Some of the critical vulnerabilities affect Internet Explorer on
Microsoft Windows Vista.
As part of its monthly patch distribution, Microsoft has issued
seven advisories - all rated critical - to address 19 security
holes in a variety of its products.
The patches resolve issues in Microsoft Office products (such as
Excel and Word), Internet Explorer and Microsoft Windows. The
vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution, enabling a
hacker to access data on a vulnerable PC or run malicious code such
as a worm.
One of the most eagerly anticipated patches is MS07-029, which
addresses a flaw in the Windows DNS RPC interface. Last month, zero
day worms like W32/Delbot-AI (also known as Nirbot or Rinbot)
spread
via the vulnerability, turning affected PCs into part of a
zombie network.
"Just like last month, security holes are being found which
impact Windows users, including adopters of Microsoft Windows
Vista," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Whether you
are using the latest version of Windows or not, it makes sense to
keep up-to-date with the latest security patches and roll them out
across your business as a matter of priority. Hackers have shown no
mercy in the past taking advantages of vulnerabilities in
Microsoft's code, and taking action now will help defend your
network and keep your company out of trouble."
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, hackers, and spam.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.