Microsoft Corp. has removed the search function from its Docs.com service after it was revealed that the feature allowed anyone to search and view documents from other users.

The security flaw, first identified by Twitter users over the weekend, allowed anyone to use the search box on the site to access publicly accessible documents and files stored on the site that were clearly meant to remain private. Some of the documents included divorce settlement agreements, loan applications, birth certificates, credit card statements, password lists, investment portfolios and even Social Security numbers.

According to reports, files might have been shared because users weren’t advised by Microsoft to change the default setting on their accounts before uploading files from public to private. Just to repeat that more clearly: Microsoft had all uploaded files set to public by default, meaning that unsuspecting users were unwittingly sharing their files without knowing they were doing so.

Microsoft has taken some responsibility in pulling the search service. However, the company nonetheless blamed users, with a spokesman saying that they were “taking steps to help those who may have inadvertently published documents with sensitive information.”

While the decision to pull Docs.com search is a positive move, the documents can still be found in the caches of Bing or Google Inc.’s search service, meaning that they can be accessed and documented by anyone searching for what should otherwise be private information. Whether Google or Bing will move to remove this otherwise accidentally shared information is yet to be known.

Microsoft has advised users to review and update their settings by logging into their account, changing their default setting and the settings on all the documents they have uploaded to private. But given the damage this default setting has caused, some users might consider downloading their documents and deleting their accounts altogether.

Image: Microsoft