Microsoft Corp. warned customers that its Internet Explorer Web browser has a security flaw that could allow hackers to run programs on another user's computer. The glitch causes Internet Explorer to automatically open specially coded attachments in e-mail without warning, possibly unleashing programs that could do anything from sending users a harmless message to deleting files from their computers, the Redmond-based software company warned late Thursday. Microsoft has developed a patch that can be downloaded from the company's Web site. Internet Explorer versions 5.01 and 5.5 are affected. Scott Culp, Microsoft's security program manager, said Friday the flaw is contained in ``a few'' out of several hundred Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, or MIMEs, which are used to encode files as e-mail attachments.
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