Updates 2024-02-13

Happy Valentine’s Day, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for February, 2024. There were 230+ major hacks and over 200 application updates this month. It’s a big month, with about 3.5 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

23andMe, Inc., Academy Mortgage Corporation, AHS Management Company, Inc., Air Methods, LLC, Alkem Laboratories, AlmerysAlpine Halo9 iLX-F509, American Meat Companies, Android TV and eCos set-top boxes, Android, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, AnyDesk, Apple iPhone, Apple Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch, AppleTV, Ashford, Inc., Autel MaxiCharger AC Wallbox Commercial, Automotive Grade Linux, Azura Vascular Care, Azusa Unified School District, Bake ‘N Joy Foods, Inc., Bank of America, Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Blink Mobility, Bosch Thermostats, Brady Martz & Associates PC, 3 million Breathless toothbrushes, BrightStar Care, Buildkit, Burr & Forman LLP, Cadence Bank, California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), Calvià City Council, Canterbury County Council, Carnegie Mellon University, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Inc., ChargePoint Home Flex, a China-based financial MNC, Chuze Fitness, Citrix Netscaler, Cloudflare, CNO ACE, Coastal Hospice & Palliative Care, Coastal Plains Community Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, Colorado Ophthalmology Associates, PC, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Columbus Regional Healthcare System, Concentra Health Services, Concord Music Group, Inc., Connecticut College, Coppola Physical Therapy and Fitness Gyms, Covenant Care California, LLC, Coventry school, Crace Medical Centre, Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons, P.C., Dickinson County Health Department, Docker, Dover District Council, Dutch Ministry of Defence, ElGuindy, Meyer & Koegel, APC, Emmanuel College, EMPORIA EV Charger Level 2, EquiLend Holdings, Europcar, ExpressVPN, Family Healthcare Center, FedEx  Corporation Group Health Plan, Fidelity National Financial, First Financial Security, Inc.,
FortinetFortiOS SSL VPN, FortiSIEM, Fortra GoAnywhere MFT, Framework Computer, Freehold Township schools, Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Gamma Strategies, GEICO Corporation, Georgia’s Fulton County, 5,300+ GitLab instances, Glendale Unified School District, Global Affairs CanadaGlow, Goledo Finance, Google Bazel, Google Chrome, Hair Club for Men, Ltd., Inc., Halara, Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, Hanmi Bank, Hathway, Health Alliance Medical Plans, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Hipocrate Information System, HMG Healthcare, HopSkipDrive, HORNE, LLP, HP ink cartridges, Hyundai Motor Europe, Infosys McCamish Systems LLC, InHealth Technologies, INTEGRIS Health, Islamic Charity in Saudi Arabia, ITITAN Hosting, Ivanti Avalanche, Ivanti Connect Secure VPN, Ivanti Policy Secure Gateway, J.D. Gilmour, Jason’s Deli, 45,000+ Jenkins instances, JetBrains TeamCity, 65 job listing sites, JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Charging Station, Juniper, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Kansas State University, Keenan & Associates, Kern Regional Center, Kyocera printers, Liberty Hospital, Lineage, Inc, Livall, LoanDepot, Lutheran World Federation, Marywood Nursing Care Center, Mastodon, McCarthy & Holthus, LLP, Medical Eye Services, Inc., Mercedes-Benz, Microbe & Lab, Microsoft (again!), Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft SQL servers, Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc., Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP, MyPertamina, Nabholz Construction Company Employee Welfare Health Plan, NASCO, National Advisors Holdings, Inc., Nautic Partners, LLC, Navvis & Company, LLC, Naz.API, Oak View Group, Omaha Firefighters Healthcare Trust, Orange Spain, Orange Unified School District, OrthoArkansas, PA Employee Benefit Plan, Ozys, Parkovy, Payoneer, Pennsylvania Emergency Dispatch, Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc., Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100, Pioneer DMH-WT7600NEX, Planet Home Lending, Planeta, PLUS FIVE FIVE, Prestige Care, Inc., Radiant Capital, Rajasthan government (India), Rebekah Children’s Services, Ripple, Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Roundcube email server, Saint Anthony Hospital, Schneider Electric Sustainability, SendGrid, Singing River Gulfport, Singing River Health System, SinglePoint Outsourcing, Inc., Socket, Somesing, SonicWall next-generation firewalls, Sony XAV-AX5500, Spoutible, Summit Medical Group, PLLC, Sun Pain Management, LLC, Tesla Infotainment System, Tesla Modem, Tesla, TGI Direct, Thanet District Council, The Burton Corporation, TIC Hosting, Tietoevry, Tigo, Torchbyte, TP-Link Omada, Trello, Trezor, Trinity Universal Insurance Company, TRISTAR Insurance  Group, U.S. Renal Care, Inc., Ubiquiti Connect EV Station, UEFI Firmware, United Regional Health Care System, Unitronics PLCs, US Department of Health and Human Services, US GSA, US military, Ventura County Credit Union, Veolia North America, Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon, Viamedis, VMware vCenter Server, Walker Therapeutic & Educational Programs, Washington National Insurance Company, Webber Chiropractic Sports Clinic, Inc., Weslend Financial, Windows SmartScreen, WinStar, Wise Lending, and WPS Office have reported hacking or compromises this month.

