Is Microsoft’s next version of Windows, known as Windows Vista, secure? That’s the promise that Microsoft has been making to us all for quite some time, especially as the launch date draws ever closer. One Microsoft employee even said words to the effect a few months ago that with Vista, the concept of ‘Patch Tuesday’ would be a thing of the past. Patch Tuesday is where patches are released to fix bug and deliver updates to existing versions of Windows, such as XP, 2000 and others.

So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that two critical patches have been delivered for Windows Vista, which patch security holes that could allow hackers to gain control of your computer. Windows XP received seven patches, so the fact that Vista only needed two patches is certainly progress, but if Vista at this stage does need updates, it points to a likely future where even after Vista is released, it will need to be regularly updated as security vulnerabilities continue to be found.

Having said all of that, virtually all software and operating systems in current use would be candidates to have security updates released – and many do have updates available. Most software manufacturers have some kind of update for their software, you only need to click on the ‘check for updates’ button, usually in the Help menu of the software to find out. If there is no ‘check for updates’ feature anywhere within the software, visiting the website of the software maker in question and going to the support section will let you find out if the software you’re using has any updates available.

So, whether you’re using Windows, a Mac, Linux and the range of software available for those operating systems, you should be regularly checking for updates, and if possible, setting your operating system and software to check for updates automatically. No-one, not Microsoft, Apple or others, can deliver a 100% secure system, even if they promise, or seem to promise, that this will be the case.

As with the offline world, you need to be as vigilant about security – and the integrity of your identity (a slightly different topic, but just as important) – in the online world.

Despite these updates for Vista, of which there will likely be many more over its lifetime, I’m certainly looking forward to Vista being released to consumers, and plenty of other people out there are too. Perhaps with the embarrassment of security updates already needing to be applied to Vista, Microsoft will go into overdrive to truly make Vista as secure as they possibly can. The Microsoft ‘Tech Ed’ conference, running from Wednesday 23^rd to Friday 25^th of August, will likely have more information on this. I’ll be at the Tech Ed event, so I’ll see what else can be uncovered to report to you, along with news of new features in the latest beta versions of Vista, Office 2007 and other Microsoft software. Should be a fun, and busy week!

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

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