Recent Updates affect several HP Products

The security patch that Microsoft issued last week is causing a series of issues with users of several HP products including cameras, scanners andprinters.

Problems include blocked access to special folders like My Documents and MyPictures and Office applications could stop responding when users try to save documents in the My Documents folder, Microsoft said in a security bulletin. The issue could also cause Internet Explorer to become unresponsive.

In another issue with the patch, users of theSunbelt Kerio PersonalFirewall will receive warning prompts from the application when Internet Explorer is trying to launch a security application that shipped as part of last week's update.

Microsoft as part of last week's security patch released an application thatvalidates shell extensions before they are instantiated by Windows or InternetExplorer. This prevents attackers from installing code on a system when a uservisits a specially crafted website.

The Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall however will prevent Internet Explorer from executing the new application as a security measure.

The HP issues are caused by HP's Share-to-Web software that comes bundled with several of the vendor's hardware products. The application is automatically started when a system boots up, and is flagged by the new shell validation tool.

"The change is not related to a software vulnerability, merely a product behavior change to make the product more resilient to attack,"Microsoft security program manager Mike Reavey said in a blog posting.

Microsoft on its website has provided instructions on how to repair both issues.