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Updates 2021-07-13

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Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for July, 2021. Bad patches, bad faith, insufferable heat, and a horrific series of holiday events for security professionals has left me in a foul mood. I’ll try to keep my temper.

This Month in Technology

Apex Legends, ATMs and PoS platforms, Boeing, Cisco Smart Switches, tens of millions of Dell devices, EA (including the source code for dozens of games), Indexsinas, iOS activation lock, the IRS, Kaseya – impacting hundreds of companies and over a million devices, and then, another Linux kernel bug, Luma, NSW Dept of Education, Pling, SolarWinds (again), Southwest Airlines, Swedish Coop supermarkets, VMWare vCenter, Western Digital’s My Book Live devices, and Windows Print Spooler (printnightmare) have been hacked.

Malware was released posing as a Kaseya security update to address their 4th of July horror show, Microsoft signed and published the malware-laden Netfilter rootkit, the Accelion breach keeps getting worse, there’s another strain of ransomware targeting Microsoft Exchange, and 8.4 billion passwords were dumped in a new leak. There has been a 10x increase in businesses targeted by adult phishing messages.

Apple prioritized its own app before competitors in their “fair” app search engine, simply naming a wireless network a certain way can disable iPhone Wi-Fi on devices that connect to it. If it’s an open network, they’ll try to connect to it automatically. Safari broke indexedDB which broke access to almost every web app. Apple uses slave labor while refusing to hire minorities, Siri is still violating your privacy, and if your iPhone is the “key” to your bank or other sensitive information, get a better lock. At least the Woz supports the right-to-repair.

You’re not in charge of your SMART devices. Dell admits to intentionally disabling their hardware. An Australian phone carrier is injecting advertisements into texts. What this says about your use of two-factor authentication (2FA) is that at the very least, your carrier can always access them (and so can any 3-letter agencies). Google has even acknowledged the significance of this risk and is advising developers to stop using texts for 2FA.

Microsoft’s Linux repos, Microsoft Store, and Fastly had major outages. The Fastly CDN outage was caused by “one customer changing a setting.”

Microsoft announced the upcoming release of Windows 11, which has only a handful of significant changes (including an uglier user interface and a requirement for home users to use a Microsoft account). This article is a great summary of why forcing a Microsoft account on their users is a bad idea.

If having the Facebook app itself installed weren’t risky enough…they can analyze the photo of a single word to recreate your handwriting, and identify the source of deepfakes, but they can’t bother to follow their own “important rules.” Facebook can be held liable for their facilitation of sex trafficking.

Secretaries of State continue to promote the false “secure election” claims when they, themselves, hold evidence to the contrary. There is now sufficient evidence to demonstrate that election fraud was the norm in 2020. Dominion blames “human error,” and why wouldn’t they? Liberty dies in darkness.

Epic Games is winning appeal in Australia. Robinhood violated the law by getting in bed with Wall Street, and the SEC is targeting independent investors. SpaceX is being investigated for their Starlink expansion (the heat is on). A federal judge has overturned California firearm ban even while California launches a vaccine passport. The Linux Foundation has jumped the shark, by joining the fracas.

The CDC keeps fudging the VAERS numbers so is it any wonder there are bills to ban a federal vaccination database? Why wouldn’t they when there are over 50,000 dead Americans thanks to the CV19 “vaccines,” and the vast majority of “COVID deaths” are to the vaccinated minority? More than half of all (government-funded) COVID “relief” was either stolen or fraudulent. Airlines are banning those who have received the vaccines and Pakistan is banning those who have not from having cell phones. Fauci keeps lying his way around the media, but that’s common when government meets health care. Profit-driven labs, agenda-driven judges, fake peer review, and “science” (not to be confused with actual science) have produced defective (unless their intent is to kill) and ineffective vaccines, deadly mask mandates, and insane stay-at-home orders, that have caused irreparable damage. Just say no. “Voluntary” does not mean “without consent.”

Biden (falsely, in case you weren’t aware) believes “a number of officers” lost their lives during the January 6th “riot“, but is allowing actual murderers go free, even though the capitol staff allowed protesters to enter the magnetically locked doors. This is why Speaker Pelosi refused National Guard assistance. If they were there, their cronies couldn’t have staged this “mostly peaceful” false flag.

The US federal government is researching ways to implement their own version of a social credit system. NCLB=>CRT, and now they’re treating humor as racism. Thanks to interventionalism, gas is going to get much more expensive.

All terrorism is sponsored by the FBI, or concealed by them. That’s not an exaggeration. Anyone that’s turned on a TV knows that there are a lot of pedophiles in government. How many do you think are in the FBI?

Threatening to nuke your citizenry approaches the worst thing any President has ever done. When is revolution justified?

Now for the good news:

This heat wave is finally subsiding.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is very large. The typical computer should see roughly 2.5 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Before I begin I should point out that Microsoft released an out-of-band (OOB) security update last week. For the vast majority of users, the “fix” caused more damage than the risk of compromise. Printers, card readers, even disk drives, suffered problems after installing the update, and in some cases Windows was broken as a result. Instead of tying it to the previously (and well-tested) June patch cycle update, they released the OOB update based on the beta version of the July update. I spent most of this week dealing with the fallout from this very poorly tested patch. Grrr.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~1.2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 12.5.4 and iMovie 10.2.4. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 12.5.4 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

Google Chrome OS 91.0.4472.147 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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.

