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New Bug in Microsoft Word Might Put PCs in Danger

As if there aren`t enough hazards to be careful from when roaming online space, Microsoft announced that an new unpatched memory corruption in its famed word processor software, Microsoft Word, has been detected and that it might be used for attacking PCs. Opening a Word file can be dangerous as the file might corrupt the computer`s memory and allow an intruder to run unauthorized software on the system. Microsoft released the information in a security advisory last week, and said that the bug is being investigated.

The bug might affect all Microsoft Word recent versions, namely Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, Word Viewer 2003, and possibility some versions of Microsoft Works as well. Microsoft is automatically releasing security updates for its software all the time, and this has forced hackers to focus on a different kind of online attack, such as the mentioned bug. Finding a hole in the software itself is something that takes longer to control and fix, and Microsoft will have to release an update for Word in order to solve the issue.

After exploiting most of Internet Explorer`s loopholes, hackers are now focusing on Microsoft Office line of products, where security bugs have yet to be fixed and treated. The next set of security updates from Microsoft is available starting December 12, and can be downloaded from Microsoft`s site. If you are using any of Microsoft Office products, you should check Microsoft`s site and see if there are any updates available for the version you are using. Until then, opening Word documents that you are not familiar with is not recommend, just as opening any file from an unrecognized origin is not advised.