Releasing an emergency software patch for its Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser on Thursday, Microsoft Corp. said on its security Web site that the patch will fix eight holes in IE, including the “remote code execution” flaw that apparently was the weak link in the recent China hacking episodes.

Noting that the security hole had possibly been exploited by the hackers to initiate “limited and targeted” cyberattacks on Google and 20 other companies in China, Microsoft elaborated that the vulnerability enabled the hackers to remotely take over a PC after a user’s visit to a malicious code-laden site.

Adding that the newly-released security patch is “critical,” Microsoft has advised the users, especially those using IE 6, to apply it at the earliest, so as to ensure the security of their PC against the “known” remotely-executed hacker attacks.

The contentious IE security hole had prompted governments of some countries, chiefly Germany and France, to warn the Web users to discontinue the IE use, and switch over to alternative Web browsers – like Mozilla and Opera - till a fix was issued by Microsoft.

Acknowledging the security patch now in place by Microsoft, Matthias Gärtner, a spokesman for the German Federal Office for Information Security, said: “Beyond the normal update process, Microsoft has prepared a comprehensive patch that addresses the current security problems. What's important now is that users take note.”