The release of macOS Big Sur (11.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v21H1) is very large, for the first time it’s actually smaller than the previous release, but it will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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 or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

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 18.0.4.2 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Logitech Options 8.54.161 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

Nvidia 471.11 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Brave 1.26.74 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 91.0.4472.124 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 91.0.864.67 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 90.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.12.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Iridium 2021.06.91 is a security update.
https://iridiumbrowser.de/

SeaMonkey 2.53.8 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 4.0.2312.38 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

NK2Edit 3.42 improves high-DPI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_nk2_edit.html

Thunderbird 78.12.0 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Telegram 2.8.4 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

AnyDesk 6.3.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

Dropbox 125.4.3474 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.55.0 improves SFTP and ALPN support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Npcap 1.50 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 4.4.3 resolves dozens of bugs and improves reliability. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

WinSCP 5.19.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.7.1.543 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.16 adds snow, rain and fire effects, resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

darktable 3.6.0 adds several new features, resolves dozens of bugs and updates hardware support. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Flickr Downloadr 3.4.0.1 resolves several bugs and removes defunct platforms. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

Plex Media Server 1.23.4.4805 improves AAC encoding quality, hardware compatibility, play queueing specials and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

VLC Media Player 3.0.16 is a security update.
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PlayStation PS5 21.01-03.21.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2021.07.13 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Office Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Krita 4.4.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.4 resolves 80 bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.1.1 adds/improves dark mode, resolves performance and stability bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Adobe Dimension 3.4.3 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/dimension.html

Adobe Illustrator 25.3 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/desktop.html

Adobe Framemaker 2019.8 and 2020.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/framemaker/kb/framemaker-downloads.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.005.20058, 2020.004.30006, and 2017.011.30199 are security updates. Use Help, Check for Updates to install the most current version.

Adobe Bridge 11.1 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/in/products/bridge.html

Security Software Updates

One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.

Gpg4win 3.1.16 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

Hashcat 6.2.2 improves automation, adds new hash-modes and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://hashcat.net/hashcat/#downloadlatest

RogueKiller 15.0.8 updates engine and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Tails 4.20 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.36.2 is a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.32.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 2021.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

VideoCacheView 3.07 improves Firefox compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

IsoBuster 4.8 adds ReFS support, dmg, adf, and hdf file support, metadata parsing, Amiga partitions, block range addressing and search support. This is not a security update.
https://www.isobuster.com/download.php

MakeMKV 1.16.4 improves decoding, compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.makemkv.com/download/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.7.810
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

8GadgetPack 34.0 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://8gadgetpack.net/

AccessChk 6.14 adds support for NULL DACL reporting. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/accesschk

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.3 adds option to create portable version, resolves an app mover bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

Bitwarden 1.27.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

Dell Command Update 4.2.1 doesn’t provide a changelog. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 9.11 adds support for Windows 11. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

DevManView 1.75 adds support for sorting by menu. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html

Everything Toolbar 0.7.1 improves keyboard support, added options and integration, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Fido 1.20 adds Windows 7 ISO downloads. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.7.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 1.97 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

NetworkTrafficView 2.41 adds support for sorting by menu. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_traffic_view.html

NTLite 2.1.2.8074 adds Windows 11 support and updates components. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 4.9.0 updates libraries, adds log rotation, improves table options, startup and shutdown time, and resolves other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PointerStick 5.33 adds support for Windows 11. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

PowerToys 0.41.3 resolves stability issues. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.83 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

RoboForm 9.1.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Strings 2.54 improves handling of files containing long strings. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/strings

Sysmon 13.22 improves performance and resolves a sub-rule bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TCPView 4.13 fixes a bug with connection state filtering. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TraceRouteOK 2.55 updates signature and languages. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

USBDeview 3.02 improves high-DPI support and adds support for sorting by menu. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

WinRAR 6.02 is a security update.
https://www.rarlab.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.22 adds Windows 11 support. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.01 adds several new filter features, multiple simultaneous drive support, performance improvements, and adds cosmetic options. This is not a security update.
https://wiztreefree.com/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Android Studio 4.2.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

Node.js 16.4.2 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 12.22.3 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.17.3 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.36.0 improves EXPLAIN, BOM skipping, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.58 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

Dada Mail 11.14.1 updates libraries, adds limits to Forward to a Friend, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

Docker Desktop 3.5.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

MailEnable 10.35 is a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 22.0.0 adds Circles support, integrates chat and tasks, approval workflows, PDF signing, and resolves over 600 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ScreenConnect 21.9.4007.7863 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

Akismet 4.1.10 resolves several bugs and improve API requests. This is not a security update.

Conditional Widgets 3.1 announced their native incompatibility with WP 5.8+ and how to continue to use it. This is not a security update.

Duplicator 1.4.2 resolves several bugs and updates package diagnostics. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.5.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Visual Composer 37.0 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility, and adds user interface improvements. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.1.5 is a security update.

WooCommerce 5.5.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 2.9.0 adds scheduler, improved notifications, and resolves several bugs. 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/

Updates 2021-06-08

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Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for June, 2021. There have been another couple dozen major security incidents, as well as some significant revelations impacting health, security and privacy. The latest Windows 10 release, v21H1, is out and it doesn’t change that much. Google has finally stopped their weekly security update cadence, though other vendors (including Microsoft Edge and Brave) have continued.

This Month in Technology

ABC affiliates, Apple AirTags, AXA, Biden’s Venmo account, Brenntag, CNA Financial, Colonial Pipeline (again), DigitalOcean, European biomolecular research institute, First Horizon Bank, U.S. Agency for Global Media, Guard.me, Herff Jones, Ireland’s Department of Health (HSE), JBS, Monday.com, Microsoft PatchGuard, NY MTA, OGUsers, One Treasure Island, Rapid7, Scripps Health and Whistler have been hacked.

A Qualcomm hardware vulnerability affects almost 40% of all mobile phones. Additionally, a dozen security vulnerabilities (called FragAttacks) have been discovered that apply to all Wi-Fi devices. (I’ll bet you miss that cable now, don’t you?)

Google released a “trial” feature to many Chrome users that effectively broke Chrome on their devices. Disabling the trial allowed Chrome to operate again. This is a perfect example of why you should never be forced into being in a beta program. iOS 14.6 is chewing through batteries. Microsoft released an update that broke compatibility with their own Office 365 services – Teams, Outlook and OneDrive. Google’s Nest thermostats are giving people the cold shoulder. Spectre is back again.

The antivirus that can’t protect you from crypto mining malware will now mine crypto on your device so they can use you to generate even more revenue for them. Better hope Norton 360 doesn’t get your home raided.

Amazon, the UK government, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, The Guardian, NYT, and and many other major sites were taken offline today in a huge outage.

When your paranoid friend says the security app you’re using might be a government trojan, believe them.

Google & Apple are still making it impossible for users to keep their location private. Tor is being used to spy on “secure” user traffic. Again. A new privacy-compromising mechanism via cross-browser tracking installed apps can effectively identify your device. The TikTok App is collecting biometric data. The UK Test & Trace app does far worse.

