Yahoo Patches Mail, Squishes Worm
The JavaScript exploit which hit Yahoo Mail users yesterday has been patched, as the web giant moved quickly to secure its servers.
"Yahoo detected a worm on Monday morning which impacted a very small fraction of Yahoo Mail users," spokesperson Kelley Podboy said in an e-mail to TechWeb. "We have taken steps to resolve the issue and protect our users from further attacks of this worm. The solution has been automatically distributed to all Yahoo Mail customers, and requires no additional action on the part of the user."
Symantec rated the worm a 2 on a scale of 5, which prompted several comments from tinfoil-hatters that Symantec was intentionally underestimating the severity of the exploit, because the company provides security to Yahoo Mail. Considering how quickly Yahoo patched the service, Symantec's assessment appears to have been accurate.
Had this been a serious problem, however, it would have had far-reaching effects, as Yahoo Mail currently has over 200 million accounts, and is the largest web-based e-mail provider in the world.
