Security researchers detected hackers distributing software to break into computers using flaws announced last week in some versions of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system.
The threat from this new vulnerability -- which already has drawn stern warnings from the US Department of Homeland Security -- is remarkably similar to one that allowed the Blaster virus to infect hundreds of thousands of computers last month.
The discovery gives fresh impetus for tens of millions of Windows users -- inside corporations and in their homes -- to immediately apply a free repairing patch from Microsoft. Homeland Security officials have warned that attacks could result in a "significant impact" on the operation of the Internet.
Researchers from iDefense Inc of Reston, Virginia, who found the new attack software being distributed from a Chinese Web site, said it was already being used to break into vulnerable computers and implant eavesdropping programs.
Microsoft confirmed it was studying the new attack tool.
The latest Windows flaws, announced Sept. 10, were nearly identical to those exploited by the Blaster worm. Computer users who applied an earlier patch in July to protect themselves still must install the new patch from Microsoft, available from its Web site.
The latest hacker tool was relatively polished. It gives hackers access to victims' computers by creating a new account with the name "e" with a preset password.
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