It sounds like an odd bit of advice but that is exactly what Microsoft are advising us to do for the moment, but only if we are using Internet Explorer and running desktop computers or laptops with Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.
The problem seems to be a vulnerability that would allow potential hackers to install malicious software on your computer if you press that key.
“Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability in VBScript that is exposed on supported versions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 through the use of Internet Explorer” said Microsoft in a statement.
“The main impact of the vulnerability is remote code execution. We are not aware of attacks that try to use the reported vulnerabilities or of customer impact at this time.
“The vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer. If a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box and a user pressed the F1 key, arbitrary code could be executed in the security context of the currently logged-on user”.
Microsoft is obviously going to need some time to fix the problem and is advising us in the meantime to avoid hitting the F1 key.
“As an interim workaround, users are advised to avoid pressing F1 on dialogs presented from web pages or other internet content,” said David Ross with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) engineering staff in a blog entry on Monday.
“The prompt can appear repeatedly when dismissed, nagging the user to press the F1 key” Ross added.
Of course you could also disable the help files or even switch browsers. No one wants to be bothered by a nagging pop up box.
The bug was discovered by security worker Maurycy Prodeus who recently published details of the vulnerability online. Microsoft weren’t happy about that.
“Microsoft is concerned that this new report of a vulnerability was not responsibly disclosed, potentially putting computer users at risk.
“We continue to encourage responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities. We believe the commonly accepted practice of reporting vulnerabilities directly to a vendor serves everyone’s best interests” said Microsoft.
However, according to various reports, Prodeus apparently reported the problem to Microsoft a few weeks ago at the beginning of February.
If you are using other operating systems you should be fine. “The current state of our investigations shows that Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2, are not affected” said Microsoft.
