According to Computerworld, reports came in immediately after the release of the December 11th patches, about problems with Internet Explorer. I was just hit with this because I always wait a bit before installing new bug fixes. This wasn't the first time that a poorly tested fix created a new problem.
To document the problem Microsoft created Knowledge Base article 946627.
On December 18th, Microsoft offered a work-around in the form of a registry zap. Not your most user-friendly undertaking.
On December 20th, however, they incorporated the registry zap into a downloadable EXE file, and updated the Knowledge Base article with a link to the file.
Windows XP users can do this using the "Add or Remove Programs" applet in the Control Panel (see above). At the top of the window, turn on the checkbox for Show updates and sort by date last used. Then, scroll to the bottom and look for KB942615.
I suggest making a restore point before installing anything. Can't hurt. In my case, the fix was immediate, there was no need to restart Windows.
According to this Microsoft Security Response Center blog posting the newly automated fix has been incorporated into windows update.
<sarcasm>
Considering how so few people use Internet Explorer and even fewer use Windows XP and Vista, combined with the limited resources of the company that produced both products, it's no surprise that quality assurance for the original bug fix might be lacking.
Source:http://news.cnet.com/8301-13554_3-9837427-33.html







