Friday, April 07, 2006

Important Fix Due Next Week for Windows

This coming Tuesday, Microsoft will release a new patch for Windows XP that is designed to fix several serious problems. At least one of the alerts is deemed "critical," Microsoft's highest risk rating, the software maker said in a notice posted on its Web site yesterday. It tags as critical any security threat that could allow a malicious Internet worm to spread without any action required on the part of the user.

The "big fix" will be for its Internet Explorer Web browser. It will include a comprehensive update with multiple fixes, including one for the publicly known "CreateTextRange" vulnerability. Microsoft did not specify what other issues its additional Tuesday patches will repair, or how many flaws will be tackled. To date, researchers have noted several unpatched flaws in IE. The CreateTextRange bug is considered most critical by experts. The flaw is being exploited by malicious Web sites to install spyware, remote-control software and Trojan horses on vulnerable PCs.

As part of its monthly patch day, Microsoft also plans to release an updated version of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. The software detects and removes common malicious code placed on computers.

If you don't have your computer set for automatically installing Microsoft fixes, make sure you download this fix next week...Especially if you use Internet Explorer as your Web browser.

No comments: