Important software updates

A vulnerability in the Adobe Flash Player software installed on many computers on campus has the potential of allowing a computer to be taken over via an email read (or even previewed) by Outlook.  Information Technology Services typically does not interrupt you for software installations and patching, but the severity of this issue requires immediate action.
ITS will be automatically patching Adobe Flash Player on college computers that have outdated versions installed.  If you are logged into an affected computer, you may see a Dell KACE pop-up window in the lower right corner of your screen indicating the update is being applied.
There are also updates to Office released December 8th by Microsoft to address this vulnerability.  These updates should already have been installed automatically as part of Microsoft Updates.  ITS will check the status of these patches.  This will slow your computer down for about 15 minutes, and you will see a KACE pop-up if your machine is being patched.
This is a good reminder that we are empowered to maintain software on computers that are assigned specifically to us.  Please install all Microsoft, Adobe (and Apple, if you are using a Mac, or Apple software on Windows) patches to keep your computer safe.  While there are occasionally problems introduced by patching, their impact is unlikely to be as severe as a virus infection, or the like.
Please contact the helpdesk if you have any questions or concerns about this update.   802-443-2200, helpdesk@middlebury.edu, or create a ticket at http://go.middlebury.edu/whd (providing us with the “Property of Middlebury College” number of the computer).

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