How to protect your computer against the ransomware attack

Microsoft reneges on update policy to push out patch for unsupported Windows XP and Windows 8 to help defend against ransomware attack

• Don't pay WannaCry demands, cybersecurity experts say

Friday's ransomware outbreak, which used recently revealed weaknesses in Microsoft's Windows operating system to spread further and faster than any before, has prompted the Redmond-based developer to break its own rules on software maintenance in an effort to keep users safe.

The ransomware, also known as "WanaCrypt0r", "WeCry", "WanaCrypt" or "WeCrypt0r", used a vulnerability in a Windows Server component to spread within corporate networks. The weakness was first revealed to the world as part of a massive dump of software vulnerabilities discovered by the NSA and then stolen by a group of hackers calling themselves "Shadow Brokers".