Users of Hewlett-Packard photo-sharing software have
found a ‘critical’ Microsoft Windows patch is causing them
trouble.
The MS06-015 patch, designed to plug a flaw in Windows Explorer,
has caused a number of running problems for users of HP printers,
scanners and digital cameras. In addition, users of Sunbelt
Software's Kerio Personal Firewall have found that Windows no
longer works as it should once the patch has been installed.
The troubles for users include being unable to access or save files
in special folders like My Documents and My Pictures, and
unresponsive Office applications. Applications also crash after
trying to open a file, and there is no response after typing an
address into Internet Explorer's address bar, or after
right-clicking on a file and selecting Send To.
The problems occured because HP's share-to-web software and the
Kerio firewall interfere with a new file, verclsid.exe, delivered
by Microsoft’s security update. The HP software ships with cameras,
printers, scanners and some DVD drives. To solve the problems,
Microsoft has recommended that affected users of the HP products
manually change their Windows Registry, a core part of the
operating system that stores PC settings.
Kerio users should configure the firewall to allow the new
Microsoft file to execute without warning.
I wonder how easy it is for those HP users to change their
Registry settings. It’s not the most straightforward thing to do,
and why should you put any aspect of your system at risk simply
because Microsoft’s patch has created compatibility issues? HP
users should press Microsoft for the free help of a support
engineer in updating their Registries.