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Posted on February 13, 2011 by krizzna

Microsoft Releases Major Security Updates

Microsoft released its largest-ever set of security patches on 10-12-2010, fixing a total of 49 flaws in products such as Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office.

These updates are divided up into 16 groups of updates in total. Microsoft says that two of them — the Internet Explorer fix numbered MS10-071 and a Windows patch numbered MS10-076 — should get top priority. Microsoft’s analysis suggest that an attack code is likely to be developed that will target bugs fixed by both of those updates.

Those two updates should be a top priority as they could be leveraged in a “drive-by” Internet attack. In this common type of attack, a hacker tricks the victim into visiting a Web page via a link that takes advantage of the bug to install a malicious program on the victim’s machine.The malicious bugs better known as malware, spyware, trojans, and computer viruses. Having these malicious programs compromising a computer system could be catostrophic.

The MS10-71 update fixes 10 Internet Explorer bugs. Two are rated critical, meaning they could be used in a malicious website. The MS10-076 update fixes a single critical flaw in the Windows Embedded OpenType (EOT) Font Engine, used by Internet Explorer. The latest versions of Windows include a security technology called ASLR (address space layout randomization) which makes it difficult and almost impossible to exploit that type of bug, Microsoft believes attackers are likely to develop attacks for older versions of the operating system such as Windows XP. Meaning keep your computer system up-to-date with Microsoft updates and keep your threat definitions up-to-date with your anti-virus application.

The other two top-rated updates are MS10-077, a fix for a bug in Microsoft’s .Net Framework that affects the 64-bit systems, and MS10-075, which fixes a critical flaw in the Microsoft Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service. This service is currently used by Windows to share music files and other media over the network. This service is turned on by default with Windows 7 Home Edition, but a hacker would have to first be on the local network to launch an attack, Microsoft said. Meaning if your at the local coffee shop browing the internet and a hacker was on the same “local network”, you would have been hacked without these new updates provided from Microsoft.

There are some fixes that are not rated critical but these should not be ignored and should be installed as well. Symantec says 35 of the 49 bugs fixed on Tuesday could give hackers a way to run unauthorized software on a compromised computer system. Microsoft states that attacks are likely to be developed that exploit some of the lower-rated issues as well.

In fact, one of Tuesday’s updates — MS10-073; rated important by Microsoft - fixes a Windows XP bug that was leveraged by the creators of the Stuxent worm. Stuxnet is the first publicly known worm built to attack industrial systems and it has made headlines during the past weeks amidst speculation that it was designed to target nuclear systems in Iran.

Bottom line is this. Take the time to keep your computer systems updated with Microsoft updates. Also have an anti-virus application that protects against all malicious software and keeping your threat definitions updated daily. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 has all the features needed to protect against such malicious threats.

 

Tags: major, Microsoft, Releases, Security, updates

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