Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is again at risk, just days after the company closed another serious security flaw in its web browser.

A new security advisory was posted by Microsoft last Wednesday, notifying users of a potential flaw in Internet Explorer which could allow third-parties access to data.

“Our investigation so far has shown that if a user is using a version of Internet Explorer that is not running in Protected Mode an attacker may be able to access files with an already known filename and location” said the advisory from Microsoft.

At this stage, there are no reported attacks using this vulnerability, but it is bound to be only a matter of time.

A patch is expected in a few days, on Tuesday 9th February 2010.

Time appears to slowly be running out for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), as Google has announced plans to drop support for the browser in its Google Sites and Google Docs applications.

“Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers” said Google Apps Senior Product Manager Rajen Sheth.

Not to feel left out, Google is also dropping support for Firefox 2, Chrome 3, and Safari 2.

“While you’ll still be able to access these Google applications, newer features may not be available and some features may even stop working” said Sheth.

Support for these older browsers is due to end on March 1st. Web users are urged to upgrade their web browsers before this time.

Much faster than originally expected, Microsoft have released a patch to address the vulnerability found in all versions of Internet Explorer.

“This security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights” said a note from Microsoft.

The update includes fixes for IE5.01, IE6, IE7, and IE8 on platforms from Windows 2000 to the newely released Windows 7.

The updated is rated critical and will be pushed out to all users who have Windows Update turned on. Alternatively, system administrators can find out more information plus download links in the Security Bulletin MS10-002.

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has told Germans to avoid using any version of Internet Explorer after a security vulnerability lead to attacks against Google, Adobe, and other large organisations last week.

Microsoft has hit back at claims, noting that the attacks could be avoided if the security zone settings were set to high.

“Using Internet Explorer in ‘secure mode’, as well as turning off Active Scripting, makes attacks more difficult but can not fully prevent them,” BSI said in a further statement.

Microsoft has acknowledged the vulnerability, which is present in all versions of Internet Explorer, including IE8 on Windows 7.

Microsoft is expected to release a patch in the coming weeks.

Microsoft has pushed out the IE Cumulative Security Update for December 2009 via Windows Update and Microsoft Update.

The update is rated as critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 for all versions of Windows except Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2 where the update is only rated as moderate.

The update fixes five reported vulnerabilities in the browsers.

Being a cumulative update, it contains all previously released updated for Internet Explorer and is recommended for all users.

More information on the update can be found below:

• Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-072
• Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 976325

Browser market share stats are out for October 2009 thanks to Market Share by Net Applications.

As usual, Internet Explorer was down for the month, dropping from 65.71% to 64.64%, while Opera had a surprise loss, albeit only small,  from 2.19% to 2.17%.

Firefox had a small gain, jumping from 23.75% to 24.07%. Safari was also up 4.24% to 4.42%.

Google Chrome share was the biggest winner for October, jumping from 3.17% to 3.58%.

Opera’s drop off is likely from users who were testing Opera 10 and have gone back to their original browser. The jump for Safari suggests strong sales for Apple Mac’s, confirming the bumper year the Cupertino based company has been having.

Web browser market share results are out for September 2009 thanks to Market Share by Net Applications.

Internet Explorer has had more than a 1% drop this month, falling from 66.97% to 65.71%, it’s biggest single month drop since November 2008.

Other browser have had a good month, with Firefox moving from 22.98% to 23.75%.

Safari has moved from 4.07% to 4.24%, while Google Chrome has passed the 3% mark moving to 3.17% – up from 2.84%.

Opera has also had a good month, most likely helped by the release of Opera 10, hitting a share of 2.19%, up from 2.04%.

The browser wars seem to be slowly eroding Microsoft’s dominance, which can only lead to greater innovation and better browsers for consumers.

Microsoft have come out publicly saying they are unhappy with Chrome Frame, as it will leave the browser open to twice as many vulnerabilities.

“Given the security issues with plugins in general and Google Chrome in particular, Google Chrome Frame running as a plugin has doubled the attach area for malware and malicious scripts. This is not a risk we would recommend our friends and families take” said a Microsoft spokesperson.

Google has hit back, with the following statement.

“While we encourage users to use a more modern and standards compliant browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera or Google Chrome rather than a plug-in, for those who don’t, Google Chrome Frame is designed to provide better performance, strong security features, and more choice to both developers and users, across all versions of Internet Explorer.”

“Accessing sites using Google Chrome Frame brings Google Chrome’s security features to Internet Explorer users, providing strong phishing and malware protection (absent in IE6), robust sandboxing technology, and defenses from emerging online threats that are available in days rather than months.”

That settles that – for now.

The Google Chrome development team have released a new tool called Google Chrome Frame.

“Google Chrome Frame is an early-stage open source plug-in that seamlessly brings Google Chrome’s open web technologies and speedy JavaScript engine” and currently works in Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8.

This plug-in would allow organisations to keep Internet Explorer 6, but still allow users to see pages that use HTML5 and advanced CSS features.

More information can be found on the Google Chrome Frame website.

This months browser share statistics are out thanks to Market Share by Net Applications.

August has panned out like another typical month, with Internet Explorer dropping to 66.97% in August, from 67.68% in July.

Firefox jumped slightly to 22.98% from 22.47%, while Safari remained the same at 4.07%.

Google Chrome also increased its share from 2.59% to 2.84%, while Opera was also up from 1.97% to 2.04%.