Do you have an Nvidia graphics card in your PC? Need to see if you need to install an update.

Nvidia distributed security updates yesterday (September 30) for Quadro, NVS, and Tesla graphics card drivers, as well as vGPU software used in virtual machines.

The downside: updated drivers for Nvidia GeForce cards, the kind most commonly used by gamers and consumers, will not be available until next week (after October 5). We will update this article as soon as these are ready.

This patch fixes 11 security flaws that allow unauthorized code execution, theft of sensitive information, elevation of system privileges, and out-of-date denial of service. In other words, hackers could use these flaws to install malware, steal data, take over your machine, or simply make your Nvidia card or software inoperable.

To make sure you have the latest Nvidia drivers installed on your system, first check what is installed.

The easy way: the GeForce Experience desktop software will tell you if you have the latest drivers under the "Drivers" tab.

If you see the message "The latest drivers are available," you are good to go for now, or at least until next week when new drivers should be released. If not, you will probably be prompted to download a new driver.

The not-so-easy way: If you want to get technical, right-click on your desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel to launch that feature. In the window that appears, click on "System Information" in the lower left corner. A small window will appear with a list of Nvidia components and their respective driver versions on the right.

Next, go to the Nvidia Driver Downloads web page, enter the card type and system information in the drop-down menu, and click "Search." The results page will show the latest drivers available.

Again, GeForce drivers that patch these defects will appear the week of October 5.