This has nothing to do with genealogy but I believe all Windows users should be aware of this. Following the hack and stealing of data from Google, Adobe and about 3 dozen other major companies, the German government has advised the public to switch to alternative browsers. The German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (known as BSI) recommends that all Internet Explorer users switch to an alternative browser. They may resume using Explorer after a fix is issued by Microsoft for a critical vulnerability that has been implicated in the Chinese cyberattack against Google.
If you missed it, McAffee released a report outlining details of the cyber assault on Google and 33 other major technology companies. (Details are available at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/14/cyber_assault_followup/.) It specifically implicates a critical flaw in all versions of Internet Explorer that allows hackers to “perform reconnaissance and gain complete control over the compromised system.” Microsoft has responded that it is developing an update to the vulnerability.
According to the statement from BSI, even running Internet Explorer in “protected” mode is not enough to prevent a hacker from exploiting this security flaw.
Microsoft has not yet committed to fixing the problem but probably will do so within the next few days.
You can read more at http://mashable.com/2010/01/15/german-government-stop-using-internet-explorer/.
