Microsoft to patch zero-day IE bug on Friday

As was to be expected, Microsoft announced it will issue an emergy update for the critical security bug that is plaguing Internet Explorer. The flaw was discovered last week week when a security researcher discovered that cybercriminals were using the bug to infect fully-patched Windows PCs with malware. At first it seemed that only IE7 and IE8 were at risk, but shortly afterwards it was discovered that the vulnerability also exists in IE9. The only version of IE that isn't vulnerable is IE10, but that version is (currently) only available for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

News about the dangerous bug quickly spread around the web, with security experts recommending users stop using IE and download an alternative browser like Firefox or Chrome. On top of that, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) urged the public on Tuesday to stop using Microsoft's browser due to fears of fast spreading of the attack code.

Microsoft send out word that an out-of-cycle security update will be released on Friday. In the meantime, the software giant published a Fix It tool, a temporary workaround to protect systems until the security update arrives.

The "Prevent Memory Corruption via ExecCommand in Internet Explorer" Fix it solution that is described in this section is not intended to be a replacement for any security update. We recommend that you always install the latest security updates. However, we offer this Fix it solution as a workaround option for some scenarios.