Microsoft Patches Will Fight Attacks as Apple Fixes Safari

Microsoft plans to combat Internet attacks under way by plugging three critical Windows security holes in next week’s Patch Tuesday. Apple also fixed some bugs with an update to its Safari Web browser. One of the Patch Tuesday updates will plug a zero-day vulnerability within Microsoft TV Technologies that can be exploited through Internet Explorer. Microsoft TV Technologies is an ActiveX control that comes with Windows XP and is installed by default. The exploit files are detected as Downloader.Fostrem (previously detected as Downloader). The downloaded files are detected as Trojan Horse, Backdoor.Trojan, Infostealer and Downloader. Thousands of Sites Compromised Initially, there were limited attacks. However, Symantec has since reported new evidence of the flaw being exploited widely in China and other parts of Asia. Reports indicate thousands of Web sites have been compromised and are now hosting the exploit for this issue. Another update will patch a DirectShow vulnerability. Microsoft has reported limited active attacks using booby-trapped QuickTime files. Windows XP users with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are at risk, but those with Internet Explorer 8 installed are not vulnerable. Preliminary testing shows that computers running Windows Vista are not affected by the vulnerabilities. Microsoft said the third critical patch affects all versions of Windows. It provided few details in its advance report designed to give IT administrators time to prepare. Other updates to be released Tuesday rated important will fix vulnerabilities in Microsoft Publisher, the Internet Security and Acceleration Server, and Virtual PC and Virtual Server. Safari Update On Wednesday, Apple released an update to Safari. Safari 4.0.2 fixes two bugs in the browser’s WebKit. The first bug fixes an issue with the WebKit’s handling of parent and top objects that could open the door to a cross-scripting attack if a user visited a malicious Web site. The second bug is a memory-corruption issue in the way…

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Microsoft Patches Will Fight Attacks as Apple Fixes Safari