The Problem With Monthly Security Patches

from the security-holes-don't-work-on-a-schedule dept

So much for that plan. Back in October, we joked about Microsoft's plans to make their operating system more secure by patching it less often. The convoluted thinking was that if they spent more time on specific monthly (second Tuesday of every month) patches, they could get them right and not always be frantic about coming out with new patches all the time. Of course, there's one fatal flaw in this plan, and that's that security holes (and those who publicize and/or exploit them) don't work on a monthly schedule. So, while it's the second Tuesday of December today, there's no patch from Microsoft. They're making it sound like it's a good thing, but that ignores the few "critical" security updates that came out over the last couple months when "off-schedule" security holes were found.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.