Keeping the PC updated is vital if we want to be safe when we connect to the Internet. Any operating system hides vulnerabilities inside, failures that, if they fall into the wrong hands, can endanger the complete security of our PC. Like every month, yesterday was the second Tuesday of the month. And so that only means one thing: new security patches for Windows and other Microsoft products. Today it’s time to update.
The new security patches are of the “cumulative” type. This means that, by installing them, we are also applying all the fixes released to date for the operating system to the system. Thus, if we stop installing security patches last month, for whatever reason, by installing these new updates we can have the PC up to date.
New security patches to protect all Windows
The new Windows 10 security patches fix a total of 112 vulnerabilities in the operating system. Of which 17 have been classified as critical vulnerabilities, 93 as important, and only two of moderate danger. 2020 versions of Windows have received update KB4586781 . On the other hand, the 2019 versions of the operating system the patch they have received is KB4586786 . And finally, version 1809 of Windows receives the update KB4586793 , which by the way, will be the last that you will see when it is, from today, without support.
Of all of them, one of the most dangerous is a zero-day bug, discovered by Google, in the Windows Kernel Cryptography Driver (cng.sys) component. This bug, registered as CVE-2020-17087, can be used to escalate privileges within the PC to achieve the highest SYSTEM permission level. It is an important gateway to all types of computer attacks.
All supported versions of Windows have received these updates. That is, versions 20H2, 2004, 1909, 1903 and 1809. Windows 8.1 has also received its share of patches and, interestingly, Windows 7 has also been updated, fixing 20 vulnerabilities, so that users who pay for the extended support Extended Security Updates (ESUs) can be sure.
Update Windows with the latest security patches
These new security updates are available to all users using any of the previous versions of the operating system. These new security patches are totally free for all users, and we can download them from Windows Update . If we have automatic updates activated, these patches will be downloaded and installed automatically on our PC. Otherwise, we will have to look for new updates manually, and even download them from the Microsoft Update catalog to install them on the PC by hand.
These new cumulative updates not only bring security fixes, but also include other types of bug fixes detected in recent weeks. By installing them, we will be improving (in theory) the general operation of Windows 10.
Microsoft is not the only company that has taken advantage of today to correct security flaws in its products. Adobe and Apple are two companies that have also released a series of updates for their main products to address a series of vulnerabilities discovered in their products. It is very important to make sure that we install the new versions of both Windows and the programs that we have installed. Only then can we be totally safe and avoid falling into the clutches of hackers.