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| Microsoft has described eight of the patches as
critical. |
As part of its monthly patch distribution, Microsoft has issued
one of the largest series of new security updates to address 21
vulnerabilities in a number of its software products. Eight of the
12 patches are labelled as "critical" and protect the possibility
of remote code execution in Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, Windows
Media Player and the Windows operating system.
Of the remaining bulletins, three address "important"
vulnerabilities, while one addresses a "moderate"
vulnerability.
One of the fixes is a patch for Microsoft Word, which was
exploited by the Oscor-B (also
known as Ginwui) Trojan horse in late May, infecting computers when
a Microsoft Word document is first opened. Following news headlines
of the Trojan horse many companies have been anxiously waiting for
Microsoft to release a patch.
"Patching against vulnerabilities that can allow unauthorized
remote access and code execution is vital to any security
policy,"said Carole
Theriault, senior security consultant for Sophos. "Hackers and
malware authors often start working on taking advantage of these
holes as soon as Microsoft discloses them. The sooner the fixes are
in place, the faster businesses close the door to related
attacks."
Home users of Microsoft Windows can visit update.microsoft.com to have their systems scanned for
Microsoft security vulnerabilities.
Sophos suggests 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
protection against viruses, spyware, and spam.
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.