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Microsoft releases security update for Internet Explorer, including for Windows XP customers

The Associated Press
May 1, 2014 at 4:55PM
FILE - This July 22, 2009 file photo shows a Windows XP logo on a Hewlett Packard Laptop at a Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif. On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, Microsoft will end support for its still popular Windows XP. With an estimated 30 percent of businesses and consumers still using the 12-year-old operating system, the move could put everything from the data of major financial institutions to the identities of everyday people in danger if they donít find a way to upgrade soon. (AP Photo/P
Microsoft is releasing a security update to Internet Explorer that will also work on its Windows XP operating system, software that it has tried to stop supporting. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

LOS ANGELES — Microsoft is releasing a security update for Internet Explorer that closes a gap that allowed attackers to take complete control of a computer. It also issued the update to Windows XP users, despite dropping support for the older operating system last month.

The update will go live at 10 a.m. Pacific time Thursday.

Adrienne Hall, general manager of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, said in a statement that the company decided to fix the problem quickly for all customers, saying it takes the security of its products "incredibly seriously."

Microsoft reported the problem Saturday, saying it was aware of "limited, targeted attacks" and that the vulnerability affected Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11

The company said users with automatic updates enabled don't need to take any action.

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