Atlassian Jira, Microsoft Teams (twice), Parkovy, Tietoevry, and T-Mobile have suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke spellcheck in Microsoft Teams, the ability to install updates directly for Microsoft Teams without enabling Delivery Optimization, search in OutlookGoogle Pixel phones, Outlook.com via Outlook, Windows Sysprep, Windows updates.

There is a new “flaw” in the Windows 11 installer, which allows incompatible hardware to be installed to and activated. The Microsoft ms-appinstaller protocol handler is being exploited again to install malware.

The German railway system still uses MS-DOS and Windows 3.11 to manage their displays. Wrenches and toothbrushes are the latest victims in hijacking efforts. A new study demonstrates that the new trend of using AI to write code generates less secure code. SIM swapping is still quite popular.

Google is resuming their migration to Manifest V3, which will result in many content and ad filters failing, as well as many other browser extensions, in only 5 short months.

Amazon AWS is now charging for IPv4 addresses.

While unlikely to make a difference, CA is now suing streaming media services for violating the CCPA. The UN is pushing for a “cybercrime” treaty designed to criminalize all efforts to research malware, security, and vulnerability testing, even when the target of the research has requested it. The treaty would also allow international courts to be used to target anyone using encryption for private communication channels, such as PGP, Telegram, or Signal.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday is a big one this month. The typical computer should see roughly 3.5 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates to address 79 vulnerabilities in .NET, .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Azure Active Directory, Azure Connected Machine Agent, Azure DevOps, Azure File Sync, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Stack, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Internet Shortcut Files, Microsoft ActiveX, Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Entra Jira, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), Microsoft ODBC Driver, Microsoft Office OneNote, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Power Platform Connector, Microsoft SQL Data Provider, Microsoft Teams for Android, Microsoft WDAC ODBC Driver, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, Microsoft Windows DNS, Microsoft Windows, Servicing Stack Update, Skype for Business, SQL Server, Trusted Compute Base, Visual Studio, Win32k, Windows AppX, Windows DNS Client, Windows DNS Server, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Kernel, Windows LDAP, Windows Network Address Translation (NAT), Windows OLE, Windows Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM), Windows Printing Service, Windows SmartScreen, Windows USB Generic Parent Driver, Windows USB Serial Driver, and MSRT (~ 2.0 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.8.1, iOS 16.7.5, iOS 17.3, iOS 17.3.1, iPadOS 15.8.1, iPadOS 16.7.5, iPadOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3.1, macOS 14.3, macOS 14.3.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.3, macOS Sonoma 14.3, macOS Ventura 13.6.4, Magic Keyboard Firmware 2.0.6, Safari 17.3.1, tvOS 17.3, visionOS 1.0.3, watchOS 10.3, and watchOS 10.3.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.8.1, 16.7.5 and 17.3.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.8.1, 16.7.5 and 17.3.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 10.3.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 17.3 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

visionOS 1.0.3 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 120.0.6099.235 and 121.0.6167.159 are security updates. 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 Sonoma (14.x) means that macOS Big Sur (11.x) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Monterey (12) 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 — and final — release of the Windows 10 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. All non-LTS versions of Windows 10 other than v22H2 are now out of support, upgrade to v22H2 now. If you aren’t sure whether you are using LTS, you aren’t. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v23H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 12 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

Windows 11 is now stable and can be upgraded to if your hardware supports it, but I recommend you continue to use Windows 10 until early 2025 before you consider switching to it.

