Microsoft will today launch its biggest ever security patch which will aim to fix as many as 34 vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and Internet Explorer browser.
The latest update, which like other Microsoft updates is being released on the second Tuesday of the month, will include thirteen security bulletins to fix 34 known flaws, predominantly closing a loophole exposed with the running of Internet Explorer 8 browser in Windows 7.
In particular, Microsoft have stated that the update will fix two critical loopholes, these being Vulnerabilities in SMB Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975497) and Vulnerabilities in the FTP Service in Internet Information Services (975191).
Flaws in Microsoft Office, Silverlight, Forefront, Developer Tools, and SQL Server will also be fixed by the new update.
The biggest update issued previously by Microsoft’s was released in June 2009, with 10 bulletins designed to tackle 31 vulnerabilities.
Most users will get the updates automatically but download links are also available on Microsoft’s security pages. Once applied to a PC, the machine will need to be re-started before the fixes take effect.
Users are recommended to perform a virus scan with their antivirus software prior to downloading the updates, which will be issued at 10:00am PDT (UTC -8).
