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Last patches of the year issued by Microsoft

Computer giant Microsoft has issued the last round of Patch Tuesday online security fixes for 2008 with six of the patches rated as 'critical' and needing immediate update by customers.

One of the patches was directed at Microsoft Word, which the company said contained vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to compromise users' internet security using remote code execution.

"This security update resolves eight privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Outlook that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Word or Rich Text Format file," said Microsoft.

"An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system."

Once in control, a hacker could install programs, view, change, or delete data or even create new accounts with full user rights, the company stated.

The second Tuesday of every month sees Microsoft issue the security patches in what is now referred to as Patch Tuesday.

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