Microsoft is set to rush out an emergency security patch for Windows users today.
Emergency patch released ahead of schedule
Microsoft has offered few details on why it is releasing the software update, which is rated 'critical' for users of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Many security experts are concerned, however, because a critical flaw can be exploited by online attackers to seize control of the PC.
The update will be released at 10am US Pacific Time (6pm tonight for UK users), according to Microsoft spokesman Christopher Budd, in a blog posting published late last night.
The flaw is considered to be a less serious risk for users of the Windows Vista and Server 2008 operating systems, Microsoft said in an advisory on the issue.
For years, Microsoft has released its patches on a predetermined day - the second Tuesday of every month - but it has occasionally released patches ahead of schedule when bugs have been actively exploited by computer criminals.
The last such emergency patch issued by Microsoft was in April 2007, when the company fixed a bug in the way Windows processes .ani animated cursor files. That flaw was publicly known and being exploited in attack code hosted on hundreds of websites.
This latest vulnerability, however, appears to be unknown to the security community.
Dragos Ruiu, organiser of the CanSecWest hacking conference, commented that for Microsoft to rush out this type of emergency update, it must consider the bug to be very serious.
Ruiu said that presenters at Microsoft's recent Blue Hat internal security conference told him they'd discovered some serious Windows bugs using security testing tools and that the update could fix one of these issues. "It might have wide reaching impact, or might be used easily for significant malicious hijinks," he said.
Comments
Nick Lettin said: Well Done PC Advisor congrats on letting everyone know when Microsoft releases its patches Needless to say you hadnt considered that any would be hacker might JUST have been waiting for this kind of information so they can actually CHOOSE the best time to strike Sorry but Im VERY unimpressed
john mitchley said: Thanks to your timely news about the 23rd of october windows critical security patch being released for 6pm I was able to get the update without delay as I do not use autoThankyou
ID said: JB - Read the article It wont be released 6pm UK time
JB said: thanks for the warning Havent seen anything added yet on my so called auomatic updates
Thomas Crown said: Having weaknesses within XP is what makes it still attractive to users who install cracked software re torrents etcBy trying to plug the holes we ended up with the bloated and bumbling UAC User Account Control VistaI say leave holes if it gives the user more control because the banks will rob you more than the on-line villains
James Crawford said: R u serious another critical patchXP is reaching the end of its life span are we to realy believe that Microsfot have not covered all the bases yetHow old is XP funilly enough Oct 25th 2001 two days from now seven years old if they cannot find security flaws in seven years what hope have we got for the next generation Vista was supposed to be unbreakable yet before its release its was available on torrent sites does this mean I have to wait another 7 years for my OS to be completely safe and thats before i put any software on itJames Crawford