A software component of Norton Internet Security could allow hackers to use the application as a backdoor into a person"s computer system, security researchers warned Friday.
The flaw occurs in an ActiveX component used by security firm Symantec"s flagship desktop security program, Norton Internet Security, according to an advisory published by research firm NGSSoftware. The security hole could be used to run an attack program that would then take control of the computer that the software was trying to protect. "The attack can be achieved either by encouraging the victim to visit a malicious Web page or placing a script within...an HTML e-mail," the advisory stated. Symantec"s Antispam software has a similar issue caused by a different ActiveX component. ActiveX is a Microsoft technology for creating scripts, small programs that can add functionality to a computer or a Web site.