November’s 2012 Patch Tuesday is next week, and as well as the regular security patches for classic versions of Windows and Microsoft applications, owners of the brand spanking new Microsoft Surface tablet running Windows 8 RT will also need to update their systems.
An advance notification from Microsoft reveals that some of the critical vulnerabilities being patched by the software giant on Tuesday impact Windows RT, and could allow cybercriminals to infect vulnerable systems with malware.
It doesn’t matter if you’re still running Windows XP SP3 or Windows 8 – it’s important to sit up, pay attention, and take action whenever Microsoft issues security updates.
And that’s a lesson that users of the new Microsoft Surface tablet are going to have to learn as well if they’re going to reduce the chances of an internet attack being successful.
Microsoft’s patches won’t be issued until Tuesday 13 November (the company tries to bundle its security patches up for release on the second Tuesday of every month), so be sure to keep an eye out then and be prepared to apply the fixes as they become available.
Software covered in the bundle of security fixes include:
- Windows XP Service Pack 3
- Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems
- Windows Vista Service Pack 2
- Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 2
- Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems
- Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
- Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
- Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 1
- Windows 8 for 32-bit Systems
- Windows 8 for 64-bit Systems
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows RT
- Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
- Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems (Server Core installation)
- Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
- Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
- Microsoft Excel
- Internet Explorer 9
Stay safe folks.
