Microsoft just released 16 security updates as part of its monthly update schedule. This is the largest amount of updates released in 3 years.

Five of the 16 updates were labeled “critical”, nine “important”, and two “moderate”.

The updates address the Windows Operating System itself, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer.

All these updates were released a few minutes ago, at 1 p.m. ET.

If you have Automatic Updates enabled in your Windows computer you don’t need to take action for these updates to install, except maybe a restart at the end of the updates. If Automatic  Updates are not enabled, it is strongly recommended you download and install these and any other outstanding Windows Updates.

Individual malware strains are still in the raise, per the latest data reported by PandaLabs. In the 3rd quarter this year, 20 millions new strains were created worldwide. Per AV-Test.org, over 14 million were created in October alone. Compare that to 2013, where an average of 5 million were created every month, or 2009, when  it was “just” a little over 1 million per month.

The most common type of malware are still Trojans, with 78% of all infections, while the most geographically affected areas worldwide remain Latin American and Asian countries.

Given these facts, a good security setup for your computer and good web surfing habits are now more important than ever.