Happy Patch Tuesday everyone, it’s great to have you all back for our monthly post on the latest software fixes from Microsoft. Boring to some, and critical to others, Patch Tuesday is an important event as it’s the method by which Microsoft keeps the majority of the computing world safe.
This month’s updates include 9 total bulletins, 5 of which are rated as ‘critical,’ addressing a total of 27 vulnerabilities. It’s a heavier month, in other words. According to Qualys, a security firm, one of the updates fixes an issue that is already out, and spreading via email:
MS12-060 fixes a vulnerability that is already being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability is located in the Windows Common Control and can be triggered through Office documents and through malicious web pages. The currently known attacks have been targeting Word and WordPad through RTF files attached to e-mail messages.
Other patches address Windows XP, Exchange Server, and Internet Explorer, among other products. The full list of fixes can be found here. Assuming that you are but a normal computing user and have Windows Update turned on, you should be all set.
For those keeping score, July’s Patch Tuesday fixed 16 vulnerabilities, while June took on 27. May took on 23 vulnerabilities. Averaging those out, August’s haul is 22.73% higher than normal. Make of that what you will.
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Patch Tuesday is likely to heat up once Windows 8 hits General Availability in August, as Microsoft’s new operating system will require, presumably, extensive tweaking when it graduates from testing to mass market status. TNW has you covered.
Top Image Credit: By Robert Scoble
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