In recent weeks, anyone running PCs or servers with Microsoft Windows has had to contend with the threat of rampaging worms that might invade their systems if they aren't careful. This week Microsoft revealed that its users had to plug no less than five security holes--one nasty, the others not so--in various versions of its software. For the world's biggest software company, security issues are turning into the topic that never seems to quiet down. Home users are finding they have to install software patches more frequently than before. For corporate IT managers, the frequent updates mean they have to contend with the logistical challenge of ensuring that hundreds or thousands of Microsoft users are installing the right patches, and then making sure those patches don't interfere with existing software applications.

Of the five vulnerabilities announced Wednesday (that's the day of the week that Microsoft announces vulnerabilities), only one was truly serious. And the fact that Microsoft even bothered to announce them at all shows that changes are under way in Redmond, Wash. While it may look like a security train wreck to outsiders, security analysts generally say Microsoft has come a long way in dealing with the holes, backdoors and viruses that seem to constantly pop up. But they also say it has a long way to go.