Microsoft re-releases patch for Internet Explorer
On Monday, November 2, 2009, Microsoft began using Automatic Windows Updates to forcibly push out a re-release of a critical patch for its Internet Explorer browsers. Monday's hotfix, named KB976749, targeted MS09-054, originally released on October 13, 2009. That update patched four vulnerabilities, all "critical," in Internet Explorer. It was the third fix released for last month's Windows Updates! Whew!
Microsoft Knowledge base article KB976749 outlines the two issues, one that scrambles Web page elements, while the other spawns a "Type Mismatch" script error on sites that use VBScript, or a mix of VBScript and JavaScript. That article is titled: "An update is available for Internet Explorer that resolves issues that occur after you apply security update 974455 (MS09-054)."
The following warning appears on the aforementioned page:
Important Do not install this update if you have not installed security update 974455. If you install this update without first installing security update 974455, Internet Explorer may not work correctly. If this occurs, uninstall this update, install security update 974455, and then reinstall this update.
This update affects all versions of Internet Explorer, from 5.01 through 8.x. So, if you applied last month's Windows Updates (Oct 13, 2009) and allowed the IE patch to be installed, you will need to install this patched patch.
Many people will have already received this update automatically by the time I published this blog article. It requires a reboot to install the patch and you will be logged off and your PC will restart automatically, unless you intercept the pop-under notice giving you a 15 minute warning before shutdown (Maybe it was 20 minutes to start. When I first noticed it the timer said 15 minutes). Even Power Users and probably Limited Users are affected by the automatic installation and reboot process, if your PC is set to install Windows Updates automatically.
BTW: The "Restart later" button was grayed out for me, so I was forced to save all work in progress, close open applications to avoid data loss, then use "Restart Now" to let the inevitable update complete. The aggravating part of this process was that I don't browse at all with Internet Explorer! I only open it to obtain Windows Updates, after logging into a Administrator level account, or to check layouts of websites I design and maintain. I do all daily browsing on Mozilla's Firefox, using latest version. I operate as a Power User and was forced to allow the installation and forced reboot. Not much finesse on Microsoft's part.
Note, that if this patch causes you more problems that it solves, you can uninstall it via Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, with the Show Updates option checked. After rebooting you will be rolled back to the previous state of "patchedness."
Note also that one can only avoid these forced installation/reboot routines by disabling Automatic Windows Updates. Anything less will allow critical patches to be downloaded and installed if you are browsing on a less privileged account type. People who (foolishly, in my opinion) insist on using Administrator level accounts will at least see the gold shield tray icon notification that an update is available. or has been downloaded. By the time a Power User sees the shield, the countdown timer has starting its countdown to a forced restart.
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