Microsoft offers more detailed security alerts
Microsoft is expanding the detail available in its service to notify people of upcoming security fixes, the company said Wednesday.
On the first Thursday of each month, Microsoft's Advance Notification Service (ANS) tells those who've signed up for it some particulars of patches the company issues the following Tuesday. Currently, Microsoft shares some aggregate information about the patches--for example, how many are severe--but beginning June 7, it will offer more information for each of the bulletins in the notification, according to Microsoft's Security Response Center blog.
Specifically, Microsoft will share for each vulnerability bulletin its maximum severity, its impact, information on detection and the software it affects. The descriptions will be stripped-down versions of the full bulletins, and once those full details are released on the Tuesday, the descriptions will be updated to include all the information, Microsoft said.
In addition, Microsoft is updating the layout of its security bulletins to make them more useful, and has posted an example online. Anyone can sign up for the alert service at Microsoft's ANS subscription site.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
