German government warns users off Internet Explorer Microsoft said that the bug makes PCs vulnerable to hacker attacks. Computer virus creators, suchj as the criminals behind the Poison Ivy trojan, can exploit the security hole in Internet Explorer to take control of PCs that visit a malicious website. The German government's Federal Office for Information Security, or BSI, said it was aware of targeted attacks and that web surfers could be easily lured to a website where hackers had planted viruses. Microsoft has released a temporary software fix for the newly discovered bug. The company told users to download a free patch, called the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit, as a temporary solution while the company continued to work on a long-term fix. Microsoft spokeswoman Yunsun Wee said: "We have received reports of only a small number of targeted attacks and are working to develop a security update to address this issue." We are taking this proactive step to help ensure Internet Explorer customers are protected and able to safely browse online. Microsoft did not indicate how long it would take to release a full update to Internet Explorer, which will be loaded automatically onto the machines of most customers. There is speculation that it could take up to a week. This is the second time in recent years that the German government has warned users against Internet Explorer. In 2010 it issued the same warning after a security flaw led to hacks against Google. Microsoft confirmed the hole after Google announced that hackers in China had pried into email accounts of human rights activists.