It's Patch Tuesday and Microsoft has just released a record 15 security bulletins, nine of which are critical. The bulletins contain fixes for 35 newly-discovered security holes in Windows, Office and Internet Explorer.

"These vulnerabilities could be exploited to booby trap Web sites, Office and media files to gain control over vulnerable computers simply by tricking victims into opening a malicious file or clicking a malicious link," says Dave Marcus, director of security research and communications at McAfee Labs.

Home PC users should make sure Windows Auto Update service is enabled and configured to automatically download and install these latest patches. You will be required to reboot your PC to complete the process.

Business users ought to accelerate testing and get all Windows PCs patched as have quickly as possible. "This will be a disruptive Patch Tuesday given the broad range of products impacted and the required restarts," says Paul Henry analyst for network seucurity firm Lumension.

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