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Microsoft launches online security patch

Microsoft has released an emergency online security patch following the discovery of a potential glitch in its technology.

The software giant announced that the online security update will automatically be installed for Internet Explorer customers.

Microsoft released the patch after a vulnerability in the company's Active Template Library was discovered. The software is used to build ActiveX controls and other web application components.

Hackers would be able to take control of a PC if the user visited specially crafted web page using Internet Explorer.

They could potentially take complete control of an affected system by acquiring user rights, as a result of exploiting the hole in the system, Microsoft warned.

A statement from the corporation said: "These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted web page using Internet Explorer."

However, it said the patch "addresses these vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory and table operations".

In related news, Microsoft has announced a new ad deal, in which Bing will become the default search engine on Yahoo.

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