office 2011 icons 2Microsoft today released a series of updates for users of its Office for Mac productivity suites, bringing security, performance, and stability improvements to Office 2011, 2008, and 2004, as well as a pair of ancillary updates.

- Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.3 Update (112.0 MB): Improvements include security fixes and a number of improvements for PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook, including improved browser compatibility for all document types.

- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.3.1 Update (333.0 MB): Improvements include security fixes as well as a fix for displaying Word Help in various languages and updated time zone support for Outlook.

- Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.6.5 Update (9.0 MB): According to an associated support document, the update appears to contain only security fixes.

Additional details on the security fixes, which address as many as five vulnerabilities in Excel depending on Office version, are available in a Microsoft security bulletin.

- Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.2.1 (45.0 MB) and Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition (64.0 MB) have also been updated to provide security fixes and compatibility with the updated versions of Office for Mac.

Top Rated Comments

commander.data Avatar
177 months ago


See, this is Mocrosft's problem... Why on earth are they still pushing updates for a 2004 product? Apple isn't still updating 10.3, are they? Perhaps MS could innovate more if they refocused some of their talent...
I'm sure there would be people complaining if Microsoft prematurely dropped support for Office 2004 as well.

And the reason Office 2004 is still supported is that until Office 2011 was released, Office 2004 was the only way Mac users could use VBA which is a non-trivial feature for those that want to use a Mac in the corporate world. Now that Office 2011 is released, Microsoft is still providing support to Office 2004 as a grace period for people to transition. That isn't a problem, it's a courtesy and a convenience.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenomorph Avatar
177 months ago


See, this is Mocrosft's problem... Why on earth are they still pushing updates for a 2004 product? Apple isn't still updating 10.3, are they? Perhaps MS could innovate more if they refocused some of their talent...

Microsoft is a little famous for supporting their software for a long time. It's what keeps them popular in the Enterprise. Keep in mind that Windows XP, released in 2001 is still being supported for a few more years.

We have many users actually that still use Office 2004. We are only upgrading them because of compatibility with Exchange 2010. (We only have to upgrade to Office 2008 to regain compatibility, but we are going to 2010.)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
marc11 Avatar
177 months ago


Why can't Microsoft ever release a product that isn't full of security holes?

This is exactly why I jumped ship from Windows to OSX.

Yeah Apple have updates, but nowhere as frequent or serious as Microsofts poor poor software security problems. it doesn't seem like a day goes by that Microsoft aren't peddling a security flaw fix or three.

This is the second security fix IIRC for MS Office 2011 since it was released in the fall of last year. Lion has already had two and it was released two months ago. Stuff happens, you should be glad MS is still updating software that is as old as Office 2004.

----------

Am I the only one having trouble installing the 14.1.3 update? This is using Microsoft's automatic updater...

Image (http://f.cl.ly/items/2j231028350H0z2Q1x3K/Screen%20Shot%202011-09-13%20at%2010.28.18%20PM.png)

I had this problem on another Mac when I ran the last update. I ended up having to download the patch file to my desktop and then install it. Also, make sure you are logged in as the admin user, even when allowing my secondary account access and entering the admin password it still would not install unless I was logged in as the admin user. Don't know why. However this patch installed no problem under Lion.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
177 months ago


See, this is Mocrosft's problem... Why on earth are they still pushing updates for a 2004 product? Apple isn't still updating 10.3, are they? Perhaps MS could innovate more if they refocused some of their talent...
Why wouldn't they? I still use 2004. It's a superior product to 2008 and 2011, the same way that 2003 on the PC is far better than 2007 and 2010... Word took a seriously wrong turn after 2003/4 and became serious bloatware... not to mention clunky and irritating to use.

Hell. My favorite version of Office is still Mac 2001.

This is actually one of the thing Microsoft does very well... supporting its software. They have a much larger market share than Apple, so what they support affects far more people than Apple.

Windows XP SP3 is still very much supported, and it should be; millions of people use it.

Small fixes for Office aren't a big deal.. it doesn't take much time. And remember, this is their Macintosh department doing the patching and the work, not the rest of Microsoft.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
till213 Avatar
177 months ago


Why can't Microsoft ever release a product that isn't full of security holes?

Well, they can't - just as any other software company can't (that includes Apple - just in case)!

But in contrast to Apple Microsoft has improved a lot in the last few years in security fixed reaction time. And they invested a LOT into security whereas Apple just seems to have started (with Lion they just about reachted the point where other OSs, including Windows XP, where years ago! Keyword: "Address Space randomisation").

Admittedly: Apple has some nice security ideas with "sandboxing" which makes it harder to exploit holes in applications.

But ever wondered why not even Safari is "sandboxed" in Lion yet? Or QuickTime? Or "Preview"?

Think about it real hard (for about 3 seconds)...!


And the fact that Microsoft is still supporting a product - on a non-Microsoft platform, that is! - which is several years old speaks for them, IMHO!

This is exactly why I jumped ship from Windows to OSX.

Yeah Apple have updates, but nowhere as frequent or serious as Microsofts poor poor software security problems. it doesn't seem like a day goes by that Microsoft aren't peddling a security flaw fix or three.

I agree very much with you in your statement that APple is nowhere as frequently updating their software.

That is mainly because simply "they don't" (see iOS 3.x) after a very short time, and secondly because "they won't".

Now ever heard of the LDAP password disaster in Lion? That is a MAJOR *****-UP. The worst security hole (and the most stupid one) I have EVER heard of! Made by Apple! Not tested by Apple! And guess what: STILL NOT FIXED AFTER WEEKS!

Now this clearly shows Apple non-committment to enterprise users (that's not you, obviously)!

And I am not even starting to list all the QuickTime and Safari security issues Apple fixed (very late usually, see the corrupted certificate issue Apple just fixed AFTER WEEKS only - when all other browsers had it fixed since long time!


Now, fanboi, come again and tell me about "security & Apple"!


Cheers (from a Mac developer)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
monoskier Avatar
177 months ago
actually, this could be helpful...

I had Excel open at the time and used Help | Check for Updates.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...