As of July 27th, 2004, Microsoft announced a HUGE loophole in Internet Explorer. Apparently, there is a flaw in IE (all versions) that if a certain type of link is clicked, it can cause an .exe to download, and execute on the host computer.
This means, you could be surfing the web innocently, and click some ad that has an infected link. The link *might* open the new page, but in the background there will be a file downloading and executing.
I have heard that some anti-virus and firewall utilities have not yet released a patch to protect from this kind of worm. Also, please not: Microsoft HAS NOT released a service pack to fix this exploit. It is said that Microsoft will patch this hole, but that could take weeks.
There is a fix for this problem however. Use Mozilla or Firefox, or any browsers that linux have if your running a linux system. Whatever you do, do not use IE until this is patched.
You can get firefox and mozilla from this site:
www.mozilla.org and you can check for the IE update here in the coming weeks, on Microsofts site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/s...n&categoryid=6
I have been a long time user of mozilla, and I think its simply the best. But for anyone still using IE (any version) I highly suggest either not surfing the net like you usually do, (basically be more safe clicking links) or just download mozilla and use that.