Hi, Folks!
It’s Patch Tuesday. The typical computer should see roughly 1.2gb in updates today.
In security news, NIST (United States National Institute for Standards and Technology), the US government agency responsible for developing most US scientific and technological standards, is recommending new password implementation policies that, hopefully, most of the world will adopt in short order. Sophos has a great review of what’s happening here and this quote adequately summarizes the ridiculousness of the current situation:
No composition rules. What this means is, no more rules that force you to use particular characters or combinations, like those daunting conditions on some password reset pages that say, “Your password must contain one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, one number, four symbols but not &%#@_, and the surname of at least one astronaut.”
Let’s get started.
Microsoft released updates to Windows, Edge, Internet Explorer, Flash, and MSRT (~1gb). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.
Apple released an update for Pages EndNote Plug-in 3.1. This is a security update. Use Apple Software Update to install this update. A reboot is required.
ChromeOS 60.0.3112.80 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
Adobe Flash Player 26.0.0.151 is a security update. Flash is being actively replaced with HTML5 on most sites and services, however, so unless you’re 110% positive you need it for critical functions, you should remove it instead. And, within those browsers that have it embedded (Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer 11+) your best option is to disable it. It’s just not worth the risk.
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flash
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flashie
Mac: https://12pd.com/click?flashmac
Don’t forget to check your mobile devices, too! Many updates will also apply to your tablet, phone, kindle or television – so check your device-appropriate App Store and install updates.
Important Notes
Everything above this section should be checked by everyone on every computer. Chances are good that close to every single computer you touch will be affected by those updates. This is not the case with the items below, though you should still check each line item below to see if it applies to software you have installed.
Please remember that while I list many different applications within these updates, most people should ONLY install updates for a program if they already have a previous version of that program installed.
It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need.
Also note that using the applications own “check for updates” function, when available, will best preserve your current settings, and often avoid any crapware that might come with a fresh installer. Use this option if it’s available to you.
Finally, if you’re sick of doing this all yourself, let me! Call or email me any time, and we can set you up with subscription SaferPC updates which will be installed each month whenever necessary. Click, call or email for more details:
https://saferpc.info/updates/
209-565-12PD
shawn@12pointdesign.com
Driver Updates
If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.
Display Driver Uninstaller 17.0.7.2 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
http://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu
Browser Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Google Chrome 60.0.3112.90 improves stability. This is not a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
Firefox 55.0 changes installation options, provides improved plugin security (Flash is now click-to-activate on most sites and geolocation now requires SSL). This should be treated as a security update.
SeaMonkey 2.48 is a security update. Note that the built-in update engine does not work with this release, so manual upgrade is required. Download the update here if you have SeaMonkey installed.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/
Email Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
OutlookAttachView 3.05 adds quick-filtering support. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html
Internet Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Java 8u144 is a security update. If you have Java installed and use it, upgrade immediately. If you do not use it, or do not know if you need it, remove it.
http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
Evernote 6.6.4.5512 resolves various bugs, adds image gallery feature, implements new editor, and direct (public) content sharing. This is not a security update.
http://www.evernote.com/
MaxMind GeoIP 201708 is a data refresh. This is not a security update.
http://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/geolite
BrowsingHistoryView 2.10 improves reliability and adds CacheTask service management. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html
Nmap 7.60 adds several new scripts and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/
Npcap 0.93 improves reliability and upgrade compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/
Google Earth 7.3.0 is a security update.
http://earth.google.com/index.html
Media Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
FastStone Viewer 6.3 adds a video player, improved rendering quality of annotations, mp3 support, and incorporates various bug fixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Game Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
EA Origin 10.4.16.25850 provides several cosmetic improvements, performance improvements, and adds end-of-life notification for macOS prior to 10.9/Mavericks. This is not a security update.
https://www.origin.com/en-us/download
PlayStation PS4 4.73 improves performance. This is not a security update.
http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps4/pc_update/index.htm
SteamOS 2.121/2017-07-31 is a security update.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download/?ver=custom
Office Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.
Adobe Reader 11.0.21 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.
Adobe Reader DC 17.012.20093 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.
LibreOffice 5.4.0 adds many new features including OpenPGP signatures, improved watermarks, styling, bullets & numbering, autocorrect, and conditional formatting. This is not a security update.
http://www.libreoffice.org/
Adobe Experience Manager 6.3.0.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb17-26.html
Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.6 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html
Security Software Updates
One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.
OSFClone 1.2.1000 adds dd/ewf write support. This is not a security update.
http://www.osforensics.com/tools/create-disk-images.html
RogueKiller 12.11.9 improves detections, and resolves POST/upload bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.adlice.com/softwares/roguekiller/
Converter Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
CDex 1.90 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://cdex.mu/?q=download
DVDFab 10.0.4.9 adds support for new encodings, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm
Utility Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
1Password for Windows 6.7.454 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/
GoodSync 10.5.5 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync
CintaNotes 3.9 adds window docking support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://cintanotes.com/download
DesktopOK 4.74 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK
HWMonitor 1.32 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
ImageUSB 1.3.1003 does not provide a detailed changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
http://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html
FolderChangesView 2.11 adds ability to start hidden and minimized to tray, allowing it to take effect immediately upon execution. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html
WifiInfoView 2.27 adds descriptive text to all lower-pane elements. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html
PointerStick 2.88 improves Windows 10 support. This is not a security update.
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick
Rufus 2.16 adds audiovisual feedback, nonstandard RR workaround, ISO and access error reporting, and resolves various bugs. This is not a security update.
http://rufus.akeo.ie/
OSForensics 5.1.1002 adds several new features. This is not a security update.
http://www.osforensics.com/download.html
SystemRescueCD 5.0.3 is a security update.
http://www.sysresccd.org/
TaskSchedulerView 1.35 adds process termination support and improves quick-filtering. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html
WinScan2PDF 3.55 improves compatibility with certain hardware. This is not a security update.
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF
Developer Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
SQLite 3.20.0 resolves several bugs, improves reliability and performance. This is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html
Virtual Machine Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
VirtualBox 5.1.26-117224 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Web Package Updates
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.
TinyMCE 4.6.5 resolves many bugs, adds local upload, and inline boundary support. This is not a security update.
http://www.tinymce.com/download/
Drupal 8.3.6 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
http://drupal.org/download
WordPress 4.8.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/
Akismet 3.3.4 disables unrequested logging, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
BuddyPress 2.9.0 adds several new features and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
Email Log 2.0.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 3.8.6 improves OG metatag support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
Postie 1.9.3 improves error diagnostics and adds “every 2 hours” option. This is not a security update.
Redirection 2.6.6 uses React on redirects page and integrates native translate support. This is not a security update.
Sucuri Security 1.8.8 resolves several bugs, adds several features and options. This should be treated as a security update.
myStickymenu 1.9.1 corrects admin-bar and sticky-menu ordering behavior. This is not a security update.
That’s all for now folks. Keep it clean out there. 😉
Regards,
Shawn K. Hall
https://SaferPC.info/
https://12PointDesign.com/