December 2008 Patch Tuesday, Take Two

What Is It?

Yesterday, in the notice that I distributed to VirusWarn subscribers, and published on the VirusWarn Blog, at http://viruswarn.blogspot.com/2008/12/fw-viruswarn-there-is-something-for.html, I neglected to include two key products that require your immediate attention.

• Microsoft Office 2003. Both Word and Excel received patches to plug several remote code execution vulnerabilities. Even if you don't use Word or Excel, you need this update if Outlook is configured to use Word as its message editor. In this version of Outlook, this setting is optional.
• Microsoft Office 2007. Both Word and Excel received patches to plug several remote code execution vulnerabilities. Even if you don't use Word or Excel, you need this update if Outlook is configured to use Word as its message editor. In this version of Outlook, this setting is the default.

In case you have forgotten, or didn't know, remote code execution vulnerabilities are the currently favored means by which the Bad Guys install malicious software onto your computer.

What Should You Do?

Unless you know for certain that the updates for Office 2003 or 2007 installed themselves yesterday or today, visit the Microsoft Update Web site, at http://update.microsoft.com/, choose the Express option, and accept everything that is offered.

Attention Firefox users. You must use Internet Explorer for this task.

References

• http://viruswarn.blogspot.com/2008/12/fw-viruswarn-there-is-something-for.html, "There Is Something for Everyone This Patch Tuesday," is the announcement I made yesterday.
• http://update.microsoft.com/ is the entry to the main Microsoft Update page. Updates for Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 are available here.
• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-072.mspx, Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-072 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (957173).
• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-074.mspx, Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-074 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (959070).

Thank You!

Thanks to long time subscriber Sara Jenkins for calling my attention to this oversight, and to the fact that the Microsoft Update service requires Internet Explorer.

David Gray, MBA, Chief Wizard WizardWrx – Making computer magic since 1985
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