Microsoft has announced that it will release a so called 'out-of-band' update for Internet Explorer.

'Out-of-cycle' would be a more accurate term, as 'out-of-band' implies a different delivery mechanism to the monthly Patch Tuesday updates.

The update will deliver critical security fixes for all currently supported versions of Internet Explorer (5.01, 6, 7, and 8) on all currently supported versions of Windows except Server Core installations.

It fixes a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 that is being actively attacked, and also addresses a further nine vulnerabilities that affect some or all versions of Microsoft's browser.

Those nine issues were previously scheduled to be fixed in the April security patches but have been brought forward due to the need to respond to the IE6/7 attacks.

Exactly when will the update be available? Please read on.

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"We recommend that customers install the update as soon as it is available," said Jerry Bryant, Microsoft's group manager - response communications.

"For customers using automatic updates, this update will automatically be applied once it is released," he added.

The update is scheduled for release at approximately 10am on March 30, US PDT (4am on March 31, Australian EDST).