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.

AMD Adrenalin 24.1.1 adds support for new hardware, AFMF and upscaling improvements, and resolves several bugs. AMD Link is being discontinued with this version. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.7.2 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Wacom Driver 6.4.5-5 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.wacom.com/en-us/support/product-support/drivers

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.62.162 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Firefox 122.0.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 115.7.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Google Chrome 121.0.6167.160 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 121.0.2277.113 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

SeaMonkey 2.53.18.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 6.5.3206.61 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.

DavMail Gateway 6.2.1 is a security update.
https://davmail.sourceforge.net/

Spark 3.13.4.66391 adds deep link email sharing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark for macOS 3.13.4.66401 adds deep link email sharing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 115.7.0 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 8.0.8 is a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk 8.0.0 for macOS is a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 8.6.0 resolves over 100 bugs. This is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 192.4.4605 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

Facebook Messenger 205.0.0.11.228 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download

FileZilla Client 3.66.5 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FileZilla Server 1.8.1 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Google Drive 86.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Grocy Desktop 2.9.0 updates library and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/grocy/grocy-desktop

MeshCentral 1.1.20 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://meshcentral.com/info/downloads.html

Microsoft Teams 1.7.00.1864 adds several new features, including improved domain & email integration. This is not a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Nextcloud Server 28.0.2 resolves more than 100 bugs. This is a security update.

Homepage

Npcap 1.79 resolves a couple reliability bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 5.13.23 resolves several bugs. This is not a security udpate.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Pocketnet-Core 0.22.1 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://pocketnet.app/

Pocketnet-GUI 0.8.77 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://pocketnet.app/

Rclone 1.65.2 updates libraries and resolves a couple important reliability bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal 6.47.0 makes several improvements to emoji and emoticon support. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Signal (Android) 6.46.7 doesn’t have a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Skype 8.110.0.218 improves stability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Syncthing 1.27.3 resolves several bugs and improves CLI complettion. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Technitium DNS Server 12.0.1 moves to .NET 8, resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 4.14.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Telegram (Android) 10.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/apps

Tigase Server 8.3.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/tigase/tigase-server/releases/latest

Trillian 6.5.0.38 resolves a mute bug. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

Zoom 5.17.7.31859 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 4.0.1 improves tracking, compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Bitwig Studio 5.1.3 adds a few new filters and modules, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

Grayjay 233 resolves several crashes and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://grayjay.app/index.html

Kodi 20.4 resolves dozens of bugs and improves compatibility. This is a security update.
https://kodi.tv/

MediaMonkey 5.2 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.mediamonkey.com/windows#download

Plex Desktop 1.86.1.4076 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.55.1.4084 updates libraries. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.40.0.7998 improves native tagging, music filtering, resolves several bugs. This should be treated as 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.

GDevelop 5.3.189 resolves over 20 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Minecraft Server (Bedrock) 1.20.61.01 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock

PS5 2024.206 is a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2024-01-13 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110

Office Updates

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

Adobe Reader DC 23.008.20533 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Commerce 2.4.6-p4, 2.4.5-p6, 2.4.4-p7, 2.4.3-ext-6, 2.4.2-ext-6, 2.4.1-ext-6, 2.4.0-ext-6, and 2.3.7-p4-ext-6 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb24-03.html

Magento Open Source 2.4.6-p4, 2.4.5-p6, and 2.4.4-p7 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb24-03.html

Adobe Substance 3D Painter 9.1.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/substance3d_painter/apsb24-04.html

Adobe Acrobat 23.008.20533 and 20.005.30574 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb24-07.html

Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server 2022.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/framemaker-publishing-server/apsb24-10.html

Adobe Audition 24.2 and 23.6.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/audition/apsb24-11.html

Adobe Substance 3D Designer 13.1.1 iis a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/substance3d_designer/apsb24-13.html

Calibre 7.5.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

Columns++ 1.0.2 resolves a critical stability bug. This should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/Coises/ColumnsPlusPlus

ImageMagick 7.1.1-28 updates libraries and resolves over a dozen bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/

Kindle for PC 2.3.70682 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc

LibreOffice Fresh 24.2.0 is the first version released with the new numbering scheme (year and month of release). This version resolves almost 300 bugs. This is a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided by most people.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Manager 24.2.13.1295 doesn’t have any detailed changes in the changelog for the most recent several versions over the last month, so this should be treated as a security update.
https://www.manager.io/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.11.1 updates libraries and resolves over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.

