MS11-094: Description of the security update for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats: December 13, 2011

Microsoft has released security bulletin MS11-094. To view the complete security bulletin, visit one of the following Microsoft websites:

• Home users:
  http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/bulletins/201112.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/bulletins/201112.aspx)
  Skip the details: Download the updates for your home computer or laptop from the Microsoft Update website now:
  http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate)
• IT professionals:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/MS11-094 (http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/MS11-094)

How to obtain help and support for this security update

For home users, no-charge support is available by calling 1-866-PCSAFETY in the United States and Canada or by contacting your local Microsoft subsidiary. For more information about how to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for support issues with security updates, visit the Microsoft International Support website: North American customers can also obtain instant access to unlimited no-charge email support or to unlimited individual chat support by visiting the following Microsoft website: For enterprise customers, support for security updates is available through your usual support contacts.

Known issues with this security update

Microsoft Update or Windows Update may offer this update even though you do not have Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 installed. For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Prerequisites to apply this security update

To apply this security update, you must have Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed on the computer.

For more information about how to obtain the service pack, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

Restart information

You may have to restart the computer after you install this security update.

In some cases, this update does not require a restart. If the required files are being used, this update will require a restart. If this behavior occurs, a message is displayed that advises you to restart the computer.

To help reduce the possibility that a restart will be required, stop all affected services and close all applications that may use the affected files before you install this security update. For more information about the reasons why you may be prompted to restart, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Security update replacement information

This security update replaces the following security update:

Removal information

To remove this security update, use the Add or Remove Programs item or the Programs and Features item in Control Panel.

Note When you remove this security update, you may be prompted to insert the disc that contains Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall this security update from the Add or Remove Programs item or the Programs and Features item in Control Panel. There are several possible causes of this issue.

For more information about the removal, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

File information

The English version of this security update has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.