GitHub has disabled FLoC. This is a good thing. Despite federal law, Chinese surveillance equipment is gaining US government customers. Taproot isn’t the privacy panacea it is perceived to be. On the topic of Snowden, he’s been vindicated (again).

Apple shares iCloud keys with CCP, Apple’s Find My can be used to leak secrets, has a “few” issues with notification reliability, and their techs regularly violate their users’ privacy. Due to so many arbitration cases Amazon is now allowing you to sue them…just in time, as they are now sharing your Wi-Fi with passersby. Dell lied about their Alienware laptop upgradeability. There’s a reason why so many people treat Microsoft Edge as malicious.

The Epic vs Apple lawsuit testimony is over, but Apple’s AppStore is still allowing malicious and fraudulent apps, while they pat themselves on the back for not taking even more money from their users.

Dr. Fauci lied about sponsoring gain of function research for biological warfare. He dismissed what he knew to be true, the lab-leak theory, and the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. He perjured himself. The MSM helped.

Biden shut down the last Wuhan lab investigation. What are the chances there will be a real investigation? Intelligence agencies claim otherwise and you know they have never lied. As is typical of the political elite, instead of broadcasting this everywhere, they’re targeting those that exposed it with death threats.

Governments and the MSM are concealing any true risk/benefit analysis, the miscarriages, Freudian slips, and VAERS spikes behind missing data, bad science, vastly overcounted cases, and propaganda. They’ve been caught red-handed manipulating the data.

The truth is the COVID death numbers are still dropping while post-vaccination infection – and death – are not rare. 5-10% suffer from severe adverse reactions in the hundreds of thousands. The CDC’s new rules acknowledge what many have known all along, vindicating those who opposed masks and vaccines and the vaccines are far from safe or effective.

The worst part is that there are still unsubstantiated and illegal mandates (that are supported by the low-information crowd…forever), and insane dogma that violates all reason. Such as yellow stars for the unvaxxed, forbidding the unvaccinated from  church, employment, University (sometimes even the vaccinated) and even West Point. The Red Cross won’t even accept blood from the vaccinated.

The UK government knows what’s coming, and most will be called “unrelated illnesses.” When life insurance companies see this as a non-event and politicians ignore their own agencies to fine the science it’s hard to take it seriously. There have been decades of vaccine research, and we know they’re designing vaccines that spread themselves – isn’t that the premise of most zombie films? mRNA rewrites the genetic code and enhances the illness. This is what it is designed to do. By the way, did you know that during mRNA trials all the mammals kept dying? They proceeded with the emergency use authorization anyway. The only immunity provided by vaccines is to the manufacturer. A second Nuremburg Tribunal is on the horizon.

The Supreme Court says the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is overbroad. Amazon is being sued over Antitrust law. The Ohio AG is trying to declare Google a public utility.

The government has repeatedly operated in concert with Big Tech to silence dissent, science, and discussion, in effect, laundering their censorship through third-parties. Governors and others are now going on the offense.

Now for the good news:

Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai is doing more to take down Big Tech than anyone else – by himself. Please help.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 3.0 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update Mojave 2021-004, Security Update Catalina 2021-003, Safari 14.1.1, watchOS 7.5, tvOS 14.6, and Boot Camp 6.1.14. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.5 is a security update. Use your updated iPhone to install the most current version through the Watch app.

tvOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Updates to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 91.0.4472.81 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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.

The release of macOS Big Sur (11.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v21H1) is very large, for the first time it’s actually smaller than the previous release, but it will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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 or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

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.

Logitech Options for macOS 8.54.147 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

Nvidia 466.63 adds support for newer hardware, libraries and components, and resolves stability and performance bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Engine 3.22.0 now defaults to having Moments off, and resolves a crash bog. This is not a security update.
https://steelseries.com/engine

Browser Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Brave 1.25.70 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 91.0.4472.77 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 91.0.864.41 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 89.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.11.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Email Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Thunderbird 78.11.0 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

AnyDesk 6.3.1 resolves several bugs and adds an adaptive resolution option. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk for macOS 6.2.0 resolves stability and display issues, adds tab, cursor follow, and window focus controls. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.77.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 123.4.4832 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.54.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Minds 4.13.0 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.minds.com/mobile

Prosody 0.11.9 is a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Technitium DNS Server 6.3 resolves several bugs and adds more than a half dozen new features, including failover and recursion ACLs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

WGet 1.21.1-1 updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

Zoom 5.6.7.1016 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Picard 2.6.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Media Server 1.23.2.4656 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2021.06.07 resolves several bugs and improves cosmetics. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

PlayStation PS3 4.88 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/

Office Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Audacity 3.0.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

LibreOffice Still 7.0.6 is the final release for the 7.0 branch. This version resolves 50 reliability, stability, and compatibility bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.2 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Adobe Connect 11.2.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-36.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.005.20148, 2020.004.30005 and 2017.011.30197 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-37.html

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.9 and 22.4.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-38.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.9.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-39.html

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application 2.5 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-41.html

Adobe RoboHelp Server 2020.0.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/robohelp-server/apsb21-44.html

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop_elements/apsb21-46.html

Adobe Premiere Elements 5.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-47.html

Adobe After Effects 18.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-49.html

Adobe Animate 21.0.7 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-50.html

Security Software Updates

One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.

