Microsoft Issues Fix for Internet Explorer

Microsoft released a fix today for a security glitch related to Internet Explorer, a flaw so serious that the Homeland Security department had warned people to use a different browser in the interim. Those using IE should get the fix automatically assuming they've got updates enabled. "If you haven’t turned it on automatic updates yet, you should do so now," advises a Microsoft blog post. "Click the 'Check for Updates' button on the Windows Update portion of your Control Panel to get this going."

One surprise: The fix covers those still using the Windows XP operating system, even though Microsoft doesn't support it anymore, reports USA Today. The company made the move because the security flaw was uncovered so close to the last day of support for XP on April 8. Still, the company encouraged XP users to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1, and to the latest version of Explorer, IE11. As for the flaw, it could "be used to silently install malicious software without any help from users, save for perhaps browsing to a hacked or malicious site," notes the Krebs on Security blog. (More Microsoft stories.)