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It is Happening Again! Microsoft Warns Windows XP Users from Cyber Attacks

Microsoft Corp. has released a warning to all users of the old software Windows XP after detecting a bug that made it vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Dec 01, 2013 02:04 PM EST

Dutch Government Pays Millions For Extended Windows XP Support
Dutch Government Pays Millions For Extended Windows XP Support (Photo : Creative Commons/Flickr)

Microsoft Corp. has released a warning to all users of the old software Windows XP after detecting a bug that made it vulnerable to cyber attacks.

The Redmond, Washington-based company has released an advisory about a bug in its earlier version of operating systems Windows XP and Server 2003 that could allow hackers to take control of a computer. According to the advisory, hackers have aggressively exploited the zero-day vulnerability of these systems.

As soon as the bug was identified, the software giant immediately implemented unusual actions to prevent the cyber attacks. They advised users to temporarily switch off some Windows services to make sure they keep their computers out of risk.

However, the company admitted that making use of the fix could cause some widely used networking functions like using the computer to work remotely over a VPN (virtual private network) or the ability to access a machine through the net.

The bug that permits cyber-attackers to use a system defect in older Adobe Reader versions has been discovered by FireEye, a worldwide network security company that offers automated threat forensics and dynamic malware defense against sophisticated cyber threats.

The security company explained that through the Adobe bug, attackers were able to “escalate” the access they were given to the system and eventually permit them to encode their own code.

Microsoft said that it was aware of "limited, targeted" attacks using the combined bug to take control of computers.

An all-inclusive patch up for this loophole is now being worked on by the company and it looks forward to keep it as a future security update.

The good news from FireEye is that the newer versions of Windows remain unaffected and those who have upgraded to the latest version of Adobe Reader will not be penetrable by the combined attack.

This recent cyber-attack is not the first for Windows XP and Server 2003. In 2010, Google engineer Tavis Ormandy alerted Microsoft of the same problem with complete details. The bug could allow criminal hackers to take over a computer by installing a malware attached on web pages and e-mails.

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