Bugs And Fixes: Grab An Essential Fix For Internet Explorer

[Peaches]

Bugs and Fixes: Grab an Essential Fix for Internet Explorer

Plus: Close serious holes in Office, Reader, Shockwave, and Firefox.

Erik Larkin, PC World

With critical updates from Adobe, Foxit, and Mozilla joining a bevy of essential patches for Internet Explorer and Office, the fixes are running hot this summer.

After an ebb of only one patch in Microsoft's previous regular cycle, the flow resumed in force as Microsoft plugged 31 vulnerabilities. The most important update fixes flaws that could allow an attacker to take over your PC or steal data if you view a poisoned Web page. Collectively, the patches are critical for IE 5 on Windows 2000, IE 6 on Windows XP, and IE 7 on Windows XP and Vista. It's bad news for IE 8 as well, on both XP and Vista. IE 8 on the latest Windows 7 release candidate isn't affected. Run Windows Update to pick up the patch.

Office Fixes

Two other patches close holes that could allow tainted Word or Excel files to trigger an attack. Office 2000 is most vulnerable, as the hole could permit an attacker to run any command. The flaws are rated important for Office XP, 2003, and 2007, as well as for Office for Mac (2004 and 2008). Run Windows Update to get the fix.

A similar fix for Microsoft Works files and converters is critical for Office 2000, important for Office XP, 2003, and 2007, and important for Microsoft Works 8.5 and 9.

full details at PCWorld - http://www.pcworld.com/article/168861/bugs...t_explorer.html