A total of 10 updates will be released on 14 June to fix a variety of flaws in the operating system.

Some of the updates have been rated as critical and Microsoft has issued a warning to help companies prepare.

As the alert was released, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer voiced fears that consumers are getting complacent about net security.

Patch panel

Microsoft typically releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month to fix the most serious flaws discovered in its software.

It did say that applying some of the patches will mean machines will have to be restarted.

You can also check : Top News News of the Week

In its alert Microsoft said that seven of the fixes are for the Windows operating system, one is for Exchange servers and the final two affect Windows Services for Unix, ISA Server and Small Business Server.

In an interview with the AP news agency, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the recent lull in the number and severity of net attacks might be making people neglect PC security.

"I don't want trepidation high, but on the other hand I want people aware of what's going on and taking appropriate precautions," said Mr Ballmer.

He feared that anxiety about online safety may have declined a little too much in recent weeks.

'Holier than thou'

Mr Ballmer said that parents had a duty to educate their children about how to stay safe online and how to avoid some of the net's more dangerous areas.

"We need to oversee and use technology and teach our children what's appropriate," Mr Ballmer said. "Some of it's still going to have to come from parents kind of teaching their kids what's right. That was true even before the internet."

In the Ballmer household downloading only legal music files was one of the right things to do, Mr Ballmer joked with reporters.

"As I tell my three little boys, our family is going to be as holier than thou when it comes to copyrights as any family around because I have to do this kind of work," he said.

Mr Ballmer and other technology company executives talked to reporters following a meeting in Washington to lobby US politicians about net security, software piracy and foreign trade.

All the technology companies that attended were members of the anti-piracy Business Software Alliance.