Microsoft Update Terminology (Windows Embedded Standard 2009)
Microsoft updates are classified according to their purpose. The following table details the Microsoft update terminology.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
|
Update |
A security bulletin that is issued to a wide audience. |
|
Hotfix |
A fix that is designed to resolve a specific customer issue. Hotfixes are not released to the public. |
|
QFE (Quick Fix Engineering update) |
A fix that is not related to security and is issued to a wide audience. |
Microsoft-provided Windows updates are further classified according to their level of urgency. The following table describes these levels.
| Rating | Description |
|---|---|
|
Critical |
Critical vulnerabilities involve exploits that can allow the propagation of a worm or virus without user action. |
|
Important |
Important vulnerabilities involve exploits that can result in compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of user data or processing resources. |
|
Moderate |
Exploitability is mitigated to a significant degree by factors such as default configuration, auditing, or difficulty of exploitation. |
|
Low |
A vulnerability whose exploitation is extremely difficult, or whose impact is minimal. |
Updates for Windows Embedded Standard are further classified by how they are deployed. The following table describes these types of updates.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
|
Desktop update |
An update that is applied directly to a run-time image. For more information, see Desktop Update Overview. |
|
Database update |
An update that is applied to the component database. For more information, see Database Update Overview. |
For more information about security updates, see the Microsoft Security Web site.
