A newly exposed security flaw in Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11 could allow malicious parties to access and take control of your computer through the browser. In response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is urging people to do what most anyone who’s not stuck on some corporate-issued Windows machine already did long, long ago: ditch IE.
The DHS’s advisory reads:
US-CERT is aware of active exploitation of a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer. This vulnerability affects IE versions 6 through 11 and could lead to the complete compromise of an affected system.
US-CERT recommends that users and administrators enable Microsoft EMET where possible and consider employing an alternative web browser until an official update is available.
Worry not, Explorers: Firefox and Chrome are both, for the most part, very nice. In fact, by the time an update comes up to patch the hole in your browser, you might not even want to go back.
