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France and Germany warn against using Internet Explorer

The BBC reports on France joining Germany in warning internet users not to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser due to a sophiticated exploit that currently is infecting people still using the old version of the browser, IE6:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8465038.stm

 

For a web user to be affected, he said, they would have to be using IE6 and visit a compromised website.

"There are very few of them out there," he told BBC News.

However, if this did occur, a PC could become infected with a "trojan horse", allowing a hacker to take control of the computer and potentially steal sensitive information.

'Sophisticated attack'

Although the vulnerability has so far been exploited only in IE6, security researchers warned that could soon change.

"Microsoft themselves admit there is a vulnerability, even in IE8," said Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.

 

There are many other reasons that no one should be using Internet Explorer 6 anymore. One website outlines many of these reasons in its campaign against IE6:

http://www.bringdownie6.com/

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