Microsoft recently waved goodbye to the most popular version of Windows ever, but a nasty security flaw lurking inside the company's web browser is forcing a quick fix, even for those too stubborn to upgrade to the latest OS.
Microsoft has announced the release of a new security update that addresses a newly uncovered flaw with the Internet Explorer web browser first disclosed by Redmond last weekend.
The exploit made headlines earlier this week because it affected not only newer operating system versions, but also Windows XP, which Microsoft officially put out to pasture April 8.
Microsoft Group Manager of Response Communications Dustin Childs claimed security updates will be automatically installed for "the majority of customers," but a manual download is also available for users who haven't yet enabled Automatic Update.
Just this once?
Released at 10 a.m. PST Thursday, the so-called "out-of-band" update also applies to Windows XP, despite Microsoft having now disowned the nearly 13-year-old OS.
"We have made the decision to issue a security update for Windows XP users. Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft, and we continue to encourage customers to migrate to a modern operating system, such as Windows 7 or 8.1," Childs elaborated.
Childs also encouraged Windows customers to upgrade to the latest version of the popular web browser, currently Internet Explorer 11.
Microsoft will host a live webcast Friday, May 2 at 11 a.m. PST to discuss today's security bulletin, which presumably will include yet another reminder for Windows XP holdouts to let go of the past; registration for that event is now open to all.
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