Latest Windows patches

This week saw July's "Patch Tuesday," when Microsoft released "seven security updates to address 18 separate flaws in its Windows operating systems and Office software," the Washington Post reports. Thirteen of the security flaws are critical, which the Post says means they can be used to hijack PCs without their owners doing anything (like opening an email or IM attachment). See the Post for details (they're in its PC security blog). Here, too, is ZDNET's coverage. For Microsoft info and help, check out the Windows Update page or Windows Live OneCare. Meanwhile, only a day after July's patches were released, cyberattackers were exploiting a new PowerPoint flaw that's unpatched, ZDNET reported. Microsoft said it's "investigating the issue," but it's not high-risk because for a successful attack, "users must open a malicious PowerPoint file provided to them, for example via email."