Sweden issues Internet Explorer warning

The Swedish government on Wednesday followed Germany in issuing a warning urging computer users to avoid the Internet Explorer browser due to security flaws that leave users vulnerable to hackers.

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"Currently, there is no good protection against the vulnerability in Internet Explorer," Anders Hansson, head of the Computer Security Incident Response Team with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap – MSB), said in a statement.

"As long as the security hole exists, the door is open for Trojan horses and unwanted code and there is a risk that people could lose control of their computers if they're not careful."

The warning comes the day after Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) advised users to avoid the Windows-brand browser, saying that users with computers running the Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems were particularly at risk.

On Monday, the US software giant said a new bug had been discovered in its Internet Explorer 9 browser, leaving millions of users of the popular internet browser at risk of being targeted by hackers and viruses.

All it takes is for the user to be drawn to a malicious website, via which the hacker can get into a user’s computers.

Microsoft advised users to install free security software while it worked to fix the security problem.

However, Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency, like its German counterpart, recommends that computer users opt for other browsers altogether.

"Because attacks happen continually, people should be cautious and continually update their systems," said Hansson, adding that there are security risks with all browsers.

"As a user of the internet, one always has to be careful when surfing the web and not click on everything."

The Local/dl
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