Microsoft Readies Eight Windows Patches

After a quiet September, Microsoft is planning nine security fixes--eight of them rated as "critical"--as part of October's release of security updates.

The eight critical patches are updates to the Windows operating system, according to information on Microsoft's Web site, which notes that the updates will go out next Tuesday. A "critical" rating for a bug means that a worm could take advantage of it without user action.

Correction: Microsoft has rated one of those security fixes critical, and eight of the nine patches in the October security update package are fixes for Windows.

The other update, which is intended for both Windows and Exchange, is rated as "important," according to Microsoft.

Patch Parade

The patch for the bugs, which are called "updates" by Microsoft, will come as part of the company's regular monthly patch release cycle. Microsoft releases most software patches on the second Tuesday of each month, a date that has come to be known as "Patch Tuesday" by security professionals.

Microsoft also will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center. The tool will not be distributed using Software Update Services, however.

In September, Microsoft initially released one software fix on Patch Tuesday, then pulled the patch a day later due to "quality" issues, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.