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Feb. 21, 2000
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Nessie Files


scripting



By nessie

ACCORDING TO WEB search maven Chris Sherman, writing on About.com, a newly discovered and potentially huge hole in Web security makes virtually all Web servers and browsers vulnerable to attack by malicious code. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses, or other online plagues that succumb relatively quickly to countermeasures, this newly identified problem is so large and complex that there appears to be no simple solution.

The problem arises, Sherman says, from a technique called "cross-site scripting," the ability to insert malicious programs (scripts) into dynamically generated Web pages. These scripts masquerade as legitimate data. They are then executed by your Web browser, potentially compromising your most confidential information or wreaking havoc on your computer.

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