Microsoft recently released a security advisory concerning a Windows component involved with desktop graphics display. The vulnerability lies in the Windows Canonical Display Driver (cdd.dll) for the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Aero is a hardware-based graphical user interface in Windows 7 and Vista. It is intended to offer more advanced features than are available in the standard interface, including new transparencies and animations.

Microsoft claims that the vulnerability only affects machines running the Aero graphics interface, and advises that customers “may choose to disable Windows Aero as a workaround to protect against potential threats” until the company releases a fix.

So how do you disable Windows Aero? Here’s how:

For Windows 7 users, to disable Aero:

1. Click Start, Choose Control Panel then Personalization

2. Select any of the themes in the Basic And High Contrast Themes category

For Windows Vista users, to disable Aero:

1. Click Start then go to Control Panel

2. In the Appearance and Personalization section, click Customize Color

3. Click Open Classic Appearance Properties For More Color Options

4. Select a Color Scheme other than Windows Aero, and then click OK