Earlier today Microsoft issued security advisory 968272 regarding a vulnerability discovered in the Office application Excel. According to the advisory, the user’s computer would become vulnerable to a malicious hacker (aka cracker) if the user opened a specifically designed Excel file. The cracker would then have the ability to perform remote code execution.

The cracker would gain the same user rights as the local user. That means if the user has administrator rights, the cracker would have practically unrestricted access to the user’s computer.

Zombie computers and botnets are always scary, but you should remember that the only way to become a victim of this particular attack is to open the special Excel file. To pull off an attack, the cracker would first need to distribute or host the Excel file and convince people to download it and open it. If you practice safe Web surfing habits, you should be fine.