Homepage

Notepad++ 8.6.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

PDF-XChange Editor 10.2.1.385 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

QuickBooks Pro 2022 20231120-R13_63 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products

QuickBooks Pro 2023 20231107-R9_121 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products

uniCenta oPOS 5.0 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://unicenta.com/

Security Software Updates

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

Gpg4win 4.3.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

Java 8u401 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

KeePass 2.56 improves integration and search feature, resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.6.8.311 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

Microsoft Edge Policy 2024.02.06 adds blocklist for extension install types and the ability to preserve Manifest v2 availability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Edge-Enterprise/blob/public/edgeenterprise/microsoft-edge-policies.md

OpenSSL 3.2.1 is a security update.
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

ProtonVPN 3.3.5 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

RogueKiller 15.14.0 is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Stinger 13.0.0.64 is a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx

Symantec Norton Removal Tool 20240206 improves removal. This is not a security update.
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v60392881

Tails 5.22 updates libraries, included apps, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://tails.net/install/download/index.en.html

YARA 4.5.0 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/yara/

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 13.0.1.1 adds support for new encodings and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

HandBrake 1.7.3 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

MakeMKV 1.17.6 improves tolerance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.makemkv.com/download/

StreamFab 6.1.6.5 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 2.0.1.1 adds support for denoise, improves upscaling performance, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/unifab.htm

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password 8.10.24 resolves several bugs, improves idle behavior, and improves integration. This should be treated as a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Agent Ransack 2022.3420 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Agent Ransack – Download

AMD Ryzen Master 2.13.0.2908 adds support for new hardware and improves Curve Optimizer settings. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/ryzen-master

AOMEI Partition Assistant 10.3.0 adds Bitlocker support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

Autoruns 14.11 fixes a parameter parsing bug. This is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

balenaEtcher 1.18.11 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://etcher.balena.io/

Bitwarden 2024.2.0 improves self-hosting controls, TOTP capture and import. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 6.20.10897 improves cleaning, adds bookmark backup removal, and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

CPU-Z Installer 2.09 adds support for new hardware and adds the ability to benchmark a single coreset/cluster. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Cygwin 3.5.0 drops support for older Windows versions, adds several new raw maps, API calls, and mixer control. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

Dell Command Update 5.2.0 improves controls and notifications. This is not a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 11.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 4.1.7.0 improves PDF search, date-time display, adds mutliple custom editor support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

email-oauth2-proxy 2024-01-20 adds support for GWS Cloud Service accounts, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://github.com/simonrob/email-oauth2-proxy

Everything CLI 1.1.0.27 improves performance and adds x64 build. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.55 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

FileLocator Pro 2022.3420 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

FileLocator Pro – Download

Fing 3.6.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows

Go 1.22.0 adds several new language constructs, improved auditing and performance, adds go/version, and enhanced routing. This is not a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.5.5 improves compatibility and resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Hiren’s BootCD PE 1.0.4 adds several new utilities, updates libraries and applications, adds hundreds of new drives, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

Download

Homedale 2.10 adds support for MU-MIMO detection. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

HWiNFO 7.72 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.

Download HWiNFO

Inkchip WIC 1.17 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://inkchip.net/wic/

Kingston SSD Manager 1.5.3.6 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/ssdmanager

MS Printer Metadata Troubleshooter 1.0.0.1 is a security update.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034510-microsoft-printer-metadata-troubleshooter-tool-december-2023-b3197f24-fd25-430d-96d2-70f2044ce6a1

OSForensics 11.0.1004 improves compatibility and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/download.html

osquery 5.11.0 updates libraries, adds support for new tables, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.78.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Rufus 4.4 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_US/

ScreenConnect 23.9.7.8804 is a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SearchMyFiles 3.24 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

Sysmon 15.12 resolves several stability and reliability bugs. This is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

