You may or may not have already seen this in the news, but just in case, we wanted to make sure you had the information.
Microsoft released a critical, "out of band" security update this week. Consider this a "critical plus" update since it was important enough to release outside of the normal schedule.
The security update addresses vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer that could result in remote code execution, so it's very important to make sure you get the update installed immediately if you haven't already.
For more information, refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-034.
If you scroll down the list, you'll find your operating system and component and follow the link for your version of Internet Explorer to get to the update page.
For Windows XP SP2 or SP3 with Internet Explorer 7 (which is most common among our clients), the update is found in KnowledgeBase article KB972260.
If you're on Ekaru's managed service this update will be white-listed and automatically installed (and we'll be cross-checking). If you're using Automatic Updates, double check to ensure its installed, and not just downloaded.
Not sure if you have the update installed already? Getting peace of mind is easy. Go to "Start", "Control Panel", "Add or Remove Programs", and check the box at the top of the list to "Show Updates". Scroll down the list to look for Windows Internet Explorer Updates. You should see a listing for "Security Update for Windows Internet Explorer 7 (KB972260) with a recent date (July 28 or later).
Last October, Microsoft released a similar Out of Band Critical Update and by the time the Conficker virus came out in January, over 10 million PCs were affected because they didn't already have the patch. A simple and free preventative step today can save you a lot of time and money down the road, so pay attention to these updates.
Note that the Critical Security Update was released in conjunction with Security Update MS09-035 which relates to users of Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft Visual C++. Although this security bulletin is only rated as "Moderate", please follow the update directions if you use these products.
If you have any questions, please call or email and we can help.
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Sincerely,
Team Ekaru
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