Tech Shout!

Software giant Microsoft has said that come next week it will be releasing nine security updates. These patches will fix remote code execution attack vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer as well as Virtual PC.

Out of the nine bulletins that are slated to be launched on August 14, six of them will be labeled “critical”, which happens to be Microsoft’s highest rating. Other critical patches will be provided for Microsoft Office in general and Excel in particular, Visual Basic 6.0 and Internet Explorer.

The remaining three will be ranked “important”.

However, vulnerabilities that are expected to be patched by eight of the nine updates have been branded as ‘remote code executable’. This means that these bugs are extremely dangerous, and if exploited could easily allow a PC to be hijacked by hackers.

The updates will come as part of Microsoft’s regular monthly security patch process. In fact, all of the company’s critical security updates that were released this year, including next week’s updates, have patched vulnerabilities that allow remote execution attacks.

Microsoft Windows, including Windows Vista, will be the focus of the upcoming updates. Out of these, one of the Vista fixes has been termed critical.

Also planned for next week’s release are four non-security, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

Just a few days ago, Microsoft released 2 pre-SP1 Windows Vista patches before the actual release of the company’s Vista Service Pack 1. However, it’s not certain when exactly the first Service Pack will launch.