Microsoft's Policy Leaves Millions Open to Identity Theft; Internet Security Foundation Releases Free Protection Tool

Microsoft's Policy Leaves Millions Open to Identity Theft; Internet Security Foundation Releases Free Protection Tool

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Security Foundation (ISF) today released free software designed to protect computer users from risks of identity theft caused by a glaring security hole in the Microsoft Windows platform.

According to ISF research, 86% of polled Internet users believed that the passwords hidden behind the asterisks are securely protected. The truth is that such passwords are not normally protected in Microsoft Windows and can be easily reviewed by using software like SeePassword (http://www.seepassword.com/). As the result of this programming oversight in Microsoft's Windows, criminals may unlawfully obtain passwords of unsuspecting Internet users, gaining access to bank records, and other private information such as credit card accounts. This privacy issue is especially troublesome in the era when criminals and terrorists routinely use stolen identities to conduct their unlawful operations.

Despite the growing public concerns over this issue, Microsoft refused to address this glaring security hole in its operating system. In a November 2, 2004 PC Magazine article (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1675001,00.asp), Microsoft's spokesman stated that that if an intruder has access to your computer, it's already too late to offer protection of passwords.

"The responsible thing for Microsoft to do would be to issue a security patch which would make passwords secure and preclude unauthorized access to users' online accounts," says Alex Konanykhin, Chairman of the Internet Security Foundation. "At the very least, Microsoft should have issued a security patch which would warn Windows users that such hidden passwords are not secure. Instead, Microsoft chose to ignore the issue despite our repeated warnings."

To help address the problem, Internet Security Foundation released a freeware program, called AsteRisks(TM) ("Remove Risks from Asterisks") which removes unsecured passwords from user's computers, eliminating the risk of such passwords falling into the hands of unauthorized parties. This freeware is available for download from: http://www.internetsecurityfoundation.org/.

The Internet Security Foundation was founded in 2004 to address the security and privacy issues facing computer users today. In an era where more and more personal and business transactions are done electronically, it is of the utmost important to demand that trusted operating system providers are doing everything possible to insure that information is secure. The ISF has provided a web site where consumers can post personal incidences of how this lack of security has affected them and fill out a form letter to Microsoft appealing to them to address the problem. For more information about ISF, please visit: http://www.internetsecurityfoundation.org/.

Media Contact
Lizzie Curran
Public Relations
email: lcurran@internetsecurityfoundation.org
phone: 617.513.1111



This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.


Source: Internet Security Foundation

CONTACT: Lizzie Curran, Public Relations, Internet Security Foundation,
+1-617-513-1111, email: lcurran@internetsecurityfoundation.org

Web site: http://www.internetsecurityfoundation.org/


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