I’ve been telling people that for years. :slight_smile:

6

why not, maybe I can take down the internet

7

I download and switch to Firefox yesterday, so far, I’m not like it at all. There was at least one hitchhiker program with it that I can’t figure how to get rid of so far.

8

Which one is it ,Jesse? I believe I got rid of all of mine. BTW a guru told me a while back that Chrome was liked by some over Firefox.

9

I run both Firefox and Chrome. Chrome can be somewhat glitchy at times. In either, make sure you add Adblock Plus. You can thank me later.

10

I will thank you now, in anticipation of what that sounds like it should do. That was about as quick and easy as a download can be. Thanks again Chewy. You’re not a wookie are you?

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You’re not a wookie are you?

No wookie here. Chewydog is in reference to my dog named Chewy, who did resemble a wookie.

12

Welcome to the present DHS… IE has been a security risk for years

I haven’t used IE for years. I switched to Firefox roughly 10 years ago and I switched to Chrome 3-4 years ago. Both Firefox and Chrome are far superior

13

Microsoft came out with a patch this afternoon. You have to click on “search for updates” to find it.

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I use Firefox as my main browser and am very happy with it. It works better for me than IE for most sites. I have not used Chrome. I keep IE on my computer as there are still some sites that run properly only if you use IE. I strongly agree with using Adblock on Firefox.

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The 2 monthly Windows updates plus the IE security updates if you click Windows Update

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Microsoft and AVG have been patching like mad for the last few days. Norton has pushed several patches as well. Other anti-virus vendors probably have. When you run updates, keep running (and restarting as necessary) until ALL of the updates have been installed. This may take a while, especially If your computer Is slow to run the restart cycle. Many updates require prerequisite updates to be run and therefore there is a chain effect.

Regards,
Ed

17

I download FireFox from Mozzilla.org and my computer slowed down like a 12 MHz PC with a dial up connection. After a few days of uninstalling programs that hitchhiked in with it, I did a system restore and it’s moving like it should. I have a 3 a.m. automatic upgrade on all the Microsoft programs on my computer.