Internet Explorer out-of-band January patch

[Wiz Feinberg]

Microsoft has released an out-of-band patch for Internet Explorer versions 6, 7 and 8. Versions 9 and 10 are unaffected. The patch, MS13-008 (KB2799329), patches a critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer that was being used since late December, in targeted attacks.

Exploitation leads to complete takeover of the computer, with no further user interaction. But, users logged in with reduced user privileges would be less impacted and not silently exploited.

You are advised to go to Windows or Microsoft Updates, NOW, and look for and install the Internet Explorer patch released on January 14, 2013.

If your PCs are set to automatically check for Windows Updates, this patch may have already been downloaded and installed. If you operate as a less privileged account user, the patch will be applied the next time you shut down your computer.