Is Your MS Word Secure?

If you're using MS Word 2000 / 2002, you'll need to patch it because of certain security vulnerabilities.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for July, 2005 lists 3 critical issues, one of which is Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-035 entitled Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (903672).

Microsoft's workaround: "Do not open or save Microsoft Word files that you receive from un-trusted sources."

» Security Update for Word 2000 (KB895333)
» Security Update for Word 2002 (KB895589)

Before you install the update for Word 2000, however, you must have Office 2000 Service Pack 3.

But before you install this Office 2000 SP3, you must first install Office 2000 Service Release 1a (SR1a) Update...

...if your computer does not have Office 2000 SR1.

I checked my computer using the instructions in the Office 2000 Service Pack 3 link above, discovered I still don't have Office 2000 SR1, so I downloaded SR1a. During installation, SR1a informs me that I'll have to download another file.

A huge 23MB file.

Argh. Is there a simpler way to do all this?

Or should I just get MS Word Viewer 2003 (no need for security updates) if I want to read the Word files others send me?

That means I'll have to get OpenOffice if I plan to create word-processed documents.

I dunno. I have a feeling lots of people will not bother to update their copies of MS Word. I wish there were an easier and faster way of doing this.

[ First posted on 07/13/2005 by Manuel Viloria ]

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