Earlier this week dotTech brought you news about a vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer. Microsoft realized the significance of the vulnerability and quickly issued a hack-and-slash Fix it utility to patch the vulnerability. Aside from the fact that the earlier Fix it apparently didn’t support 64-bit machines, it also wasn’t a “full” fix — it was something quick Microsoft put together to stop exploitation while they fully investigated the issue. Microsoft has now completed their investigation and have released a full update for Internet Explorer that completely plugs the previously-mentioned vulnerability and is available for 32-bit and 64-bit. Anyone on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (or Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008) is highly recommended to apply the update.

This new update is an official Windows Update patch. So any computer that has automatic updates enabled in Windows Update will automatically download and install the patch — there is no need for you to do anything. If you don’t have automatic updates enabled, it is recommended that you enable them. If you don’t want to enable them, you can manually download and install the patch from the link given below.

Take note that there is no need to undo the earlier Fix it, if you applied it. This patch can be applied over the Fix it.

Microsoft security bulletin for recent IE exploit