Microsoft issued just two updates today to fix at least three security flaws in its Windows and Microsoft Office products, a merciful respite following last month’s record-setting patch push. One of the patches issued today earned a critical rating, the company’s most serious.
The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI this week were granted unprecedented authortiy to seize control over a criminal botnet that enslaved millions of computers and to use that control to disable the malicious software on infected PCs.
The target of the takedown was “Coreflood,” an infamous botnet that first emerged almost a decade ago as a high-powered virtual weapon designed to knock targeted Web sites offline. Over the years, the crooks running the botnet began using it to defraud owners of the victim PCs by stealing bank account information and draining balances.
Microsoft released a record number of software updates yesterday to fix at least 64 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and Office products, including at least one that attackers are actively exploiting.
Updates are available for all versions of Windows via Windows Update or Automatic Update. Nine of the patches earned Microsoft’s “critical” rating, which means the vulnerabilities they fix could be exploited to compromise PCs with little or no action on the part of the user, apart from visiting a booby-trapped Web site or opening a tainted file.
Aaron Wendel opened the doors of his business to some unexpected visitors on the morning of Mar. 16, 2011. The chief technology officer of Kansas City based hosting provider Wholesale Internet found that two U.S. marshals, a pair of computer forensics experts and a Microsoft lawyer had come calling, armed with papers allowing them to enter the facility and to commandeer computer hard drives and portions of the hosting firm’s network. Anyone attempting to interfere would be subject to arrest and prosecution.
Microsoft has issued security updates to fix at least four security holes in its Windows operating system and other software. Not exactly a fat Patch Tuesday from Microsoft, but depending on how agile you are in updating third-party applications like Flash, iTunes and Shockwave, you may have some additional patching to do.
Talk about Patch Tuesday on steroids! Adobe, Microsoft and WordPress all issued security updates for their products yesterday. In addition, security vendor Tipping Point released advisories detailing 21 unpatched vulnerabilities in products made by CA, EMC, HP, Novell and SCO.… Read More »
Microsoft warned today that hackers have published instructions for attacking a previously unknown security hole in all versions of Windows that could be exploited to siphon user data or trick users into installing malicious code.
Microsoft today released security updates to fix at least three vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems, including one labeled “critical,” the company’s most serious rating. However, none of the patches address five zero-day flaws that can be used to attack… Read More »
Microsoft today warned Windows users about a previously unknown security vulnerability that could allow attackers to install malware simply by getting users to view a malicious image in a Web browser or document.
Microsoft today issued 17 software updates to plug a total of 40 security holes in computers running its Windows operating system and other software. December’s bounty of patches means Microsoft fixed a record number of security vulnerabilities this year.
