Important Updates: IE 5.5 and 6 Security Fix, Office XP Service Pack 1 Plugging Some Security Holes Eric Grevstad
Fri 12/14/01 -- It's a good day to run Windows Update. Microsoft's Web site now offers an urgent, top-priority security fix for versions 5.5 and 6 of the Internet Explorer browser, as well as the mostly-security-related (but also performance- and stability-enhancing) Service Pack 1 update for the Office XP productivity suite.
The Office XP pack essentially bundles all the patches and bug fixes Microsoft has made since releasing the suite, including cures for vulnerabilities that allowed virus-like macros to infect Word 2002, Excel 2002, and PowerPoint 2002 files. It also includes performance tweaks for PowerPoint and Outlook.
The more serious Internet Explorer patch fixes all known security holes in the latest versions of Microsoft's Web browser, including a deadly doorway discovered by a Finnish programmer that permitted a virus or worm writer to run a file- or data-destroying program on a user's PC, even without the recipient opening any e-mail attachments or agreeing to a suggested download.