Tails 4.19 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

NSudo 8.2 removes ARM32 support, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/M2Team/NSudo/releases/latest

OnionShare 2.3.2 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

VT-CLI 0.9.7 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.31 provides cosmetic improvements, improves the updater and imgur compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 2021.4.1 is a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8.5 adds archive support, sharing indicators, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.7.807 resolves several bugs, adds Windows Hello support, and adds archive support. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitcoin 0.21.1 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Bitwarden 1.26.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 5.81.8895 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Dell Command Update 4.2 improves download and logging. This is not a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 8.88 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Everything 1.4.1.1009 improves NTFS detection. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.19 adds support for Windows 10 21H1 and eliminate requirement for Internet Explorer. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.7.3 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

IsMyHdOK 3.21 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NetworkTrafficView 2.40 adds several protocol controls and filters. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_traffic_view.html

NTLite 2.1.1.7917 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.2.1 improves selection interface, resolves several bugs with third-party apps and integrated elevation when required. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PointerStick 5.15 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

Process Monitor 3.82 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Process Explorer 16.42 switches default search behavior from find to filter and reports CET, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

PsExec 2.34 changes stderr output behavior. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec

RoboForm 9.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Samsung Data Migration 4.0 does not provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

Sigcheck 2.81 resolves a signature validation bug. This should be treated as a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sigcheck

SimpleWMIView 1.45 improves sorting controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

Sysmon 13.21 adds new filter conditions and resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TaskSchedulerView 1.68 resolves a pagination bug and improves sorting controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TCPView 4.12 adds new filter conditions and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TraceRouteOK 2.52 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WifiInfoView 2.70 improves sorting options. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinGet 1.0.11451 is the first release version of WinGet. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest

WinObj 3.10 extends search to include symbolic link targets.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/winobj

WinScan2PDF 7.11 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Android Studio 4.2.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

DB Browser for SQLite 3.12.2 updates the certificate for DBHub.io. This is not a security update.
https://sqlitebrowser.org/

Godot 3.3.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Inno Setup 6.2.0 updates graphics and cosmetics, adds dark mode, improves logging, and adds several new scripting options and flags. This is not a security update.
https://www.jrsoftware.org/isdl.php

Node.js 16.3.0 upgrades libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.35.5 resolves several bugs and improves reliability and performance. This is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Web Package Updates

These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

Adminer 4.8.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.adminer.org/en/

Dada Mail 11.14.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://dadamailproject.com/

Drupal 9.1.10 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 3.9.27 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

Nextcloud Server 21.0.2 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.6.3 is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 11.5.0 is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.8.3558.7823 adds deep-linking support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.7.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

BuddyPress 8.0.0 improves the registration experience, xProfile fields, simplifies administration, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Duplicator 1.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/#developers

Visual Composer 36.0 resolves dozens of bugs and improves consistency. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.1.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 5.4.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

Show IDs 1.1.7 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wpsite-show-ids/

That’s all for now folks. Keep it clean out there. 😉

Regards,

Shawn K. Hall
https://SaferPC.info/
https://12PointDesign.com/

Updates 2021-05-11

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Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for May, 2021. There have been a couple dozen major hacking incidents and critical security issues, and every browser has now continued their weekly security update cadence through the third month.

This Month in Technology

Apple (Quanta Computer), Apple’s AirDrop, Apple’s iOS 14.5, Apple’s macOS Big Sur 11.3, Cellebrite, Celsius Network, Colonial Pipeline, Dell dbutil, Dominion election hardware, various DNS implementations, mostly on IoT devices, various medical devices, Elliman Property Management, Facebook, Geico, enterprise password app Passwordstate, various Police Departments, Pulse Connect Secure, Tesla’s Model X, and Trend Micro’s Apex One were hacked this month.

Linux banned University of Minnesota from submitting code because they intentionally submitted patches that would have intentionally made Linux devices insecure.

The FBI is violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

It’s illogical to justify or mandate an experimental treatment that increases your risk for a disease and creates side-effects on its own that are equivalent to the disease. When you can’t win your arguments using actual science you have to ignore the inserts, the numbers, falsify the data, falsify the tests, censor, attack their education, ridicule and intimidate, hide the dead children, secretly destroy the unused ventilators, ignore the tens of thousands of barrels of DDT dumped in the ocean by the same  companies making the experimental vaccines today, make sure nobody knows you have no idea what you’re doing, or just straight-up kill people. A Jedi mind trick or two goes a long way, too. By the way, the COVID-19 mortality rate for vaccinated test subjects dwarfs the rate for the “control group.” France is at least capable of putting two and two together. It’s sad that American doctors can’t.

In a surprise move, Apple & Google have actually stood by their privacy policies forbidding the UK from collecting additional location details through the NHS COVID-19 tracking app. That said, no matter how much they try to limit data exposure, if it’s collected, it can be compromised.

Piracy is bad and FLoC is worse. 10DLC is a step in the right direction, but will likely only result in increased text messaging forgery.

USPS is violating the first amendment but that pales in comparison to what state and federal governments are doing, and what the Speaker has done to keep her seat. Christianity isn’t illegal, yet. Violence is, but it has proven to be effective anyway, so will continue unabated.

There are still some wins coming in, so I guess we haven’t quite devolved into communism, but it doesn’t look good when censorship is so pervasive and ambiguous, and officials openly engage in fraud during an audit, and blame the victims for being assaulted.

The Epic vs Apple suit is currently underway and has proven to be what you’d expect from a conflict between a monopoly and a video game company. Meanwhile, Apple is now being sued for terminating accounts for customers that have “bought” apps and services through them, and the EU has declared Apple’s App Store a monopoly. Seeing the writing on the wall, Microsoft has lowered it’s Windows Store cut.

Google, which dropped Fortnite last year for violating the terms of a contract, just sidestepped Roku’s removal of the YouTube TV app by inserting the functionality of  YouTube TV app into the YouTube app. Demonstrating the flaws in their app compatibility argument Google broke YouTube TV on their own Chromecast platform during this circus.

Now for the good news:

Dogecoin for the win. Just make sure you are the only one with the keys to your wallet!

Oh, and Samsung is planning to provide a way so you can still make use of some of your archaic hardware.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge – with well over a hundred common applications and operating systems releasing fixes. The typical computer should see roughly 3.2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iCloud for Windows 12.3, iTunes 12.11.3 for Windows, Safari 14.1, Security Update 2021-002 Catalina, Security Update 2021-003 Mojave, Xcode 12.5, iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1, iOS 12.5.3, macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, tvOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.5.1 and 12.5.3 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.5.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.4.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 90.0.4430.100 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

Fedora 34-1.2 has a lot of changes under the hood, such as UEFI improvements, driver and updated libraries. This is a security update.
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/

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.

