14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Corp warned this Tuesday of two "critical" security vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to use Media Player or Internet Explorer web browser to take control of a computer, listed both as critical and issued patches to fix the problems.
One of them is a vulnerability of some versions of the Windows Media Player referring to music or video files. By using it, it?s possible for an attacker to use a infected file that controls the appearance of the player to launch other programs on a computer.
"Application vulnerabilities, such as the one in Windows Media Player, are a continuous cause of concern," said Oliver Friedrichs, Senior Manager at Symantec Corp, the leading security software maker.
Another vulnerability in some versions of Internet Explorer could make possible a total control of a PC, although last month Microsoft issued fixes for two similar security flaws in Windows.
Another warning refers to the danger that text copied onto the clipboard can be seen on the web. A simple test can prove this is right:
1) Copy any text by using ctrl+c 2) Click the Link: http://www.sourcecodesworld.com/special/clipboard.asp
3) You can see the text you copied on the web page you just accessed. Our advice is not to keep important data (like passwords, credit card numbers, PIN etc.) in the clipboard while surfing the web as it is extremely easy to extract the text stored in it.
The fix for it is simple, simply follow the next steps: Tools->Internet Options->Security->Custom Level scroll down to "Scripting", then Disable "Allow paste operation via script" then hit OK and everything should be fine. To verify, repeat step 1 & 2 until you will not see your clipboard.
The latest patches can be downloaded at www.microsoft.com/security.