As part of its monthly patch Tuesday series of updates, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced that it will be releasing four security updates to address a total of five vulnerabilities next week. Three of these bulletins are rated critical, with one of the critical bulletins requiring a restart of server-class machines in order to take effect. 

A serious bug in the Windows Help and Support Center made public by a Google researcher in early June will also be rectified. The unilateral move to publicize details of the vulnerability just days after informing Microsoft was criticized by some as unfair and giving Microsoft too little time to react. Access and Outlook components of Microsoft Office are also identified as having security holes that will be patched this round.

While the general consensus is that this is a "light" month, IT departments with Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 systems should nevertheless be ready to prioritize this bulletin, advises security vendor Lumension. Finally, companies still running Windows 2000 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 should note that Microsoft will no longer provide any security support for these operating systems from Tuesday onward.

For more on this story:
- check out the article at eWeek
- check out the article at Computerworld

Related Articles:
Microsoft confirms critical Windows XP bug, recommends workaround
Ex-Hacker: Apple is not more secure than Microsoft
Microsoft to rush emergency patch for Internet Explorer today
Released: Exploit code to bypass DEP security in Windows