For those that don't have automatic updates activated, you might want to do it manually this week. Microsoft is using this week's Patch Tuesday to fix no less than 57 security vulnerabilities via 12 individual updates. There are five updates rated as critical while the remaining seven are described as important. Of the critical patches, two will plug dangerous security holes in all versions of Internet Explorer since version 6. 

The third critical update patches a flaw in Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003, another one is solely for Windows XP and then there's also an update for a critical hole in Exchange. You can find the full details at TechNet. For Windows 8 there are two important updates, one with a moderate rating, one without a severity rating, and two critical update for Internet Explorer 10.

Microsoft patched 57 vulnerabilities