Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity

    Yahoo Plugs PNG Security Hole

    By
    Matthew Hicks
    -
    August 13, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Yahoo Inc. has issued a security update to its popular instant messaging service to fix broader vulnerabilities in an advanced graphics format.

      Late on Tuesday, Yahoo posted a security update for its Windows version of Yahoo Messenger to fix a series of vulnerabilities in the PNG (portable network graphics) library, or libpng. The library provides a set of graphics routines for PNG files; PNG is an alternative graphics format to GIF.

      The PNG library holes, as previously reported, could allow an attacker to crash programs or execute attack code. A range of software makers have already released patches to fix the issue. Among them, Apple Computer Inc. updated Mac OS X, and the Mozilla Foundation released new versions of its open-source browsers.

      Yahoo released the fix for users of Yahoo Messenger 6.0 for Windows because it uses the open-source PNG format in limited areas of its IM client to display images, said Yahoo spokeswoman Terrell Karlsten.

      “Beginning today, we are notifying users who are currently running Windows versions 6.0 to install the security update,” she said in a statement Friday. “Upon logging into Yahoo Messenger, users will be prompted with a message window that invites them to update their service.”

      According to a security note on the Yahoo Messenger Web site, there have been no known exploits of the vulnerabilities. Users also can download the latest version of Yahoo Messenger for Windows to fix the issue.

      Yahoo learned of the PNG library vulnerabilities from a U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team security bulletin issued last week.

      Earlier this week, America Online Inc. released a beta version of AOL Instant Messenger 5.9 that included a fix for a separate security vulnerability that could open AIM users to a attack through AIMs “Away” feature for automatically sending presence notifications.

      Check out eWEEK.coms Security Center at http://security.eweek.com for the latest security news, reviews and analysis.

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com security news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Avatar
      Matthew Hicks
      As an online reporter for eWEEK.com, Matt Hicks covers the fast-changing developments in Internet technologies. His coverage includes the growing field of Web conferencing software and services. With eight years as a business and technology journalist, Matt has gained insight into the market strategies of IT vendors as well as the needs of enterprise IT managers. He joined Ziff Davis in 1999 as a staff writer for the former Strategies section of eWEEK, where he wrote in-depth features about corporate strategies for e-business and enterprise software. In 2002, he moved to the News department at the magazine as a senior writer specializing in coverage of database software and enterprise networking. Later that year Matt started a yearlong fellowship in Washington, DC, after being awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalist. As a fellow, he spent nine months working on policy issues, including technology policy, in for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He rejoined Ziff Davis in August 2003 as a reporter dedicated to online coverage for eWEEK.com. Along with Web conferencing, he follows search engines, Web browsers, speech technology and the Internet domain-naming system.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×