[IS&T Security-FYI] Newsletter, March 14, 2008

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:

1. March 2008 Microsoft Security Updates
2. IS&T Supports Leopard and TSM 5.5


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1. March 2008 Microsoft Security Updates
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This week was Patch Tuesday. Here is a run-down of the products that  
were affected:

  * Microsoft Office
  * Microsoft Outlook
  * Microsoft Excel
  * Microsoft Excel Viewer
  * Microsoft Office for Mac
  * Microsoft Office Web Components

The Security Bulletin from Microsoft released on March 11 contained  
four patches that were all critical for the Windows operating system  
and Office products. These patches are now approved for deployment  
via MIT WAUS.

The most severe vulnerabilities could allow a remote, unauthenticated  
attacker to execute arbitrary code, gain elevated privileges, or  
cause a denial of service. If you are not configured for Automatic  
Updates, I recommend you visit the Windows Update or Mactopia site  
and apply the appropriate patches.

Updates for Office for Mac can be found here:
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx>

Updates for Office for Windows can be found here:
<http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/default.aspx>

For more info on the Security Bulletin:
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-mar.mspx>


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2. IS&T Supports Leopard and TSM 5.5
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According to a notice from the IS&T Software Release Team, Leopard  
(Mac OS X 10.5) is now supported. After reviewing Leopard, IS&T has  
determined that it cannot support two specific features: Time Machine  
and Boot Camp.  In particular, IS&T continues to recommend TSM for  
backup of Institute data.

To run TSM (Tivoli Storage Manager) backup system on Leopard, you are  
recommended to download TSM version 5.5, now available from the  
software download page <http://web.mit.edu/software/>.

TSM 5.5 will NOT run on Mac OS X 10.4 so users using 10.4 or earlier  
versions of OS X should continue to use TSM 5.4. More information on  
TSM 5.5 can be found here:

<http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=786>

To learn more about the features in Leopard, extensive information  
can be found on the Apple site:
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/>

If you have a question or need assistance, please contact the  
Computing Help Desk at computing-help at mit.edu or x3-1101.


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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Awareness Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://web.mit.edu/ist/security