INCOMING! Biggest ever patch Tuesday: 13 patches fix 34 vulns.

Next week is going to be a busy time for IT folks. Microsoft's got 13 patches for you, to solve 34 security vulnerabilities in all sorts of Microsoft products -- including every supported version of Windows. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers look at the numbers.

By Richi Jennings. October 9, 2009.
(MSFT)

Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention Pet Vet PD...
 
 
John Leyden is the bringer of bad news:

Microsoft is preparing its biggest ever Patch Tuesday update. ... 13 bulletins collectively address 34 security flaws across a wide spectrum of Microsoft products. Eight ... earn the dread classification of critical, Microsoft's highest severity rating.
...
Two of these upcoming critical updates address the targets of active hacking attacks - a vulnerability in SMBv2 ... and a security flaw in the FTP component in Microsoft's IIS. ... Other patches cover IE, Office, developer tools, and SQL Server. All supported versions of Windows will need patching ... including Windows 7.

And please don't shoot Gregg Keizer, either:

Microsoft today said it will deliver its largest-ever number of security updates on Tuesday ... beating the previous record of 12 updates shipped in February 2007 and again in October 2008.
...
Windows 7 will receive its first official patches next week: Five of the 13 bulletins were marked today by Microsoft as affecting the new operating system. ... Both consumers and company administrators should gear up for a busy Tuesday. ... Microsoft will release the 13 updates at approximately 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 13.

Microsoft's Jerry Bryant drew the short straw:

For October we are releasing 13 bulletins (eight critical and five important), addressing 34 vulnerabilities, affecting Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, Silverlight, Forefront, Developer Tools, and SQL Server. Most of these updates require a restart so please factor that into your deployment planning.
...
Usually we do not go into this level of detail in the advance notification but we felt that it is important guidance so customers can plan accordingly and deploy these updates as soon as possible. ... Check back here [Tuesday] for a more detailed overview of the updates (including an overview video), our risk and impact summary and our deployment prioritization guide. More information about the upcoming security updates can be found here in the ANS.

Gustavo Muslera walks the numerology network:

13 patches released at 13:00 of Tuesday 13. Windows sysadmins that day will have to pass below ladders, see a black cats cross in front of them and then break a mirror. But that will be nothing. The worst part will be when they turn on the computer, and see that windows is still running.

 
But steelscalp ponders the meaning of "critical":

Last week's "critical updates" were two copies of Windows Genuine Annoyance.

 
So what's your take?
Get involved: leave a comment.
 
 
And finally...

• Pet Vet: the Photoshop Disaster
  

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him as @richi on Twitter, or richij on FriendFeed, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itblogwatch@richij.com.

 
 
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