Hey folks!
Welcome to all our new readers. I try to keep announcements short and sweet and cover only the most commonly used applications and operating systems – but if you think I’m missing something LET ME KNOW! I’m happy to review other applications that have not historically been included in these mailings as well – I just need to know what software you use, and where it’s being distributed from. Reply to this message to tell me.
Patch Tuesday is here again, including 3 to 5 updates for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, an update to Silverlight and between 1 and 3 updates for various MS Office packages. One of these updates is a critical update to the scripting engine, which means that it would be possible to exploit the vulnerability through a web-browser. A reboot will be required. If you haven’t installed these updates already, do so now:
http://update.microsoft.com/
Please be sure to install all the necessary “optional” updates, which can only be included if you select “Custom” when the page initially loads.
Apple released numerous security updates (LOTS!) for OSX this last week, over 15 brands of driver updates for various hardware, a new security release for the OSX Java engine, and server software updates. Mac users should hit Apple Update immediately!
As expected, Sun Microsystems finally published the release for the 6u16 update for Java late last week. This is a security update and all users should install the update immediately. Make sure you close ALL browser windows before installing this update!
http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp?detect=jre&try=1
Don’t forget to UNCHECK the crapware options during installation.
CDBurnerXP 4.2.5.1541 was released last week. While not a security update, it does resolve several stability and performance bugs. If you use CDBurnerXP, you should upgrade at your convenience.
http://cdburnerxp.se/
OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 was released over the weekend. The 150mb download package includes primarily bug-fixes to everything from PDF parsing to the update feature – and at least 4 security updates. If you have OpenOffice.org installed, you should update as soon as you have the available time and bandwidth to download it. 🙂
http://download.openoffice.org/
Trillian Astra is ***finally*** released! The official version number is 4.0.0.117, and it’s the same build that’s been “beta” for the last 3 weeks. After over a hundred builds and 6 years or so of beta testing, it is finally released. Really! If you use chat on Windows, Mac or iPhone, you will want this! Unfortunately, Mac and iPhone versions are still in beta, but they promised to have only a “short” wait before their release after the Windows build was officially released a couple weeks ago – and you *can* use the web-based Astra client to perform most of the same functionality directly with either your Mac or iPhone (and on Linux and other operating systems with Web2.0-capable browsers). Trillian supports the protocols for Windows Live, Yahoo, MySpaceIM, AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Skype, IRC, Email, Facebook and Twitter – all from the same ingenious and stylish interface. I honestly don’t know how I would live without Trillian on my machine – it’s my chat and primary support system for clients, as well as my feed aggregator and email account monitor. It could very well be the best $25 I ever spent.
http://www.trillian.im/download/
I released Syncaid 1.1.0.1 this morning, which is a major update. The user interface now includes almost every setting as an editable value (so you don’t have to learn how to edit INI files directly) and a tray monitor, and several other new features have been added. Most notably, you can now ‘tag’ Microsoft and SourceForge downloads the same way you could tag Filehippo downloads before, so Syncing those packages can now be much simpler. Filehippo category parsing is now fully functional as well. Oh, and it’s sporting a stylish new icon, too! 🙂
https://saferpc.info/syncaid/
DVDFab 6.0.6.0 was released over the weekend as well. This version includes better handling for the preview window, a cleaner “mobile” conversion design, and more friendly defaults for some options. If you’re using DVDFab, get this update when you have the time. If you don’t have a DVD ripping solution yet, this is what you’ve been waiting for:
http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm
CCleaner 2.23.999 was released over the weekend, including two bug fixes that would cause problems for those with removable drives or using 64bit operating systems. This is a minor non-security update, but if you’ve experienced problems with it, you should upgrade:
http://www.ccleaner.com/
Recuva 1.30.435 was released over the weekend as well, including better email handling and several minor bug fixes. If you’re using Recuva (or have lost files or data on your computer), download the new version here:
http://www.recuva.com/
That’s all for now folks. Keep it clean out there. 😉
Regards,
Shawn K. Hall
https://SaferPC.info/
https://12PointDesign.com/