Thor Schrock

This month's patch Tuesday will include six different Microsoft security updates. One of the patches is very critical, as it plugs a security hole that is currently being used to take control of unsuspecting computers that are not equipped with firewalls on high speed connections.

As always, I recommend that all Windows users turn on their automatic updates so all critical Windows and Office updates will be downloaded automatically.

While Microsoft would not say specifically what flaws or components are being patched in this update, they did let on that this batch of updates will not contain a fix for a security flaw in Visual Studio 2005 that is currently being used to attack PCs. Tuesday's patches will require you to restart your computer after applying them, so don't leave any unsaved documents open on Moinday night, or you might find a clean desktop by Tuesday morning!

In October Microsoft released ten security patches, six of which were considered critical updates. Critical vulnerabilities typically can allow a virus to spread or allow a PC to be controlled remotely by a hacker to send mass email or perform other tasks.