IE hack patch is out

Acting with record speed, Microsoft has issued a patch for the just-announced security flaw that impacts all the recent versions of IE from version 5 to the latest betas of IE 8. The next security update had not been due from the company until January 13, making this a very rare occurrence.

Getting the update is easy.

With any version of Windows, just run Windows Update, which you'll find in IE's Tools menu or in the Windows Start menu under "All Programs." Vista users can just type "Windows Update" in the Start menu search box to pull it up, then click "Check for updates" on the left side of the window. Either an Express or Custom run of Windows Update will find the patch.

The patch will appear as a "High-priority update" named "Security Update for Internet Explorer" followed by your version number. It will auto-select, so just click "Install Updates" to continue. A reboot will be required when the small update (only a few MB) is finished. (Grab any other security-oriented updates you see while you're there.)

It's a good idea after installing the patch to make sure your anti-malware software is updated and then to run a full scan on your system, just to make sure nothing sneaked in while you were unpatched. After that, you should be ready to go.