The release of macOS Big Sur (11.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v2009) is huge (about 18% larger than v2004, which was 25% larger than any prior build) so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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 or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

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 18.0.3.9 improves diagnostics and removal. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Logitech Options 8.54.106 resolves several bugs. This version does not provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

Nvidia 466.27 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Engine 3.20.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://steelseries.com/engine

Browser Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Brave 1.24.84 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 90.0.4430.212 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 90.0.818.56 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 88.0.1 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.7.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 3.8.2259.42 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Mailspring 1.9.1 is a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Thunderbird 78.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

BrowsingHistoryView 2.48 adds a QR code toolbar button and resolves a bug in the SaveDirect command-line switch. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.76.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 121.4.4267 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 11.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Java 8u291 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Npcap 1.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 4.3.5 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

PuTTY 0.75 is a security update.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

Technitium DNS Server 6.2.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 2.7.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Zoom 5.6.5.823 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

iTunes 12.11.3 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Picard 2.6.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Media Server 1.22.3.4392 resolves several bugs with collections. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

VLC Media Player 3.0.14 is a security update.
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PlayStation PS4 8.03 improves notification controls and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/

PlayStation PS5 21.01-03.10.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Office Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Artweaver 7.0.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/

Atom 1.57.0 updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.3 resolves over a hundred bugs. This is a security update. Be aware that LibreOffice Fresh is a beta version and should be avoided in favor of the Still (stable) version.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Lightworks NLE 2021.2 resolves dozens of bugs and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.lwks.com/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

OpenOffice 4.1.10 is a security update.
https://www.openoffice.org/download/

Paint.net 4.2.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application 5.4.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-31.html

Adobe Genuine Service 7.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/integrity_service/apsb21-27.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.001.20155, 2020.001.30025, and 2017.011.30196 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-29.html

Adobe After Effects 18.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-33.html

Adobe Animate 21.0.6 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-35.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.8.0 and 6.4.8.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-15.html

Adobe InDesign 16.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb21-22.html

Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb21-24.html

Adobe InCopy 16.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb21-25.html

Magento 2.4.2-p1 and 2.3.7 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-30.html

Adobe Media Encoder 15.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/media-encoder/apsb21-32.html

Adobe Medium 2.4.5.332 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/medium/apsb21-34.html

Security Software Updates

One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.

HTTP Toolkit 1.3.0 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://httptoolkit.tech/

KeePass 2.48.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

uBlock Origin 1.35.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.9.6 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Tails 4.18 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.30 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 2021.3.1 resolves two minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Education updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Zotero 5.0.96.2 optimizes online storage and resolves a hang in generating citations. This is not a security update.
https://www.zotero.org/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.6.801 is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Autoruns 13.100 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

CCleaner 5.79.8704 adds cleaning of Slack cache, adds ability to wipe free space, and improves debug logging. This is a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

CPU-Z Installer 1.96 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

CurrPorts 2.65 resolves a kernel tracing bug and improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

Etcher 1.5.120 is a documentation change. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Fing 2.6.0 adds Deep Scan and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows

GoodSync 11.6.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

HWMonitor 1.44 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

NTLite 2.1.0.7862 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.2 adds ability to free up space on Windows partitions by moving apps to another partition. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PowerToys 0.37.2 updates all components, settings app and configuration, and improves silent installation behavior. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.70 allows constraining the number of events and fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

ProduKey 1.97 adds command-line configuration processing. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

RoboForm 9.1.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

SearchMyFiles 3.11 adds high-DPI support and adds a sorting as a menu option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

TCPView 4.01 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

WinRAR 6.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.rarlab.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.07 improves compatibility with Windows. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 3.41 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wiztreefree.com/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.09 resolved several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Godot 3.3 improves reliability and adds several new features. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.0.25 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

Node.js 16.1.0 resolves dozens of bugs and compatibility issues with the new major v16 update to Node.js, which removes support for Python 2 and updates system requirements. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.17.0 updates libraries, resolves dozens of bugs, improves diagnostic capabilities, and backports several features from stable. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.35.5 is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.56 improves hover feedback, terminal profile, debugger, and more. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

WinMerge 2.16.12 adds ARM64 support and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.1.22-144080 is a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.12 updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Dada Mail 11.13.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

Docker Desktop 3.3.3 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.0.13 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

OpenPetra 2021.04 improves contact and import, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.openpetra.org/

ScreenConnect 21.6.3280.7796 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.7.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Autoptimize 2.8.4 is a security update.

BuddyPress 7.3.0 is a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.4.1 resolves several bugs and compatibility issues. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.3.0 resolves dozens of bugs and introduces several new features. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 2.8.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WPtouch 4.3.41 resolves a cosmetic bug. 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/

Updates 2021-02-09

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Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for February, 2021.

This Month in Technology

Malware planted during the SolarWinds hack is still being discovered and SolarWinds is still vulnerable.

ADT (not just employee abuse), Amazon Kindle e-readers, Azure Functions, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Cisco DNA Center, Cyberpunk 2077, Excellus Health Plan, Inc., Experian, FiberHome routers, Forward Air, Golang, various Home Assistant integrations, iOS, libgcrypt, Linux (and macOS) SUDO, Malwarebytes, MeetMindful, Mimecast (also a SolarWinds victim), Nespresso smart cards, New Zealand Central Bank, NoxPlayer, Office 365, OpenWRT forum, Palo Alto Networks, the Pentagon, Perl[.]com, Pfizer, SonicWall, Stormshield, UK Research and Innovation, the UN, UScellular, USDA (again), Vermont Dept of Labor, VIPGames, Washington State Auditor’s Office, WestRock Co., WhatsApp, and Wind River Systems have been hacked.

The EU is fining (victims) of data breaches 39% more than two years ago. Grindr is exposing your information. SpamCop made a boo-boo by not renewing their domain on time, resulting in a huge amount of legitimate messages being treated as spam. The LogoKit phishing platform has been updated to “improve” effectiveness.

The UK Government is giving malware-infected laptops to students and the US federal government has repeatedly supported violation of the third and fourth amendments to plant recording devices on private property. There has been an increase of 93% of leaks and data breaches in 2020.

Whether you pay the ransom or restore from backups: PATCH the vulnerabilities!

I have always called for avoiding pirated software because it poses a unique security risk. Here’s an example. (avoid travelling by train in China)

Federally funded censorship and double-standards are being used to advance cancel culture in banks, coffee, journalism, patriotism, by mere association, while actually inciting violence with absurd rhetoric such as calling a kindly neighbor a terrorist for plowing your snow are being excused as acceptable. While censorship isn’t left or right only one side is willing to ban those most likely to join the military from joining.

