A group in China released a program Friday that lets hackers exploit a flaw in Microsoft software and take over a victim's computer over the Internet.
The program, released nine days after Microsoft Corp. announced the flaw, has turned an embarrassment for the company and inconvenience for customers into a near-emergency.
The program, posted on the group's Web site, takes advantage of a vulnerability in nearly all versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system, including Windows Server 2003, touted as Microsoft's safest ever.
The Redmond software giant has urged corporate and home users to download a free software fix, but many consumers -- particularly companies with hundreds or thousands of computers at risk -- probably have not yet done so, said Marc Maiffret, co-founder of eEye Digital Security Inc. of Aliso Viejo, Calif.
"Three times a year, there are (flaws) this bad," Maiffret said. "This is one of those times."
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