Microsoft issues record 16 security patches to plug 49 security holes

Microsoft issued a record number of 16 security patches On Tuesday covering 49 security holes, the highest number it has ever addressed. Patches are essentially fixes to plug vulnerabilities or 'holes' in software.

Oracle too, this week, pushed out patches for 81 vulnerabilities, even as it published its quarterly security update. Oracle's patches covered a wide array of software for Oracle and Sun Microsystems, which Oracle acquired in 2009 (See: Oracle, Sun merger to shake up hardware market)

According to James Walter manager of the McAfee Threat Intelligence Service, it was yet another record 'Patch Tuesday' for Microsoft, with updates spanning across products. He added that the volume pointed to a trend where among various software vendors.

He added that as the awareness of vulnerabilities increases, the number of patches get bigger as well.

But that was not all as Apple too recently released a security patch for a file sharing vulnerability in OS X, which could allow a remote hacker to take over control of a user's Mac. Last week Adobe too came out with critical patches to address 23 vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat for Windows, Mac and Linux.

According to security experts the patches would cause workday interruptions as they are tested and installed. They add the updates would require a restart which would involve shutting down computer systems for a period of time which could be 20 minutes in some cases.