COMPUTERS I Powerpoint 2003 weaknesses posted on Net
BRIAN KREBS
Sun
The cat-and-mouse game that Microsoft Corp. and hackers have played for years has escalated, just as the software giant was addressing some of the biggest problems facing computer users.
Last Tuesday, the company released a record 26 security fixes for the Windows operating system and the widely used Office programs such as Word, Excel and Outlook. Thursday, hackers pounced again, posting on the Internet information about vulnerabilities in Power-Point 2003, one of the Office programs widely used by business customers and now students.
Microsoft, whose products are the largest targets of hackers because its products are used on most computer systems, issues software updates to protect users’ computers from the viruses, worms and spyware that are spread through their products via e-mail attachments and the Web.
But because those patches are released on a regular schedule — the second Tuesday of each month — the people who expose and exploit the vulnerabilities in the programs tend to wait until a day or so after the monthly release to reveal other vulnerabilities they have discovered.
A company spokesman said there have been no known attacks to exploit the PowerPoint 2003 vulnerability and that it will offer guidance to customers as needed. But that doesn’t mean the company will definitely offer an out-of-cycle software update.
Only twice this year, in January and again two weeks ago, has the company released a patch early. In both cases, the out-of-cycle patches were offered after some users wrote their own and encouraged others to download them.
Washington Post
