Adobe and Microsoft Updates

As is custom, Microsoft and Adobe released their second Tuesday patches yesterday.  Here's a look at what the updates are all about.

Microsoft released twelve updates for the Windows operating system, almost half of which allowed hackers to take over a compromised computer with little (or no) help from users.  There are also fixes for Internet Explorer and Microsoft's new browser, Edge.  A fix for the Windows Media Player fixes vulnerabilities that are already being exploited by hackers.  Some of these exploits allow hackers to compromise a computer with little to no help from the user, so it's very advisable that you go ahead and apply the updates ASAP.

Adobe's update is for a vulnerability in Shockwave Flash.  Computers have been weaning themselves off of Flash for a while now, so unless you really need it, you should probably just get rid of it.