Microsoft issues first Windows 7 patches

From InfoWorld: Microsoft last week patched nine vulnerabilities, five marked "critical," in Windows 7, a move that will require users upgrading to the new operating system starting Thursday to download a security update to keep their PCs secure.

The patches were the first for Windows 7's final build, dubbed RTM for "release to manufacturing," that has been in some customers' hands, primarily enterprises with volume licensing agreements, since August.

Windows 7's patch count, however, was significantly less than either Windows Vista's, its immediate predecessor, or that of Windows XP, the eight-year-old operating system installed on the majority of systems worldwide.

An analysis by Computerworld of the massive Oct. 13 security update -- the largest by Microsoft since it started patching on a regular monthly schedule six year ago -- showed that Windows 7 was affected by nine of the 34 vulnerabilities, or 26 percent of the total. Its count of critical bugs -- the most serious as marked by Microsoft -- was five out of a possible 21, or 24 percent.

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