News and Announcements

Microsoft December updates are critical

Posted: 2007-12-12 07:29:16   Expiration: 2007-12-18 07:00:00

Disclaimer: This news item was originally posted on 2007-12-12 07:29:16. Its content may no longer be timely or accurate.

Microsoft's December update includes 3 critical patches.

On Tuesday, Microsoft released 7 patches that fix 11 vulnerabilities, including issues with Internet Explorer, Windows Media Format, and DirectX. For all 3, Microsoft has rated the patches "Critical" because the vulnerabilities fixed can be exploited by a malicious attacker to install malware, with the Internet Explorer vulnerability actively under attack already.

If you have enabled Automatic Updates, your computer will obtain and install the updates for you. If you are not using Automatic Updates or want to verify that Windows has installed the patches already, visit Windows Update or Microsoft Update:

Windows Update http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Microsoft Update http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate

All users are encouraged to update as soon as possible, although you should check with your department IT staff before installing patches on departmentally owned computers.

For further information on the updates released Tuesday, see: Microsoft's bulletin on IE http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-069.mspx

Microsoft's general summary of patches for December http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-dec.mspx

-- Allen Monette, Office of Campus Information Security