Microsoft will release three sets of security updates on Tuesday, fixing at least one critical bug in its Windows operating system.<\/p>\n
The software vendor says that the most serious of these updates fixes a bug that could be used to install malicious software on a victim’s computer on any supported version of Windows. <\/p>\n
The other two Windows updates fix flaws that are not considered to be quite so dire, and one of these fixes does not affect Windows XP or Vista users.<\/p>\n
Microsoft releases its security updates on the second Tuesday of each month, and it gives customers advance notification of what patches are coming the Thursday before they are released. <\/p>\n
This month’s early notification makes one thing clear: A highly publicised Excel bug that has been used in a small number of targeted attacks will not be patched this month.<\/p>\n
Given that the Excel bug was reported to Microsoft just weeks ago, it is not surprising that Microsoft has not had time to fully test and release a bug-fix, says Andrew Storms, director of security operations with security vendor nCircle. Still, the fact that users will have to wait another month for protection is "disappointing," he adds.<\/p>\n
Microsoft has a couple of other software bugs to fix in addition to the Excel issue. In December, the company acknowledged a security issue in its WordPad Text Converter that affects older versions of Windows. <\/p>\n
There is also another unpatched Windows issue that has been lingering since April of last year. Storms says that it is possible that Microsoft could fix that vulnerability – which allows attackers to get elevated user privileges on a victim’s system – next week.<\/p>\n