Microsoft,facing a new round of criticism for abandoning users of the Windows XP operating system and its Internet Explorer browser in light of a recently discovered security threat,has changed its mind-at least this once.In a Thursday blog post,Microsoft's General Manager of Trustworthy Computing,Adrienne Hall,wrote that we take a huge amount of pride that,among widely used browsers,Internet Explorer is the safest in the world due to its secure development and the ability to protect customers,even in the face of cybercriminals who want to break it.This means that when we saw the first reports about this vulnerability,we said fix it,fix it fast,and fix it for all our customers.So we did.
We made this exception based on the proximity to the end of support for Windows XP.Just because this update is out now doesn't mean you should stop thinking about getting off Windows XP and moving to a newer version of Windows and the latest version of Internet Explorer,Ms.Hall added.
The threat,posed by the hacker team "Operation Clandestine Fox," was discovered last weekend by FireEye,a cybersecurity firm and Microsoft Partner.The hackers targeted the latest IE versions,IE 9-IE 11.Microsoft said it wouldn't be supplying a fix to most Windows XP users because it had ended support on April 8,but critics argued Microsoft was ethically obligated to provide a patch for the new problem as it had made a ton of money off its Windows XP customers.
The patch was rolled out Friday at 10 am and will be sent to Windows XP customers who have the automatic update feature on.An estimated 27% of the world's computers still run Windows XP,despite Microsoft's best efforts to wean them off the popular OS.Those who can afford to are paying Microsoft for extended support.
Jim Kelly update:On Tuesday April 29,Jill Kelly tweeted the following:
Week 4,Day 2 of radiation
Round 2 of Chemo...getting pumped up and ready RIGHT NOW
Jim's fans have been tweeting pictures of themselves wearing their "#12 Kelly Tough" wristbands.Support for the Buffalo Bills football legend in his struggle with head and neck cancer has never been stronger.
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