Let's start with Microsoft. There are nine , which resolve 26 different vulnerabilities. There are five rated as Critical--including a patch for Internet Explorer for the third consecutive month--and four Important.

Tyler Reguly, director of security research and development for , says, "The most interesting thing this month is the release of patches for two wormable issues, MS12-053 and MS12-054. These only affect the oldest-supported Windows platforms and really speaks well of the improvements Microsoft has made to their security efforts over the years."

Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle agrees with Reguly, stressing the potential impact of MS12-053. "This one has the potential for serious impact because it is network aware and no authentication is required. If you have XP on your network, then get the mitigations for this one installed ASAP."

This is particularly relevant considering the imminent release of Windows 8. Microsoft and security experts have been stressing for years that older Windows platforms and software may still work in the technical sense, but they simply . Businesses and consumers alike should seriously consider taking advantage of the .

In his blog, CTO Wolfgang Kandek describes MS12-060. " fixes a vulnerability that is already being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability is located in the Windows Common Control and can be triggered through Office documents and through malicious web pages. The currently known attacks have been targeting Word and WordPad through RTF files attached to e-mail messages."