Apple, Microsoft Issue Security Updates

Apple yesterday pushed out an update to plug at least 17 separate security holes in its Mac OS X operating system and other software. Mac users can get the latest patch bundle from Apple Downloads or through the built-in Software Update feature in OS X.

In other patch news, Windows users may have noticed that little yellow shield icon popping up in the corner of their screen this week, indicating that new updates are available from Microsoft. The first is an update to the Microsoft Windows Installer that the company says resolves a problem some people were experiencing when trying to use Windows Update or Microsoft Update.

For people who have Microsoft Office 2003 installed, Microsoft is pushing out a tool called the Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE) feature, which is supposed to add new security features for opening and viewing potentially hostile Microsoft Office documents. Anyone who is interested can read up more on MOICE here.