Microsoft has been issuing security alerts on a fairly frequent basis since January, when company chairman Bill Gates made security a top priority for the company. Microsoft's security Web site lists 41 alerts issued so far this year compared to about 46 for the same period a year ago. But, as with the FTM flaw, Microsoft issues other security alerts to specific customers rather than posting bulletins for everyone. Among recent incidents: Last week, Microsoft issued a cumulative patch for security problems affecting SQL Server. A day earlier, the company warned of a critical flaw in Windows 2000's Connection Manager. A mid-August security bug potentially exposed credit card transactions made using Internet Explorer. In early August, the software giant identified a bug affecting Commerce Server 2001. A few weeks earlier, Microsoft issued four security alerts. The most serious addressed a hole that would allow hackers to take over SQL Server 2000. In early July, Microsoft warned of an email bug with Outlook. A late June security patch plugged a hole that could have allowed hackers to seize control of a computer using Windows Media Player. Weeks earlier, Microsoft warned of a Gopher security hole in Internet Explorer that also could allow hackers to take control of computers or servers. Microsoft also incorporates cumulative security patches with the release of service packs, which are software bug-fix and update packages. Microsoft released Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 at the end of July. The software giant could release Windows XP Service Pack 1 as early as next Wednesday. The company is nearing the final testing stage for the important update, which introduces changes mandated by Microsoft's antitrust settlement with the Justice Department and nine of 18 states. According to the settlement, Microsoft must also disclose technical information about application programming interfaces (APIs) by the time Windows XP Service Pack 1 ships. Microsoft plans to disclose the API information on Wednesday.
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