Five years ago: Microsoft swats IE bugs
Microsoft has posted three fixes to swat bugs in its Internet Explorer 3.0 Web browser. The bug fixes, available now at the firm's Web site, are aimed at solving installation and security problems reported by users.
The first is a new version of the Internet Explorer setup routine that does not need as much hard disk space; this addition will be automatically included in all new downloads.
The second fix corrects a password error whereby some password-protected Web sites make users type in their password on every level of the site, instead of just once to gain access to all pages contained therein. Although the bug received wide publicity, Microsoft claims that only 10 sites have reported this problem.
The final, and potentially the most serious bug, was unearthed by a research team at Princeton that has also exposed flaws in versions of Netscape Navigator. The team claims that a security flaw in Web documents linked to macros could allow operators of a Web site to access and alter the files of visitor to the site.
PCDN Comment: Any software developed so quickly is likely to have bugs, so it's to Microsoft's credit that it has issued fixes swiftly.