14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already announced that it will fix a total of 57 security flaws on Patch Tuesday, but it’s also very important to note that every single version of its in-house browser is going to be updated next week.
Basically, the company will try to fix security flaws in Internet Explorer version 6 to 10 because they’re all vulnerable to drive-by attacks, as the company revealed in an advisory, without providing more details on the matter.
Security company Sophos says that patching these Internet Explorer flaws is most likely a priority for Microsoft not only because computers are vulnerable while being used to browse the web, but also due to the fact they affect a big number of systems.
“That means that simply visiting a boobytrapped webpage could silently infect your computer with malware - hijacking your PC for a hacker's own ends,” Sophos explained.
Internet Explorer remains the number one browser in the world, according to statistics provided by research firm Net Applications for the month of January 2013.
Microsoft’s own browser is installed on no more, no less than 55.14 percent of all computers connected to the Internet, while Mozilla Firefox, one the biggest IE rivals, is second but far away with 19.94 percent. Google Chrome comes third with only 17.48 percent.
Surprisingly, Internet Explorer version 8.0 is the most popular choice among users looking for a new browser, holding a market share of 23.54 percent. Its successor, Internet Explorer 9.0, is currently the second, with a share of 20.93 percent.
Last but not least, the very old Internet Explorer 6.0 is still one of the top browsers out there, according to the same statistics released earlier this month, with a share of 6.69 percent. This makes it the fifth most popular browser in the world, ahead of Chrome 23, Firefox 17 and Safari 6.0.