Worse yet, they’re even targeting third-parties for cancellation for daring to support free speech. Heck, even Mike Rowe is being cancelled.

Some are actually upset that not enough censorship is taking place while ignoring actual calls for violence, funding terrorists, openly supporting child porn, hypocritically calling censorship a violation of election integrity, and arresting people for posting memes.

No matter how much the narrative is disproven – this was planned by others well in advance, and the capitol police were directly involved, which is probably why they refused assistance from the National Guard and DoD when offered multiple times. There’s plenty more.

At least there’s finally some pushback. Hopefully it’s not too little, too late.

Meanwhile, TIME acknowledges that they did, in fact, collude with big tech, large corporations and foreign governments in violation of state and federal laws in order to steal the election. (But don’t talk about it online!) By the way, is it just a coincidence that so many opponents of free speech are pedophiles?

Facebook will pay $300/ea to Illinois users for violating state biometric laws and yet, they have still violated Polish law and blocked & banned small investors while Zuckerberg bragged about how he censored Trump to prevent a free election. WhatsApp users are leaving in droves, while WhatsApp has shifted messaging to explain that user messages (notably not their “data”) can still be removed.

There’s been a surge in BSODs for some Windows devices after January updates. Microsoft has been beaten to the patch (again) by 0patch for a vulnerability in their installer system.

Google is above the law or at least, demands the ability to be excluded from it. They’ve also banned one app for supporting a popular open source file type and another for allowing access to content it doesn’t control (like Google’s own browsers), and violated their own terms to purge negative reviews in their App Store. YouTube is removing Senate testimony. It should come as no surprise then, that developers are realizing that “doing business with [Google] is a liability.” Do you really need more justification to de-Google?

Mozilla fixed a browser bug that could trigger physical damage to your SSD.

Amazon has been caught colluding, endangering privacy, hypocritically inciting violence, and stealing, all while pursuing the ability to run the Pentagon Defense Systems (in violation of their own Terms of Service).

Apple is throttling iPhones again, preventing sideloading on M1’s, and took five years to discover a widespread crypto miner in macOS.

Still trust your mobile security? Your operating systems have intentionally designed vulnerabilities/weaknesses.

Especially when it comes to science, sunlight remains the best disinfectant. It turns out “global warming” is worse when humans aren’t polluting the air. But sadly, facts don’t matter anymore, so months have passed and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost before political and social science caught up with actual science to acknowledge HCQ is, in fact, an effective treatment. And surely it’s just a coincidence that testing processes were changed immediately after inauguration?

Investigating and/or punishing people for refusing an experimental treatment (according to the FDA they’re not vaccines) is a violation of the Nuremberg Code, but that won’t prevent governments and corporations from doing it anyway, no matter how many times that is struck down as unconstitutional.

The CDC has illegally inflated COVID statistics, but is suppressing VAERS information about people dying like flies after injections.

Really though, can you trust any medical treatment created by people that struggle with math?

Now for the good news:

The Biden administration has dropped the federal lawsuit against the California Net Neutrality law. This will eventually be what breaks the Big Tech monopoly.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 3 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, and MSRT (~ 2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Big Sur 11.2, Security Update 2021-001 Catalina, Security Update 2021-001 Mojave, iCloud for Windows 12.0 (off and on again), iOS 14.4, iPadOS 14.4, Safari 14.0.3, tvOS 14.4, watchOS 7.3, and Xcode 12.4. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.4 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.4 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.3 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 14.4 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 88.0.4324.109 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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.

The release of macOS Big Sur (11.0) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v2009) is huge (about 18% larger than v2004, which was 25% larger than any prior build) so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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 or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

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 18.0.3.6 improves cleanup. This is a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

nVidia 461.40 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Brave 1.19.92 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 88.0.4324.150 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 88.0.705.63 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 85.0.2 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.7.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.6 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 3.6.2165.36 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Mailspring 1.8.0 adds account colors, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Thunderbird 78.7.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

BrowsingHistoryView 2.46 adds support for Brave. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.75.0 resolves dozens of bugs and adds several new features. This is not a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 115.4.601 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.52.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Pocketnet-Core 0.18.18 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://pocketnet.app/

WinSCP 5.17.10 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.5.12494.0204 resolves a couple minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Java 8u281 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

darktable 3.4.1 resolves about 20 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

VLC Media Player 3.0.12 is a security update.
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2021.02.05 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility, and improves cosmetics. This is not a security update.

PlayStation PS5 20.02-02.50.00 resolves a PS4 installation compatibility issue, improves editing video clips and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Office Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Atom 1.54.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

Blender 2.91.2 doesn’t have a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

IcoFX 3.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://icofx.ro/

Krita 4.4.2 adds mesh gradients, mesh transform, gradient editor and halftone filter, new brushes, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.0 resolves hundreds of bugs and improves reliability, stability, and compatibility. This is not a security update. This is beta software and should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Lightworks NLE 2021.1 adds dozens of new features and improvements, and resolves many bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.lwks.com/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.1.2 adds several new features: SVG client branding, push notifications for file changes, conflict resolution trigger and more. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

OpenOffice 4.1.9 improves stability and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.openoffice.org/download/

Paint.net 4.2.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

FrameMaker 2019 Update 8 64bit (2019.0.8) doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
64-bit: https://supportdownloads.adobe.com/detail.jsp?ftpID=7063
32-bit: https://supportdownloads.adobe.com/detail.jsp?ftpID=7065

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.001.20135, 2020.001.30020, and 2017.011.30190 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-09.html

Adobe Animate 21.0.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-11.html

Adobe Dreamweaver 20.2.1 and 21.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/dreamweaver/apsb21-13.html

Adobe Illustrator 25.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb21-12.html

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.5 and 22.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-10.html

Magento 2.4.2, 2.4.1-p1, and 2.3.6-p1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-08.html

Security Software Updates

One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.

