Germans are advised not to use Internet Explorer

SOFTWARE HOUSE Microsoft hasn't yet fixed the zero day flaw in its Internet Explorer (IE) web browser that leaves all versions except IE 10 open to attack from third parties.

Microsoft's failure to fix the vulnerability has lead the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to warn German citizens against using the application and has caused Microsoft to remind everyone else to keep their security software up to date.

"There have been an extremely limited number of attacks-the vast majority of Internet Explorer users have not been impacted," said Microsoft Trustworthy Computing director YunSun Wee in a statement, minimising the threat.

"We are working on an easy-to-use, one-click fix that will be released in the next few days, but in the meantime we recommend customers make sure their antivirus software is up-to-date."

In Germany the BIS has gone further and recommended that Germans put Internet Explorer in the recycling bin until Microsoft sorts itself out.

It said, "A security update of the manufacturer is currently unavailable. Therefore, the BSI recommends all users of Internet Explorer [use] an alternative browser for Internet use, until the manufacturer has released a security update."

Microsoft is not expected to release a proper fix until October. It is recommending that people install its free security tool, the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET), as a temporary stop-gap. µ