Patch Twos-Day

IT pros have an easy week this week, at least when it comes to Microsoft patches: Only two fixes were delivered yesterday.

As usual, remote code execution is the biggest problem, and one patch fixes an RCE flaw that exists in all flavors of Windows. Sounds like this puppy should be installed pronto.

The other patch really isn't a patch in the sense that it doesn't close any vulnerabilities or fix any bugs. Instead, this patch -- which you should install only if you get a notice from Microsoft -- removes bits of XML technology from Microsoft Word. That XML technology violates a patent held by i4i, a Canadian content management company, a U.S. court found. Microsoft argues that removing the offending technology isn't a big deal and won't affect the performance or functionality of Word.

But if you think Microsoft has the software with the most holes, think again. Oracle this week issues two dozen patches. Larry's been busy!

Which vendors do a good job with patches and which don't? Answers welcome at dbarney@redmondmag.com.

Posted by Doug Barney on January 13, 2010 at 11:53 AM