IE 0 day and general browser security

There have been a lot of talks about the latest 0 day vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer.

According to this article from the BBC, the French and German governments have urged their people to find an alternative to Internet Explorer to keep their computers secure.

The fact of the matter is whether or not you use Internet Explorer, you can still be at risk. Telling people to use a different browser is a way too simplistic measure. It may protect you from this vulnerability but there are many more that apply to all browsers.

A more sensible approach would be to inform people about the risks and if possible provide a temporary solution to mitigate the attack. It may be as simple as tuning off a feature or enabling another one.

People should also think of security as layers. If Internet Explorer fails, most of the time something else will prevail, such as a good AV product.

Jerome Segura