Microsoft will release a batch of security updates for Windows 8 and Windows RT

Nov 9, 2012 07:12 GMT  ·  By

Windows 8 and Windows RT will receive the first batch of updates since their debut next week, as part of Microsoft’s “Patch Tuesday” schedule.

While Microsoft hasn’t yet released specific details about the glitches these updates are supposed to fix, the company will deliver a total of six separate patches, three of which will be aimed at 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 8. All three are marked as critical.

In addition, Windows RT, the operating system that was designed to be installed on tablets such as Microsoft’s Surface, will get two different updates, one flagged as critical and another one rated “important.”

Overall, there will be 19 updates aimed at various products included in Microsoft’s family and all of them will be distributed through the standard channels: via Windows Update or as standalone downloads on Microsoft’s download center.

While the upcoming Windows 8 updates are expected to patch the zero-day exploit found by French security company VUPEN, the Windows RT patches could very well address a bug that unexpectedly mutes the sound of the Surface whenever consumers are using the Touch Cover.

Plenty of reports submitted to the Microsoft Answers support forums are claiming that sound is randomly muted when typing on the Touch Cover. We're still waiting for an official statement for Microsoft on the matter, but in the meantime, here's a workaround that could fix the bug for you.

While some forum moderators have suggested that this could be a hardware issue and the Touch Cover may need to be replaced completely, others have pointed out that it’s actually a software issue that could very well be fixed via a new update released by Microsoft.

It’s not yet clear whether this bug is going to be fixed by Microsoft’s upcoming software update cycle, but more information will be released next week when the company is officially rolling out all “Patch Tuesday” details.