IE 7 'download frenzy' underway

A day after its release, some minor issues with Internet Explorer 7 materialised but overall the new Microsoft browser appears to have been well received.

Microsoft has defused what would be the most serious issue: a first security hole in the browser since its official release. There is a vulnerability but in Outlook Express, not IE, Christopher Budd, a Microsoft security response representative, wrote on a corporate blog. Security companies, including Secunia, had reported a flaw in IE 7.

Web browsers, including IE 7, can be used as the vector in an attack that exploits the Outlook Express flaw, Budd wrote. Microsoft is investigating the issue and may issue a fix at a later date, he added. The problem has not yet been used in active attacks, the software maker said.

In addition, some IE 7 users are reporting problems with websites that won't display or display incorrectly. Some of these sites use technology from Autodesk that doesn't work with the new browser and causes errors, according to users of the Autodesk support forum.

Aside from the vulnerability report, there was another security alarm when at least one person reported that the IE 7 download page was infected with a virus. However Microsoft investigated the claim and found there was no virus or "any other malicious code" - the alert was the result of a "false positive" by the Avast antivirus scanner.

Microsoft's servers are buckling under the number of downloads and new installations of IE 7. As a result, some people who install it get an error when viewing the IE 7 start page after firing up the browser for the first time.

A Microsoft representative said: "We're seeing such an incredible response to IE 7, that the 'runonce' page is being overloaded at times. Microsoft is currently adding server capacity. We expect the majority of people who are downloading IE 7 to have a seamless experience but will continue to monitor and adjust our capacity as needed."

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com