A few queries have popped up about a recent Microsoft update release for February 2014. Among the many updates available this month, there's one in particular that has some folks stumped, but really belies how important it is to dig through the security bulletins that Microsoft releases to accompany the updates.
Stuck in the FAQ section of Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-007 is an important tidbit of information about Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 computers where the update may not be offered under a certain condition. For the update to be available for computers running Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 a specific platform update (2670838) must have already been applied.
The platform update improves the following Windows components:
- Direct2D
- DirectWrite
- Direct3D
- Windows Imaging Component (WIC)
- Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform (WARP)
- Windows Animation Manager (WAM)
- XPS Document API
- H.264 Video Decoder
- JPEG XR codec
MS14-007 is a very important and critical update for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows RT and Windows RT 8.1.
The moral of the story is to make sure to include reading security bulletins thoroughly as part of your regular patching processes.
