What better Valentine's Day gift could there be for a systems administrator than a bouquet of nine long-stemmed Microsoft security patches?

Microsoft and China Standard Software Co have formalised an agreement to jointly attack the cloud market in China.

Microsoft has addressed 22 vulnerabilities with 13 security bulletins this month. The good news is that only two of the bulletins are rated critical.

Microsoft has issued just four security bulletins this month, and only one is regarded as critical. A total of 22 vulnerabilities are addressed.

Along with a critical security update for Windows Server, Microsoft has patched the Windows version of PowerPoint to overcome an important vulnerability. But where's the update for the same issue in PowerPoint for Mac?

May is shaping up to be a quiet month for systems administrators, at least as far as security patches from Microsoft are concerned. The company is also changing the way it indicates the importance of specific security updates.

17 security bulletins have been scheduled for release by Microsoft next week. That will be one of the biggest releases ever, and while it equals the number issued in December 2010 the proportion of critical bulletins is much higher this month.

An update for a security problem disclosed last month in Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 has finally been released. But there's no sign yet of the corresponding update for Office 2004.

Microsoft has now widened the distribution of its latest security patch for Windows. It is now being pushed out through Windows Update and other channels.

August's Patch Tuesday has seen the delivery of 14 security bulletins from Microsoft. More than half are rated critical, and a total of 34 vulnerabilities are addressed.