Update: Patch for WMF security hole in Windows
The previously reported serious security flaw has been patched by Microsoft, who, thankfully, decided to release the patch earlier than stated. This patch was released via Windows Update, so if you have automatic updates on, then you may have already installed this patch. Everyone is encouraged to install this update, as not doing so leaves your computer very vulnerable to any web site.
To verify you have this patch:
- Go to Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs. (You might have to switch to “Classic View” in the left pane.)
- At the top, check the box next to “Show updates”
- Scroll through the list, and verify you see the following item: “Security Update for Windows XP KB912919″ (this should have been installed on 1/7/2006 or later, I believe.)
- If you do not see this item, go to Windows Update in Internet Explorer, and download all available updates. Then, go to the previous step and verify that’s installed.
- If you had previously disabled the image viewing service, Go to Start->Run, and enter the following:
regsvr32 shimgvw.dll
While people can update Windows XP and presumably 2000, I’m guessing that Microsoft is not releasing a patch for Windows 98.