Tails 4.15.1 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

RogueKiller 14.8.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.33.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.9.0 resolves a bug with URL parsing. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2021.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?snagit

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Windows 7.6.791 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitcoin 0.21.0 resolves over a dozen bugs and improves networking. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Bitwarden 1.24.6 improves biometrics, search, and usability. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

Carbonite 6.3.8 resolves a bug with NAS backups. This is not a security update.
https://account.carbonite.com/

CCleaner 5.76.8269 improves cleaning and accessibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

CPU-Z 1.95 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

DesktopOK 8.44 improves toolset. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

DriveImage XML 2.60 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

Etcher 1.5.116 updates libraries and improves cleanup of temp files. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1005 is a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.18 adds support for the latest 20H2 refresh. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.5.6 improves stability, reliability and sync, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

Homedale 1.92 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 2.81 adds automatic update and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

LessMSI 1.8.1 resolves a display bug. This is not a security update.
https://lessmsi.activescott.com/

NTLite 2.0.0.7784 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

ProduKey 1.95 adds option to extract partial key from WMI. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

PSAppDeploy 3.8.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://psappdeploytoolkit.com/

RAMDisk 4.4.0.RC36 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk

RoboForm 9.1.1 updates credit card storage data, resolves several bugs, and now uses secure transmission for automatic updates. This is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?rf

SimpleWMIView 1.42 adds an option to start hidden. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

TaskSchedulerView 1.66 adds pagination to the properties widow and adds Task Filename column. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TeamViewer 15.14.5 was released. The TeamViewer release notes have been unavailable for over a month, so while it might be a security update, it would be safer to remove TeamViewer until these issues are resolved.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows/

USB Oblivion 1.16.0.0 adds ability to preserve desktop settings and clean UserAssist keys. This is not a security update.
http://www.cherubicsoft.com/en/projects/usboblivion

WinScan2PDF 6.55 resolves several bugs and improves scanner compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Android Studio 4.1.2.0 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.0.23 is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

Node.js 15.8.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.15.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.34.1 adds new features and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

StrawberryPerl 5.32.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://strawberryperl.com/

Visual Studio Code 1.53 resolves several bugs and adds several features and controls. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

WinMerge 2.16.10 resolves several bugs and adds new command-line switches and features. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PPSSPP 1.11 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://ppsspp.org/downloads.html

VirtualBox 6.1.18-142142 resolves several stability and reliability bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

Adminer 4.7.9 is a security update.
https://www.adminer.org/en/

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.10 improves compatibility with PHP 8.01. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Docker Desktop 3.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.0.11 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.1.4 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.7.2 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

Nextcloud Server 20.0.7 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

OpenCart 3.0.3.7 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.opencart.com/

Piwigo 11.3.0 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.2.2159.7699 adds a security tile to configure security options and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SMF 2.0.18 is a security update.
https://www.simplemachines.org/

WordPress 5.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Social Post Feed 2.18.2 improves GDPR compatibility and resolves a deletion bug. This is not a security update.

Multisite Enhancements 1.6.1 resolves a path bug. This is not a security update.

Redirection 5.0.1 adds support for PHP 8 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 4.3.20 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.25 updates the password reset process. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.1.0 resolves several bugs and adds cache groups. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 4.9.2 improves compatibility and disables untested plugins from status and plugin pages. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 2.6.0 improves compatibility. 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/

 

 

Updates 2020-12-08

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Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for December, 2020. It’s a big one and huge updates are available for over a hundred applications. A new OpenSSL released today means that there will be even more updates released in the near future, so this is only the first of at least two update series’ to top off December.

This Month in Technology

Apple (and others) are trying to make slavery legal, Apple’s cloud services choked this month as a result of their new on-demand certification and telemetry collection nightmare, Big Sur even bricks some MacBook Pro models, but they’re admitting that they intentionally throttled their older hardware, and Apple had a major security issue that allowed total control of their iPhones over Wi-Fi. While Apple has fixed that bug, their hardware is vulnerable to new forensic tools used by foreign (and likely US) governments to clone all the data from your device. This is “Epic.” Apple is cutting their App Store fees to 15% for small developers.

K12 Inc, Foxconn electronics, the City of Long Beach, TransLink (Vancouver public transit), Embraer, Kopter, Shirbit, Randstad NV, Advantech, Bowie and Miller Counties (TX), and Baltimore County Public Schools have all been hit with ransomware. If you leave your backup drives connected (tethered or networked) then there’s growing evidence that the backups will be targeted by ransomware before your active data. And some ransomware gangs are cold-calling if you try to restore from backups.

Millions of IoT devices are vulnerable to a newly discovered vulnerability, thousands of PickPoint lockers, LSU Health New Orleans, AspenPointe, and PlutoTV have been hacked. Dell was hacked years ago which resulted in their data being abused for scam calls to Dell customers. Class action happening now.

Walmart routers and many TCL TVs have backdoors, Gionee implanted malware in 21 million phones, and battery backups are used to infect mobile devices. Google Services are still being used to distribute malware, Google ads are being used to steal MetaMask. A year after the US Army’s Stryker armored vehicles were hacked the Army is finally building security defenses, and in other US military news, the military violates your privacy through third-party apps.

Social media icons are being used to inject web skimmers that are now using WebSockets to exfiltrate data using secure CloudFlare services.

If you trust your choice of password simply because a poorly designed study says that it would take thousands or millions of years to brute force a password then you should take a look at how a single quantum computer process the equivalent of 2.6 billion (with a “b”) years of computation in only 4 minutes, but using the latest quantum hardware isn’t even necessary for the vast majority of passwords since humans are so predictable.

In a random collection of news: MBAM is disabling Windows Printers. HMRC (the UKs equivalent of the IRS) has been abused to send phishing and malware messages (I warned them about this months ago). There is no end to PayPal’s hypocrisy, nor their censorship. GitHub reversed it’s decision about YouTube-dl. Twitch has failed basic English. Comcast is capping data in 12-ish more states next year, but giving service away for free to many others. The running joke about how social censorship would be similar to your phone company preventing you from talking about certain subjects has proven to be more prescient than humorous. Cannibalism is coming to a grocery store near you. A few years ago I found that a number of IT and HVAC services in the SF bay area had their Google listings hijacked and reassigned as Korean Restaurants. It was only the beginning.

