It was recently announced that there is a “huge” security vulnerability in every version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

And with that you’d think you should turn off your PC (if you use Windows) until Microsoft tells you it’s safe to use a PC again. But keep reading, and remain calm .

Microsoft has released this statement on the matter and said that they will release a patch in a week (on January 10, 2005). They have finished development of the patch and are just making sure it does not have any bugs. Don’t want to release a patch for a bug and create a new one!

Anti-virus maker Symantec has released this statement, which to me says: it’s bad and watch your back. Folks, I have a BS and MS in Computer Science, so while I know what they are saying, I know they’re not saying much .

Both Symantec and Microsoft offer various work arounds, but keep reading, there is one suggestion they should make, but don’t.

Internet Security company F-Secure has this statement and they say what really should be said:

Bottom line, if you don’t use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser your life will be much easier! Also they offer some other non-Microsoft authorized tools that might help.

I like FireFox, although socialist geeks are drawn to it like a magnet! (Because they love anything not made by a company that can actually employ more than 1000 people and be traded publicly. They especially love open source software like Firefox, because they don’t have to engage in any capitalist activity, that involves private technical property.) And I’m sure if as many people used Firefox as use IE, then more holes would be discovered in it. But for now it’s a safer browser overall to use. And it has way too many cool features that are superior to IE.

If you’re wondering what a WMF file is, you can read a little about it here. Basically it’s a Windows type of graphic file.

So if you are using Internet Explorer, I suggest you stop using it and don’t open any e-mail that is not from a trusted source. Also with e-mails from a trusted source, I would recommend you not open any non-text attachments. Also set your e-mail client to not download graphics automatically.

update (1/3/2006 9:56PM ET): Tech news site News.com is reporting that dozens of various attacks have occurred since knowledge of the vulnerability was announced.

They also have screen shots of several web sites that have been compromised and now carry graphics (wmf files) that attempt to exploit the vulnerability. This screen shot shows what happens if you encounter a web site that tries to exploit the vulnerability and are running FireFox. Notice FireFox mentions the file name that ends in “.wmf” and that it is a “BIN” file. You should never need to open a BIN file from a web site. Unless you work in IT and know what you are doing.