Topic: Yahoo fixes e-mail security hole

[Simon]

Yahoo fixes e-mail security hole[/u]

Wed 10 December, 2003 13:04

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo says it has fixed a security hole in its popular free Web-based e-mail service.

The hole could have allowed an attacker to launch a computer worm or run malicious code on a victim's computer when an e-mail containing the code was opened, according to Finjan Software of San Jose, California, which discovered the problem.

Such an attack could have exposed sensitive information or left a computer vulnerable to future attacks, Finjan Software said.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said on Wednesday the company was informed of the issue on November 11 and quickly fixed the problem on company servers so that users do not have to do anything.

"Yahoo takes security very seriously and employs rigorous and aggressive measures to help protect our users," said spokeswoman Mary Osako. "We are unaware of any users who are affected by the issue."

While Microsoft Corp.'s rival Hotmail service has had numerous security glitches over the years, security problems in Yahoo Mail have been rare.