Security Update Friday

On Tuesday the 11th, Microsoft will issue critical security updates via the Windows update mechanism. One moderate and  four critical updates will be deployed including one that fixes the "CreateTextRange" vulnerability, exposed a couple weeks ago. There will also be an update of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.  More info, click Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification..

While these updates address some flaws which are currently being exploited I won't updating my own systems as soon as they're release. My usual recommendation to friends and family is to wait a few days and see how things work out for the rest of the computing world. I just don’t believe it’s possible to accurately test changes of this magnitude without a proper sampling. At BillP Studios, I do Security Updates on Fridays.

Given all the recent problems caused by autoupdates I’ll be keeping an eye on how things go.  On Wednesday, April 12th, Microsoft TechNet will hold a Webcast with more information on April Security Bulletins. For information go to click here.  If I hear of any problems by the end of the week I’ll report them here.  If not, I’ll tell Windows to go out to update itself.

I’ll also repeat a tip from one of my previous AutoUpdate articles.  Hopefully, you won’t need it.

Whenever a problem is caused by a security patch, it's a free call to Microsoft. The number to start with is 1-866-PC-Safety.  Other numbers and information available at http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=SecurityHome