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MrPlow writes:

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Microsoft regularly issues security updates, but it added a little something extra on Tuesday: it's letting all customers, even those using older versions of Windows, update their software.

This move is an attempt to avoid another ransomware outbreak like WannaCry, also called WannaCrypt, which rocked the web last month.

"The WannaCrypt ransomware served as an all too real example of the danger of cyber attacks to individuals and businesses globally," Adrienne Hall, general manager of Microsoft's Cyber Defense Operations Center, wrote in a blog post. "In reviewing the updates for this month, some vulnerabilities were identified that pose elevated risk of cyber attacks by government organizations, sometimes referred to as nation-state actors or other copycat organizations."

Microsoft said it made the decision to apply this assortment of updates to provide further protection against potential attacks with similar characteristics as WannaCrypt. The security updates will be delivered automatically through Windows Update to devices running Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.

Source: CNET

Also at Ars Technica

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