The “science” behind masks has never been scientific, but that won’t stop petty tyrants from mandating their use even while actively eating or drinking, or censoring dissenting voices. False positive tests are still leading the charge, but lockdown-related homicides are still exceeding “COVID” deaths. Censors will always target studies that demonstrate overreaching government intervention.

California is pushing out the Orwellian exposure tracking and notifications across the state.

Now for the good news:

When this election is finally resolved it’s unlikely to get to this point again any time in the near future.

As a perfect example of what 2020 has brought us – the South African lottery drew 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, which is insane enough, but the real story is that 20 people had actually selected those numbers.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 2.5 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, and Servicing Stack (~ 1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iCloud for Windows 11.5, and iOS 14.2.1. Expect an update to iTunes, too, in the next few days. These are security updates.

iOS 14.2.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current version.

Adobe Flash Player 32.0.0.465 is a security update. Since Flash is going the way of the dodo along with the Year from Hell, this could very well be the last time you may have to install a Flash update. You’re still better off removing it yourself instead of updating. 🙂
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flash
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flashie
Mac: https://12pd.com/click?flashmac

Google Chrome OS 87.0.4280.88 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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.

The release of macOS Big Sur (11.0) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v2009) is huge (about 18% larger than v2004, which was 25% larger than any prior build) so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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 or use, reducing the attack surface.

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.

BullZip PDF Printer 12.0.0.2872 adds several new features, including improved email support, compatibility, and concurrent printing. This is not a security update.
https://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php#download

Crucial Storage Executive 6.09 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

Logitech Options 8.36.86 allows changing function keys, customizing mouse buttons, and adds on-screen battery notifications. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

Logitech Options for macOS 8.36.76 adds Big Sur support, allows changing function keys, customizing mouse buttons, gesture controls, and adds on-screen battery notifications. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

nVidia 457.51 adds support for new hardware, updates SLI profiles, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Brave 1.17.75 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 87.0.4280.88 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 87.0.664.57 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 83.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.5.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.5.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 3.5.2115.73 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Thunderbird 78.5.1 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.

Dropbox 111.4.472 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update. This version is not reliable on Windows 8.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 11.4 resolves several bugs, and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

iCloud for Windows 11.5 is a security update.
https://apple.com/icloud

Technitium DNS Server 5.5 adds support for SRV records and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

WinSCP 5.17.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.4.59296.1207 adds meeting reminders, warnings for meetings that are only partially encrypted, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.8 updates libraries, improves sync and face tracking, adds ability to call shortcuts, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

iTunes 12.11 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Picard 2.5.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2020.12.07 is a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

PlayStation PS4 8.01 improves reliability. This is not a security update. Note that Sony changed the URLs without adding redirects, so the new location to download updates has changed:
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/

Office Updates

One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.

Blender 2.91.0 adds several new features and controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Adobe Acrobat (version yet to be announced) is a security update. Use Help, Check for updates to get the most current version…when it’s released.

Adobe Reader (version yet to be announced) is a security update. Use Help, Check for updates to get the most current version…when it’s released.

Adobe Lightroom 10.1 is a security update.
https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/all/desktop

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.7.0 and 6.4.8.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb20-72.html

Adobe Prelude 9.0.2 is a security update.
https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/all/desktop

Security Software Updates

One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.

Gpg4win 3.1.14 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

Nmap 7.90 adds 1,200 new fingerprints, resolves over 70 bugs, and provides several new features. It also removes silent install. 🙁 This is a security update.
https://nmap.org/download.html

Npcap 1.00 is the first stable release of Npcap. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

RogueKiller 14.8.0 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.31.2 resolves reliability in Chromium. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Tails 4.13 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

OpenSSL 1.1.1i is a security update. Releases of OpenSSL always trigger updates for every other platform that uses networking in any way, so expect a series of updates for every other web platform you use in the near future.
https://www.openssl.org/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2021.0.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.0.9 adds support for new encodings, resolves several bugs, and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.7 adds Privacy integration, unlock with Apple Watch, MDM integration, improved password generator, and resolves over 100 bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

Agent Ransack 2019.2951 improves performance at idle and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Bitwarden 1.23.1 resolves bugs with SSO and improves GDPR compliance. This should be treated as a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

DesktopOK 8.08 resolves several bugs and updates language support. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Etcher 1.5.112 updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1000 resolves a bug with silent installation, wide-character comparison, name munging and other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

FileLocator Pro 8.5.2951 improves performance when idle and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

GoodSync 11.4.9 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

Homedale 1.90 adds support to load access points from CSV and improves frequency usage chart. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

HWMonitor 1.43 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

MS ISO Downloader 8.44 adds support for new media (including Win10 20H2v2) and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-and-office-iso-download-tool

NTLite 2.0.0.7726 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.0 adds shred files support. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PointerStick 4.88 updates language support. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

Rufus 3.13 adds support for a 20H2v2, adds support to cheat certain disk images, improves error handling, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_IE.html

Sysmon 12.03 fixes reporting and a possible crash condition for certain rules. This should be treated as a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

SDelete 2.04 provides a new switch to avoid file/directory ambiguity. This should be treated as a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

WinObj 2.23 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

TaskSchedulerView 1.60 adds support for exporting tasks to JSON, and updates HTML export to HTML5. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TeamViewer 15.12.4 resolves several bugs, improves performance, and adds support for more web cameras. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows/

WinScan2PDF 6.33 improves detection and operation with some hardware, updates language support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DB Browser for SQLite 3.12.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://sqlitebrowser.org/

Inno Setup 6.1.2 adds Print support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.jrsoftware.org/isdl.php

Node.js 12.20.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.15.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 15.3.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.34.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Web Package Updates

These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

Adminer 4.7.8 adds support for PHP 8 and disallows connecting to privileged ports. This is not a security update.
https://www.adminer.org/en/

Drupal 9.0.10 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

Joomla 3.9.23 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

Nextcloud Server 20.0.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.5.8 adds new functionality to AJAX form and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

ScreenConnect 20.12.1734.7640 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.6 updates libraries, adds several new features and blocks, a new theme, and more. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/download/

BuddyPress 6.4.0 is a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.3.1 now passes last_contacted based on submission timestamp. This is not a security update.

Multisite Enhancements 1.5.4 fixes favicon. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.1.2 improves stability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 4.8.0 resolves several bugs. 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/