Microsoft security update causes IE meltdown

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Microsoft security update causes IE meltdown

The latest Microsoft MS07-069 update is causing Internet Explorer (IE) to freeze, according to some frustrated users.

Microsoft customers typically run into trouble after installing the software giant's monthly

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security updates, and this month is proving to be no exception.

Microsoft customer Bill Drake wrote on the Windows Vista Community site that after installing the update, he was getting an "'Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and must close" dialog box about 60% of the time.

"I suspect the KB942615 update should be coded to force a reboot and does not," he said. "Consequently, some part of the update that requires a reboot before the update is fully applied does not get done."

As a result, he wrote, installing the update without the reboot causes IE 6 to run in a "half-updated/half-not-updated" mode, which causes the connectivity problem.

MS07-069, a cumulative update for IE, was among the seven patch bulletins Microsoft released last week for its December 2007 security update. Other fixes addressed critical flaws attackers could exploit in DirectX and various versions of Windows to launch malicious code or gain extra system privileges on targeted machines.

It's not uncommon for glitches to appear after a Microsoft security update is installed. In the week following Microsoft's October 2007 update, for example, several users reported system difficulties after installing the fixes released in security bulletins MS07-057 and MS07-058.