IE 7 Phishing Update For Windows XP Appears Early

Microsoft released a non-security update for Internet Explorer 7 two weeks before the next patch day and urged Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users to download and install the fix if they notice the browser mysteriously slowing down while surfing.

Earlier this week, Microsoft pushed several updates to users of Windows Vista, the new operating system that launched to consumers on Tuesday, including one to fix performance problems with IE 7's anti-fraud filter. The update has also been posted for IE 7 on Windows XP and Server 2003.

"Some users [have experienced high] CPU usage when they are navigating a page that contains multiple frames or when multiple frames are navigated simultaneously," said Steve Reynolds, an IE 7 program manager, on the group's blog. "This occurs when the phishing filter evaluates the page for each navigation, resulting in multiple simultaneous evaluations for the same page."

The XP and Server 2003 IE 7 anti-phishing filter fix will be included in the Feb. 13 updates, but users can download the patch manually from the company's support site.