Summary: Microsoft's "official" number of vulnerabilities is a lie, so news Web sites need to challenge the notion that these numbers should be put in print

Microsoft is about to abandon many Windows XP users, at least in the security sense. As we already know, Windows XP has been left vulnerable due to Microsoft's neglect since last year, so it's not as though Microsoft ever truly bothered to keep all users secure. But anyway, we digress.

Microsoft's "official" numbers say that 34 holes exist in Windows, Office and Internet Explorer right now. To quote CNET:

Microsoft will on Tuesday issue 10 bulletins fixing 34 vulnerabilities affecting Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer.

What CNET needs to add to this report is that Microsoft also admits hidden fixes, so the numbers above are a lower bound and an underestimate. As a matter of fact, after Microsoft's own admission, journalists should refuse to parrot Microsoft's "official" numbers and instead simply say that Microsoft is patching a lot of vulnerabilities, only X of which (34 in this case) it admits exist. ⬆