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| Microsoft has described three of the
vulnerabilities as critical. |
As part of its monthly patch distribution, Microsoft issued nine
security updates yesterday, three of which are critical. The
critical patches address remote code execution flaws which could be
exploited by hackers or an internet worm.
"The remote code execution vulnerabilities in Microsoft's
software are serious, and it's critical that businesses and home
users protect against them as a matter of priority," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "In the past, malicious attacks
have followed soon after Microsoft's announcement of problems with
its software, so it's important that people take action now to
ensure their PCs are properly defended."
Home users of Microsoft Windows can visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com to have their systems
scanned for critical Microsoft security vulnerabilities.
Sophos notes, however, that since Microsoft issued the patches
it has reported that some users have experienced difficulties with
one of the fixes, Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-051. Microsoft
has published information about the problem on its website.
"Businesses would be wise to test any security patch from
Microsoft before rolling it out across all of their computers,"
continued Cluley.
Sophos recommends that every IT manager responsible for security
should consider subscribing to vulnerability mailing lists such as
that operated by Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/notify.mspx.
Sophos continues to recommend companies protect their desktops
and servers with automatically updated
anti-virus protection.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.