Thanks to the guys at AW for sharing this. A flaw in Microsoft's MSN Explorer software has allowed some Web surfers to gain free access to features and services that normally cost $9.95 a month, the software giant confirmed on Thursday.
Programmers in mainland China discovered the flaw sometime last year, a source familiar with the exploit told ZDNet China. This person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Chinese hackers have successfully created MSN Explorer 9 premium accounts that provide free access to 30MB of online storage and a 25MB e-mail in-box, as well as to applications such as MSN Money Plus.
A Microsoft representative said the exploit poses no security threat, nor does it jeopardize subscriber information. He added that Microsoft and Verizon are taking "immediate steps" to fix the problem.
"There is no customer impact whatsoever," the Microsoft representative said in an e-mail. "It is a case of users exploiting and taking advantage of a hole."
News source: ActiveWin
