Microsoft issues Windows security patches, but Office for Mac users left in the cold

Microsoft has issued its May 2011 “Patch Tuesday” pack of security updates, and although it’s nothing like as big the Godzilla-sized bundle of vulnerability fixes we saw last month, there’s still good reason for both Windows and Mac users to sit up and pay attention.

First up is a critical vulnerability in WINS (the Windows Internet Name Service). According to Microsoft, the WINS vulnerability could allow malicious code to be run on a computer, or a worm to spread, without user interaction.

The good news is that WINS is not installed by default on affected operating systems, and so only users who have manually installed WINS are potentially at risk.

The second security bulletin from Microsoft concerns Microsoft PowerPoint, and…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.