Microsoft to debug its software

Last week's PC security flaw that caused a storm of confusion and controversy, as well as an early patch from Microsoft, is causing the company to treat such flaws differently from now on. MS said it will scour all its software for similar bugs, ZDNET reports. Last week's flaw was different from anything that went before in the world of Windows PCs, Microsoft says. "Typical flaws are unforeseen gaps in programs that hackers can take advantage of and run code. By contrast, [this flaw] lies in a software feature being used in an unintended way." So MS is "pledging to take a look at its programs, old and new, to avoid similar side effects." Here's my latest coverage of how PC security has gotten even more complicated (and don't forget the 3 basic rules: firewall, anti-virus, and up-to-date patches on family PCs!).