Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

(Credit: CBCNews.ca: URL: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Technology%2Band%2BScience/ID/2453264922/ – Internet Explorer bug: what you can do – CBCNews.ca associate producer Lauren O'Neill shows you how to defend your computer against the IE bug – April 29, 2014; Duration: 1:11)

Microsoft Corporation’s Security TechCenter issued Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983 entitled “Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution” (Published on April 26, 2014; Updated on May 1, 2014) in which the company acknowledged the presence of “limited, targeted attacks” attempting to take advantage of weaknesses in versions 6, 7,8,9,10 and 11 of the Internet Explorer (IE) browser (through which users can view websites on the Internet). The weakness or vulnerability is based on remote code execution by which a hacker could deliberately user code within someone’s Internet Explorer browser to lure unsuspecting users to a specially designed website similar to a legitimate website in which someone might give up personal information without realizing it.

While waiting for a security patch fix from Microsoft Corporation, users were directed to information about Internet Explorer’s Enhanced Protected Mode (EPM) available on the IEBlog. The FireEye blog reported on April 26, 2014 that the use of EPM (introduced in Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10)) in tests prevented the exploit or vulnerability from occurring. In addition, disabling the Adobe Flash plug-in will deter the exploit from working. On April 28, 2014, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressed concern over the vulnerability in Internet Explorer (IE) and urged caution in using Microsoft’s web browser until a security patch was issued by considering use of an alternative web browser for following Microsoft’s suggestions in the meantime. US-CERT and others stated that Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) could be downloaded and used (especially by organizations) to mitigate against this and other vulnerabilities by working in tandem with other security programs. EMET is compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 operating systems.

(Credit: YouTube – CNET – Microsoft fixes big bad Internet Explorer bug – Published on May 1, 2014)  

(Credit: YouTube – ITProTV – How-to: IE Vulnerabilities – Security Update for Internet Explorer – Published on May 2, 2014) 

(Credit: YouTube – OMGTechHelp – Internet Explorer Vulnerability Patch – Published on May 2, 2014 – Explains how to use manual updating through Windows Update) 

On May 1, 2014, Microsoft Corporation issued a security patch to fix this “zero-day” vulnerability (from which a previously unknown flaw in software can be exploited). Microsoft announced that it was also including computers using the now obsolete Windows XP operating system in the fix but repeated that “Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft” and urged customers to migrate to newer operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 7 and 8.1. Users of Internet-enabled computers using Microsoft Windows (regardless of whether it is version XP, 7, 8, or 8.1) should check to see if their computers are set up to receive automatic updates, whenever available. For further information, visit Windows Update and Microsoft Update.

The non-Microsoft option is for users to use another web browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. Users can download for free either Mozilla Firefox and/or Google Chrome onto their desktop or laptop computer (if they have not already done so). Visit this Google Chrome help page and follow the steps for importing bookmarked websites and settings from another web browser into Google Chrome:

1. Click the Chrome menu button:  
2. Select Bookmarks.
3. Select Import bookmarks and settings.
4. Select the program that contains the bookmarks that you want to import.
5. Click Import.

Or, alternatively, visit the Mozilla support page to follow the steps to import bookmarks from Internet Explorer:

1. Click the Bookmarks button (   ) on the right side of the navigation toolbar and select Show All Bookmarks to open the Library window.
2. In the Library window, click Import and Backup and choose Import Data from Another Browser….
3. In the Import Wizard window that appears, select Microsoft Internet Explorer, then click the Next button.
4. Choose the items to import such as internet options, cookies, browsing history, and favorites (i.e. bookmarked or favourite websites).
5. Click on the Finish button to import the selected items.
6. Imported bookmarks of favourite websites will appear in the Bookmarks menu in a separate folder entitled “From Internet Explorer”.