Microsoft issues massive security updates

Microsoft has released patches for 26 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, Windows Messenger and other software. It is the largest update in 18 months and includes 11 bulletins, with six described as "critical." Of the 11 updates, two were most anticipated: a patch for a bug in the Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control, which is bundled with Access, Microsoft's database application, and one for a less-critical flaw in Microsoft Word.

The Snapshot Viewer and Word vulnerabilities have been exploited by attackers. Andrew Storms, director of security operations at security vendor nCircle Network Security, told Computerworld that there were two major themes in the massive update. "There's a lot of file-parsing vulnerabilities here," he said, "and a ton of replacement bulletins."

For details on the Microsoft updates:
- check out this Computerworld.com article