Underscoring a little-known web vulnerability, hackers are exploiting a
weakness in the Mozilla Firefox browser to wreak havoc on Freenode and other
networks that cater to users of internet relay chat.
Using a piece of javascript embedded into a web link, the hackers force users
of the open-source browser to join IRC networks and flood channels with
diatribes that include the same internet address. As IRC users with Firefox
follow the link, their browsers are also forced to spam the channels, giving the
attack a viral quality that has has caused major disruptions for almost a month.
