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.wmf threatens security, are you safe? |
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| Written by Diana, on 14-01-2007 23:18 |
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According to an article at US-CERT, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, the Windows Metafile type (.wmf) is in part responsible for another type of security threat, go figure. The main cause of the problem comes from the Windows Picture & Fax Viewer which is by default the registered application for the .wmf file type (as well as BMP DIB GIF EMF JFIF JPE JPEG JPG PNG TIF TIFF file types). There are a couple solutions to this problem. First is to un-register this program and choose a different application to open your graphics files. Since this program opens all major image files, un-register the program via command-line (go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt or go to Start > Run.. and type "cmd" without the quotes) using the following command:
regsvr32 %windir%system32shimgvw.dll
Additionally, there is a hotfix available at microsoft.com. Read the security bulletin MS06-001 for more information and for a link for the hotfix for your specific Windows version.
For the full report from US-CERT, follow this URL: http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/181038 or read the full bulletin above, direct from Microsoft.
The above information is provided because we are currently trying to offer graphics in the gallery of the file type WMF. Since this is the original format of a batch of images in the collection, we wish to offer them unchanged. Please update your systems with the above hotfix before downloading any files of this type. Although our images were obtained directly from the free clipart collection on the Microsoft website and from one additional [trusted] source, we still recommend you take all possible safety measures when using the internet.
Last update: 14-01-2007 23:36
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