Big Microsoft Security Patch available

I didn't post on this yesterday, but Microsoft has released a very large security update.  I think that Microsoft has tried to strike a good balance between ease-of-update, patch testing (this is really, really important, and Microsoft does it very well indeed), and response time.  They get knocked for only updating once a month, but you get much reliable patches, and usually they're automatically installed.

"Usually".  If you have Windows Update turned on, this was probably downloaded and installed last night.  If you don't have Windows Update turned on, then you have to get the update by yourself.

Microsoft has a very good web page about Windows Update that you might be interested in.  I think it's an important tool that makes your life easier.

If you want to check to see if the update has been installed, it's pretty easy:

1. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs (on Vista, this is called Uninstall a Program)

2. Click "View Installed Updates" (XP) or "Show Updates" (Vista)

3. You're looking for any of the following update IDs: 2360131, 2281679, 982132, 2160841

This is why you want to have Windows Update enabled, so you don't have to play IT Security Geek with Update IDs ...

If you have any of these, you'll almost certainly have them all.  If you don't, you can get them manually here.

This is the largest security patch Microsoft has ever put out, and some of these are being actively exploited right now.