Security Advisor
Two In a Row for a Microsoft IE Fix
July's Patch Tuesday marks the second fix for Microsoft's Web browser in two months.
Microsoft's second-Tuesday-of-the-month present has arrived, and July's offering includes a surprise: a "critical" cumulative fix for Internet Explorer.
But, I know what you're saying, "Doesn't Microsoft release a fix for its browser all the time?" Yes, but they usually come every other month. So receiving a fix for IE two months in a row, is somewhat noteworthy (not something you'll be telling your grandchildren about, but important enough for someone like me to write a blog entry about).
This back-to-back appearance of an IE fix should not be viewed as an increased degradation rate of the Web browser, but an increase in the speed in which Microsoft hunts and destroys Internet Explorer bugs.
"In the past, Internet Explorer was updated only every two months -- that was how long it took to get through all the compatibility testing required for a stable release," said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of Qualys, Inc. "Now, Microsoft has streamlined this process to reduce the time needed by 50 percent."
A finely tuned, more efficient Microsoft security machine means less times that our software is vulnerable between patches. And that's definitely a good thing.
Other than that, Microsoft's bulletin load features an additional two critical items (both for windows and both dealing with remote code execution problems) and six "important" items (which should be seen as not-as-important).
Read all the details of this month's Microsoft Security Update here.