>The files are protected; but I don't think that means the vulnerabilities are fixed. What's your read on this?
>

I've read a dozen web pages on the subject now and I can't make heads or tails of it. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that prior to Windows Vista multiple versions of MDAC were allowed and they were not part of Windows Updates? Starting with Vista MDAC was included with Windows Updates and old versions were eliminated. Again, this is just a guess, but I can't find anything definitive.