Lesson 1: Updating Fundamentals
Microsoft continually works to improve its software. As part of this effort, Microsoft develops updates to solve problems that are discovered in software after the software is released. These problems often constitute security vulnerabilities.
There are, however, many different types of security vulnerabilities. Some have known exploits that are propagating quickly, and it is critical that these vulnerabilities are quickly fixed. Exploits are worms, viruses, Trojan horses, or other tools that can be used by an attacker to compromise a vulnerable computer. Others are less critical, and the risk of them being exploited isn’t high enough to justify the cost of rapidly deploying an update. Vulnerabilities might only apply to a handful of computers on your network, or they might affect every system. To address the wide variety of vulnerabilities, Microsoft provides several different types of updates throughout the lifecycle of a supported product.
Introduction to Updates :
An update, also known as a patch, is a file or a collection of files that you can apply to a Windows-based computer to correct a specific problem. Microsoft packages updates in a single self-contained, self-installing executable file with an .exe extension. By default, all updates automatically back up files that they replace so that you have the option of removing the update later if you want to.
Updates for the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 are named according to specific conventions. For updates you install on 32-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family, the convention is WindowsServer2003-KB######-x86-LLL.exe. For updates you install on 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003, the convention is WindowsServer2003-KB######-ia64-LLL.exe.
An update, also known as a patch, is a file or a collection of files that you can apply to a Windows-based computer to correct a specific problem. Microsoft packages updates in a single self-contained, self-installing executable file with an .exe extension. By default, all updates automatically back up files that they replace so that you have the option of removing the update later if you want to.
Updates for the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 are named according to specific conventions. For updates you install on 32-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family, the convention is WindowsServer2003-KB######-x86-LLL.exe. For updates you install on 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003, the convention is WindowsServer2003-KB######-ia64-LLL.exe.
Types of Updates :
There are many different types of problems that might need to be fixed in any piece of software, and various types of problems must be dealt with differently. When a security vulnerability is discovered in Windows, Microsoft must provide an update to customers quickly so that the vulnerability can be removed before the vulnerability is exploited on a large scale.
1 - Recommended updates :
A recommended update addresses a non-critical, non-security-related problem. For example, the “Update for Jet 4.0 Service Pack 8” recommended update, associated with Knowledge Base article 829558, makes a handful of improvements to a commonly used database engine included with Windows. It does not remove any security vulnerabilities, however, so it is not considered a critical update or a security update.
2 - Driver updates :
All versions of Windows come with a large number of drivers that enable support for a wide variety of hardware. The hardware vendors are generally responsible for the support of drivers, but Microsoft occasionally releases updated versions of drivers.
The fact that Microsoft occasionally releases updated versions of drivers does not relieve you of the responsibility of working with your hardware vendors to retrieve updated drivers. Microsoft does not release updated drivers until they have been officially signed by Microsoft, a process that delays the release of the software by days or weeks. Hardware vendors often release unsigned drivers to customers before they are officially released by Microsoft.
3 - Security updates :
Just about everyone who uses any variety of Windows is familiar with security updates. A security update is an update that the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) releases to resolve a security vulnerability. Microsoft security updates are available for customers to download and are accompanied by two documents: a security bulletin and a Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
A Microsoft security bulletin notifies administrators of critical security issues and vulnerabilities.
Usually, but not always, the security bulletin is associated with a security update that can be used to patch the vulnerability. Security bulletins generally provide detailed information about who the bulletin concerns, the impact of the vulnerability, the severity of the vulnerability, and a recommended course of action for affected customers.
4 - Critical updates :
A critical update is released quickly to all customers, like a security update. However,critical updates are not related to security problems, and they do not have associated bulletins. A critical update will be associated with one or more Knowledge Base articles that describe the problem and the update in detail.
5 - Hotfixes :
A hotfix is a package that includes one or more files to address a problem for a specific customer. Generally, you receive a hotfix only when you have been working with Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) and they determine that the problem you’re experiencing is caused by a bug in Microsoft software. They will probably release an update to the bug to the general customer population, but that might take several months. In the meantime, PSS provides you a hotfix to resolve the problem.
6 - Security rollup packages :
There have been times when Microsoft has released a significant number of security and critical updates between service packs. It is cumbersome to install a large number of updates separately, so Microsoft releases a security rollup package (SRP) to reduce the labor involved in applying updates. An SRP is a cumulative set of hotfixes, security updates, critical updates, and other updates that are packaged together for easy deployment. An update rollup generally targets a specific area of a product, such as security, or a component of a product, such as IIS. SRPs are always released with a
Knowledge Base article that describes the rollup in detail.
7- Feature packs :
Feature packs are not released to fix problems with existing software, but to add new features. In the past, Microsoft included new features with service packs, but customers were wary of installing updates that added new features that could potentially introduce new bugs. Now, service packs contain only updates to existing software, and Microsoft releases feature packs to add functionality. Feature packs are typically included with the next release of the product.
8 - Service packs :
A service pack is a cumulative set of all the hotfixes, security updates, critical updates,and other updates that have been created for a Microsoft product. A service pack also includes fixes for other problems that have been found by Microsoft since the release of the product. Service packs might also contain a limited number of customerrequested design changes or features. Like critical updates, service packs are available for download and are accompanied by Knowledge Base articles.
