Thank God, Microsoft helped the estimated hundreds of millions of customers still running Windows XP, which it stopped supporting earlier this month, by providing an emergency update to fix a critical bug in its Internet Explorer browser.
Microsoft Corp rushed to create the fix after learning of the bug in the operating system over the weekend when cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc warned that a sophisticated group of hackers had exploited the bug to launch attacks in a campaign dubbed “Operation Clandestine Fox.
It was the first high-profile threat to emerge after Microsoft stopped providing support to its 13-year-old XP operating software on April 8.
Initially, Microsoft said it would not provide the remedy to Windows XP users because it had stopped supporting the product. But on Next day, as Microsoft started releasing the fix for the bug through its automated Windows Update system, a company spokeswoman said the remedy also would be pushed out to XP customers.
“We decided to fix it, fix it fast, and fix it for all our customers,” spokeswoman Adrienne Hall said on Microsoft’s official blog.
“Just because this update is out now doesn’t mean you should stop thinking about getting off Windows XP and moving to a newer version of Windows and the latest version of Internet Explorer. If you are on Windows 7, upgrade to Internet Explorer 11. Our modern operating systems provide more safety and security than ever before. The latest version of Internet Explorer has increased support for modern web standards, better performance, and expanded the ability to deliver an immersive experience from within the browser. In other words, cool stuff that you need even if you didn’t know you need it. And when you turn on auto update, we make sure your computer and your browser get better all the time.” – she continues.
Sources: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/microsoft-releases-emergency-browser-xp-users-too-163044856–sector.html; http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2014/05/01/updating-internet-explorer-and-driving-security.aspx