Microsoft issues patch early after catching flak over wait.
Microsoft said previously that it would wait until its regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday to issue the fix that repairs the WMF problem. But, it says, the new, earlier release does not mean Patch Tuesday is now off the calendar, the company noted.
Next week, Microsoft plans to provide two additional security updates: one for Windows, and one for Microsoft Office and e-mail server software Exchange, the company said in a notice on its Web site.
Both updates will fix at least one flaw that the software maker deems critical, according to the notice. Microsoft rates as critical any security threat that could allow a malicious Internet worm to spread without any action required on the part of the user.
Microsoft's notice did not specify which components of Windows are being repaired with Tuesday's update or how many vulnerabilities the fix will tackle. The company did say that both patches may require a restart of the software.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft offers advance notification about fixes so people can get ready to install them. As part of the monthly patch day, Microsoft also plans to release a revamped version of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. The software detects and removes common malicious code placed on computers.
The company didn't try hard enough to stop a 10-year incursion by hackers likely working from China, says a former Nortel exec cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Google creates an animated doodle that features a boy, a girl, Google's search engine, and a jump rope. But might there be darker, more analytical, more troubling interpretations to this tale?
When the sun goes down, that's when the iPad gets busy for folks with news readers. The iPhone? It's more of a daytime habit. If you're building an app for both devices, heed the lesson.
EnerG2 opens a plant to make an engineered carbon that will improve performance of energy storage devices and make storage for start-stop hybrid cars less expensive.
