Here we go again. What was described as a "previously unknown" threat just three months ago has now prompted a third warning from the US government to update or stop using PCs. By exploiting old code buried under the covers of today's Windows systems, it has quickly become clear that "a significant percentage of Windows devices are fully exposed and at risk of being taken over by attackers."

The latest vulnerability is CVE-2024-43573, which the US cyber agency warns is "an unspecified spoofing vulnerability which can lead to a loss of confidentiality." It has mandated all federal employees to "apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable" by October 29. In other words, update your PC within the next ten days, or stop using it until you can.