Ventoy 1.0.97 adds support for FreeBSD 14.0 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

WhyNotWin11 2.6.0.0 improves detection and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

WizTree 4.18 improves scan performance and filter behavior, improves Copy/Cut/Delete, progress bar and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

ZoomIt 8.01 adds DemoType (autotyping) support and fixes a crash. This is not a security update.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/zoomit

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Android Studio 2023.1.1.28 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

GitHub Desktop 3.3.8 resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 Redistributable 14.38.33135.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.3.0 is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

MySQL Server 8.0.36 is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

Node.js 21.6.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 20.11.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Python 3.12.2 is a security update.
https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/

SQLite 3.45.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.86.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

WinMerge 2.16.38 improves BOM detection and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PPSSPP 1.17.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ppsspp.org/download/

VirtualBox 7.0.14 resolves more than a dozen 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.

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.26 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Grocy 4.1.0 updates library and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/grocy/grocy

HumHub 1.15.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Home

Invision Community 4.7.15 resolves over 50 bugs. This is a security update.
https://invisioncommunity.com/

MailEnable 10.48 resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

ownCloud Client 5.2.1.13040 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

Piwigo 14.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

WordPress 6.4.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 5.3.1 resolves several bugs and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

BuddyPress 12.2.0 is a minor security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Contact Form 7 5.8.7 improves compatibility and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

Duplicator 1.5.8.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Duplicator – WordPress Migration & Backup Plugin

Email Log 2.4.9 adds controls to limit actions. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/email-log/

Redirection 5.4.2 removes Geo IP and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/

Social Post Feed 4.2.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/

Sucuri Security 1.8.41 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sucuri-scanner/

WooCommerce 8.5.2 resolves a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WordPress Importer 0.8.2 updates documentation and improves workflow. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-importer/

WP Cerber Security 9.6.2 updates design, adds event insights, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wpcerber.com/

WP Mail SMTP 3.11.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/

WPBakery 7.4 adds built-in SEO toolkit and improves social media controls. This is not a security update.
https://wpbakery.com/

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

Regards,

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

 

Updates 2023-07-11

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for July, 2023.

This month has actually been pretty quiet. There were only 140 major hacks, and over 145 application updates this month. There are only about 4 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

1st Source Bank, Activate Healthcare LLC, Advanced Medical Management, LLC, American Airlines, American Board of Internal Medicine, Apple iOS, Arris devices, ARx Patient Solutions, ASUS routers, Atlantic General Hospital, Atomic Wallet, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Bangladesh government web portal, Barracuda ESG, Barrow County, Georgia, Beacon Ridge, BORN Ontario, BreachForums Clone, Bristol Myers Squibb, CalPERS, ChatGPT, Chilean Army, Cisco data center switches, City of San Luis, ClearMedi, Commonwealth Health Physician Network-Cardiology, Community Research Foundation, Core Recovery, LLC, D-Link devices, Des Moines Public Schools, Desert Physicians Management, Deutsche Bank AG, Dozor-Teleport, D’Youville University, EncroChat, Extreme Networks, Floating Point Group, FortiGate firewalls, G7 summit, Genworth, GlobalHealth Holdings, LLC, Grafana, Great Valley Cardiology, Hashflow, HCA Healthcare, Henrietta Johnson Medical Center, Illinois, Imagine360, Indonesian passport system, iOttie, Itasca County Health & Human Services, Jones Lang LaSalle, JumpCloud, K&L Gates, Kannact, Inc., Kinmax, Kirkland & Ellis, Lansing Community College, LetMeSpy, Limbach Facility Services LLC Group Benefit Plan, Locally, Louisiana OMV, Lumberton ISD, Maimonides Medical Center, Mastodon, MediaTek devices, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft, Missouri, Mondelez International, Mount Desert Island Hospital, MOVEit Transfer, Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter, National Student Clearinghouse, Nebraska, Netgear devices, New Horizons Medical, Inc, New York City Department of Education, Nickelodeon, Nova Scotia, nuclear weapons experts, Ofcom, ONIX Group, Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon DMV, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Paris High School, Parker Drilling Company Group Health and Flexible Benefit Plan, PBI Research Services, Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A., Pennsylvania, Petro-Canada Gas Stations, Poly Network, Port of Nagoya, Japan, Proskauer Rose, Radisson, Razer, Realm IDX, Recovery Centers of America, Senior Choice, Inc, Shell Oil, Siemens Energy, Solar Energy Monitoring Systems, SolarView Systems, South Carolina, South Dakota, South Suburban Surgical Suites, LLC, Southwest Airlines, Sturdy Finance, Suncor Energy, Tenda devices, Texas, The Atrium, The Patriot, The Williamsport Home, Tidewater Diagnostic Imaging, Ltd., TomTom, TP-Link devices, TSMC, U.S. Department of Energy, Ukrainian Government FaceBook Page, Ultimate Member WordPress Plug-In, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, University of Manchester, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UofL Health, UPMC, UPS, US Federal agencies, USPTO, Vermillion, Vincera Core Physicians, Vincera Imaging LLC, Vincera Rehab LLC, Vincera Surgery Center, Vitra Home Care, LLC, Zellis, Zyxel devices, and Zyxel NAS have reportedly been hacked or compromised this month.

