If you’re a consumer or small business opportunity or franchise owner, in fact anyone who uses Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) as your browser, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has an important message for you: You are at very high risk for a cyber-security breach! It seems that a strong vulnerability has been detected in IE8, one that enables scammers to access and take control of users’ computers.
The good news? On the heels of its statement late last week alerting the public to the problem, the FBI announced that Microsoft has released a temporary fix. Users of IE8 are urged by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to take action and follow the recommended steps to address the threat immediately. Further instructions can be found at: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2847140.
Microsoft is working on a patch to undo the vulnerability altogether that will not affect other versions of IE and “is currently being tested around-the-clock.” The company says it will release it as soon as testing confirms it is ready for broad release to all customers.
Reinforcing the fact that it is critical for individuals and businesses to maintain current anti-virus software on any and all technology platforms and devices that are connected to the internet, the FBI went on to explain the exact nature of the threat in greater detail. “(The vulnerability) could allow an attacker to take complete control of an affected system,” it said. “Exploitation may occur if a user visits or is redirected to a web page which is specifically crafted to take advantage…(resulting in) an attacker gaining some privileges as the logged on user…(which may include the following…installing programs, viewing, changing or deleting data or creating new accounts).” Even “failed exploit attempts may result in a denial-of-service condition,” making this a very serious threat.
Again, for more information and to access the temporary fix for this problem, go to https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2847140 now! And if you’d like more information on all types of scams, we recommend the BBB Scam Stopper at https://www.bbb.org/scam-stopper/.