Credit: Tookapic / Insspirito Microsoft on Tuesday released its monthly round of security patches, fixing a number of widely reported bugs in its Excel and Office products.The July security updates include seven sets of patches. Four of the updates address bugs in the Windows operating system, while the other three fix problems in Office and Excel. More information on the updates can be found here.All of the Office and Excel fixes, as well as two of the Windows updates, are rated as critical by Microsoft, meaning that an attacker could theoretically take advantage of the flaws to run unauthorized code on a victim’s PC.The two critical Windows updates are for users of the Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems. They fix vulnerabilities in Windows’ Server service and in its dynamic host configuration protocol client service. The Excel patches, which are described in the MS06-037 bulletin, are considered to be critical for users of Microsoft’s Excel 2000 spreadsheet and are rated “important” for other Excel users, Microsoft said.The two Office updates are considered critical for Office 2000 and Project 2000 users. Over the past month, Microsoft has investigated a number of issues related to Excel and Office, following reports that hackers had launched a targeted attack against an unnamed government contractor, taking advantage of a bug in its Excel spreadsheet software. The seven patches will keep administrators busy, although not so busy as in June. Last month, Microsoft released 12 security updates. — Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)Related Links: Third Microsoft Excel Attack Identified Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe