The Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) warns against the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Affected are versions 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the operating systems Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Exploiting this vulnerability may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on the affected system. The attack code is also "freely available on the internet, so a rapid wide-scale exploitation is expected" warns the BSI. A security update from Microsoft is not yet available. The Authority therefore recommends against using the Internet Explorer for the time being and recommends to switch to alternative browsers.

However, because Microsoft's browser has a strong history with serious vulnerabilities, the Studentenwerk Hannover advises against the use of the Internet Explorer in general. Each alternative browser like Firefox, Chrome or Safari is the better choice. They are simple and fast to install, bookmarks can easily be transferred.

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