Microsoft Updates Hinder More than Help

Updates are supposed to help us, aren't they? Not always. In this case, a recent security update from Microsoft has completely blocked a number of users from accessing the web with the company's own browser, Internet Explorer.

For those who are reading this in Explorer after downloading update MS07-069, consider yourselves lucky. The bulletin was released December 11th, and since that time users have been flooding Microsoft's support forums with complaints that they can no longer regularly connect to the Internet.  In some cases, the browser shuts down about 50-60% of the time, displaying an error message few can comprehend. Many others can't get online because Internet Explorer has simply refused to open, or because when it finally did certain sites were denied without explanation.

IT managers across the country are scrambling to warn others not to trust Microsoft's security 'update'. One operations manager from San Diego's Gold Peak IndustriesNA Inc. skirted about the office doing his best to maintain order. "I stopped everyone who hadn't installed the update from installing it, after four PCs out of 14 had the problem," he said. Even Decker is confused with the cause, and even more confused when trying to devise solutions. "It seemed limited to the window that was opened, and changing the home page to something simple, like a blank page, gave a better success rate."

Microsoft had admitted it made a mistake and is currently attempting to repair the situation. Mark Miller, the company's director of security response, recently told the media, "Our customer service and support teams are investigating public claims of a deployment issue with Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-069...If necessary, Microsoft will update the Knowledge Base article associated with MS07-069 with detailed guidance on how to prevent or address these deployment issues." (Source: pcworld.com)

The simplest solution seems to be to simply remove the update. "We uninstalled [MS07-069] and have had no problems since then," Decker said.

In an unrelated story, another Microsoft patch is being urged upon users to protect them from a number of hacker threats. Sophos warns to update as soon as possible. (Source: inquirer.net)