Apple releases bumper security update for 58 errors

Apple patched a whopping 58 vulnerabilities in its Mac operating system on Wednesday, the largest number of patches the company has released since May 2009. This week's security update is also the sixth from Apple in this year alone.

According to Network World, flaws in 37 different components of Mac OS X were updated this time. The significance of these vulnerabilities is that more than half of these areas--32 out of 58--involve critical weaknesses that could lead to remote exploitation.

Apple has earned itself an infamous reputation for being lackluster for its slow pace of security updates. While it eventually issues patches, the company often is slow to do so. This is significant because Apple uses a number of parts from open-source projects in the Mac operating system, yet releases updates for these components up to many months after the problems were resolved by the open-source community.

In the meantime, this latest security update can be downloaded from Apple here, or installed by using Mac OS X's integrated update service. If you are on the Mac OS X, be sure to apply this update as soon as possible.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Network World