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Microsoft Clamps Down on 17-Year-Old Bug - InternetNews.
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Microsoft Clamps Down on 17-Year-Old Bug

By Stuart J. Johnston   |    January 22, 2010
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A security vulnerability birthed in the release of Windows NT continues to show up in 32-bit Microsoft Windows OSes since -- including Windows 7, the most recent edition. After a Google staff member raised the alarm, Microsoft is taking action. eSecurity Planet takes a look at the security flaw and the threat it posed.

Microsoft acknowledged that a security researcher has located a 17-year-old hole in Windows that could be used to take over a user's system and said it plans a patch.

However, compromising a user's PC would not be easy, requiring physical access to the machine as well as authenticated password access, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) said in a Security Advisory Wednesday.

The hole, which originated with the release of Windows NT back in 1993 and is present in every 32-bit version of Windows since, including Windows 7, was discovered by Tavis Ormandy, a Google security team member in Switzerland.

Read the full story at eSecurity Planet:
Microsoft Warns About 17-year-old Windows Bug