Marshall Brain's Blog

I keep the three XP machines I own up-to-date on all the Microsoft updates. So yesterday when the updater said, "There are updates ready to install", I was expecting one or two new updates. Instead, here's what is needing to be installed today:

Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express 6 Service Pack 1 (KB837009)
Download size: 1.9 MB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified in Microsoft Outlook Express that could allow an attacker to read files on your computer, or cause a program to run. You can help protect your computer by installing this update. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Critical Update for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (KB831167)
Download size: 378 KB, < 1 minute
An identified issue may cause errors when Internet Explorer attempts to renew a connection to a server. You should apply this update if you begin to receive errors connecting to websites after you have applied the KB832894 security update to Internet Explorer. After you install this item, you may need to restart your computer. Read more...

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (KB832894)
Download size: 2.8 MB, < 1 minute
Identified security issues in Internet Explorer could allow an attacker to compromise a Windows-based system. For example, an attacker could run programs on your computer while you view a Web page. This affects all computers with Internet Explorer installed (even if you don’t run Internet Explorer as your Web browser). After you install this item, you may need to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for DirectX 9.0 (KB839643)
Download size: 443 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to cause DirectX, or applications using DirectX, to become unresponsive. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Windows XP (KB840374)
Download size: 854 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Windows and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Windows XP (KB837001)
Download size: 284 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Windows and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Windows XP (KB828741)
Download size: 284 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Windows and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Windows XP (KB835732)
Download size: 284 KB, < 1 minute
Multiple security issues have been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Windows and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Data Access Components (KB832483)
Download size: 2.0 MB, < 1 minute
An identified security issue in Microsoft Data Access Components could allow an attacker to compromise a Windows-based system and take a variety of actions. For example, an attacker could execute code on the system. By installing this update, you help protect your computer. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it cannot be removed. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Windows XP (KB828035)
Download size: 357 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise a computer running Microsoft® Windows® XP and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Windows XP (KB825119)
Download size: 298 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise a computer running Microsoft® Windows® XP and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Critical Update for Windows Media Player Script Commands (KB828026)
Download size: 2.8 MB, < 1 minute
This update contains a change to the behavior of Windows Media Player’s ability to launch URLs in the local computer zone from other zones. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Windows XP (KB826939)
Download size: 282 KB, < 1 minute
This update consists of previously released critical and security updates, for Windows XP, rolled into one convenient package. Installing this item provides you the same results as installing the individual updates. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB824105)
Download size: 225 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified in Microsoft Windows that could allow an attacker to see information in your computer’s memory over a network. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB823182)
Download size: 424 KB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise a computer running Microsoft Windows and gain complete control over it. For example, an attacker could execute code on your system. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB824141)
Download size: 2.1 MB, < 1 minute
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Microsoft Windows and gain control over it. To attempt an attack, the attacker would have to be able to log on to the computer. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Read more...

816093: Security Update Microsoft Virtual Machine (Microsoft VM)
Download size: 5.1 MB, < 1 minute
This update helps resolve a vulnerability in the Microsoft virtual machine. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it cannot be removed. Read more...

It's about 20 MB of patches. It will take 10 to 15 minutes to install. If you were to read about each one, it could take well over an hour.

Perhaps that is why US-CERT is suggesting people use other browsers. See also this post on the cost of maintaining XP.

This is starting to feel like a national security issue. The military, government agencies and most American businesses, not to mention hundreds of millions of normal citizens, use Microsoft software every day. If something "bad" were to happen on a large scale to this software, the entire nation would feel it. Yet the software is highly vulnerable. Why is Microsoft allowed to sit on $50 billion in cash rather than being forced to fix the problems it has created?