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IE flaws allow carpet bombing attacks on PCs

"Critical flaws" in both Internet Explorer (IE) and Safari leave Windows XP and Vista users open to carpet bomb attacks, it has been reported.

A hacker has posted so-called "attack code" that makes use of weaknesses in the programmes, PC Advisor states.

The information, detailed on a computer security blog, allows those interested in spreading viruses, malware and the like to run unauthorised software on victim's machines.

Eric Schultze, chief technical officer at Shavlik Technologies, told the news provider that the public should be concerned.

"This is a bad thing. If you've got Safari, you're in trouble," he said.

An attack of the Safari bug allows hackers to "carpet bomb" a user's desktop with malicious executable files, which allow attackers to run unauthorised software.

Meanwhile, PC Magazine has observed that such carpet bombing is increasingly being used as a secondary vulnerability and is as a result becoming a major internet security issue for many users.

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