Microsoft critical flaw.

Microsoft who have admitted a critical vulnerability in versions of Windows Server 2003 software, say the vulnerability could allow backers to seize control of a victim's Windows computer over the internet, stealing data, deleting files or eavesdropping on e-mails. The company urged customers to immediately apply a free software repairing patch available from Microsoft's Web site. The software is aimed at large corporate customers and was the first product sold under a high-profile "Trustworthy Computing" initiative organized last year by Microsoft. The flaw, discovered by researchers in western Poland, also affected Windows versions popular among home users. Microsoft said corporate firewalls commonly block the type of data connections that hackers outside a company would need for these attacks. The flaw affects Windows technology used to share data files across computer networks. Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars on security improvements for its latest Windows software and included new technology to defend against a category of hacker attacks known as 'buffer overflows," which can trick software into accepting dangerous commands. However, four Polish researchers, known as the "Last Stage of Delirium Research Group," said they discovered how to bypass the protections Microsoft added three months after the software went on sale. www.cnn.com