October Windows Updates

Have you installed the updates for October 2007 yet? If not, they're probably waiting for you on your computer right now, so be sure to get them as soon as you can. There are some pretty important updates this month, including four "critical" notifications and two that fall under the category of "important." I know the updates can sometimes be a little confusing, so today, I thought I would go over what actually might have changed on your computer. Please listen up. This is some information you do not want to miss!

Let's start with the critical updates. The first one has to do with a vulnerability that was found in the Kodak Image Viewer program. Without this update, a remote code execution could occur, which would then allow attackers onto your computer. So, if you have that photo program on your PC, you received an update for it. The second critical update was for Outlook Express and Windows Mail. The fix was for another vulnerability with a remote code execution. Everyone has either OE or Windows Mail on their computer, so you all received this update. The next one was a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer that took care of three found vulnerabilities. Again, most of you have IE on your computer, so you all received this update as well. The last one was for yet another vulnerability found in MS Word. If you have that on your PC, you got this update too.

Okay, so that takes care of the critical changes. Now, let's check out the two classified as "important." The first one dealt with a vulnerability with a remote procedure call (RPC) that could eventually deny you of your computer services. The second one was in reference to a vulnerability in the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 program and the Office SharePoint Server 2007. This will only affect you if you use either of those. Now, a few other common updates came through as well, including the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Well, there you have it. Hopefully with this information, you will be able to better understand what exactly changed on your computer. It should also help you to see just how important these updates are. So, if you haven't installed yours yet, please do so soon. They literally could save your computer's life!

~ Erin