reportfurther
4th Jan 2002, 08:43
AOL plugs net hole
Friday 4 January 2002
A security hole uncovered in America On Line's popular Instant Messenger service was fixed early today, the company announced.
Computer security experts warned yesterday that the service, which allows users to exchange realtime messages and computer files, was vulnerable to hackers.
The flaw could have allowed someone to seize control of a user's computer and then order it to erase its own data files or send computer viruses to other computers.
AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said that the firm had patched the hole on AOL computers in Dulles, Virginia today.
"We fixed it early Thursday," Weinstein said. "It was done on computers at AOL, so users don't have to do anything."
"To our knowledge, no one was affected by the flaw," Weinstein added.
The flaw was similar to the problem recently found in Microsoft Corp's Windows XP, which would have allowed a hacker to remotely delete files or take over a computer. Microsoft issued a patch to rectify the problem last month.
Friday 4 January 2002
A security hole uncovered in America On Line's popular Instant Messenger service was fixed early today, the company announced.
Computer security experts warned yesterday that the service, which allows users to exchange realtime messages and computer files, was vulnerable to hackers.
The flaw could have allowed someone to seize control of a user's computer and then order it to erase its own data files or send computer viruses to other computers.
AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said that the firm had patched the hole on AOL computers in Dulles, Virginia today.
"We fixed it early Thursday," Weinstein said. "It was done on computers at AOL, so users don't have to do anything."
"To our knowledge, no one was affected by the flaw," Weinstein added.
The flaw was similar to the problem recently found in Microsoft Corp's Windows XP, which would have allowed a hacker to remotely delete files or take over a computer. Microsoft issued a patch to rectify the problem last month.