The state of Alaska, Taos, Azure, Microsoft 365 (multiple times), Outlook.com, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook for the web have suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke .NET WebApps, default browser GPO, Apple Safari on mobile, Windows Start Menu, and Windows File Explorer.

The US Federal government is still using unsecured devices across 50 different agencies. Sweden is fining companies that use Google Analytics. Microsoft is going to be permanently storing all the AI interactions with Bing to “better serve you.” Facebook parent company Meta says the only way to delete your account from their defective Threads service is to delete your Instagram account.

Now for the good news:

A federal judge has blocked the federal government from orchestrating censorship with private tech companies.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday is huge this month. The typical computer should see roughly 4 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions 22H2 should now be installed. Sadly, the new “Moments” features on Windows 11 will insert advertisements in the Start menu and Control Panel. Just another sign of the continuing decline of Windows.

Microsoft released updates to address 132 vulnerabilities in .NET and Visual Studio, ASP.NET and .NET, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft Media-Wiki Extensions, Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Power Apps, Microsoft Printer Drivers, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Mono Authenticode, Paint 3D, Role: DNS Server, Service Fabric, Visual Studio Code, Windows Active Directory Certificate Services, Windows Active Template Library, Windows Admin Center, Windows App Store, Windows Authentication Methods, Windows CDP User Components, Windows Certificates, Windows Clip Service, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows Cluster Server, Windows CNG Key Isolation Service, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry, Windows CryptoAPI, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Defender, Windows Deployment Services, Windows EFI Partition, Windows Error Reporting, Windows Failover Cluster, Windows Geolocation Service, Windows HTTP.sys, Windows Image Acquisition, Windows Installer, Windows Kernel, Windows Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, Windows Layer-2 Bridge Network Driver, Windows Local Security Authority (LSA), Windows Media, Windows Message Queuing, Windows MSHTML Platform, Windows Netlogon, Windows Network Load Balancing, Windows NT OS Kernel, Windows ODBC Driver, Windows OLE, Windows Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) SnapIn, Windows Partition Management Driver, Windows Peer Name Resolution Protocol, Windows PGM, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows Remote Desktop, Windows Remote Procedure Call, Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), Windows Server Update Service, Windows SmartScreen, Windows SPNEGO Extended Negotiation, Windows Transaction Manager, Windows Update Orchestrator Service, Windows VOLSNAP.SYS, Windows Volume Shadow Copy, Windows Win32K, and MSRT (~ 3 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.7.7, iOS 16.5.1, iPadOS 15.7.7, iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.8, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, macOS Ventura 13.4.1, Rapid Security Responses for iOS 16.5.1, Rapid Security Responses for iPadOS 16.5.1, Rapid Security Responses for macOS Ventura 13.4.1, Safari 16.5.1, Safari 16.5.2, watchOS 8.8.1, and watchOS 9.5.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.7.7 and 16.5.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.7.7 and 16.5.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8.8.1 and 9.5.2 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

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 Ventura (13.x) means that macOS Catalina (10.15) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Big Sur (11) 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 — and final — release of the Windows 10 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. All non-LTS versions of Windows 10 other than v22H2 are now out of support, upgrade to v22H2 now. If you aren’t sure whether you are using LTS, you aren’t. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 12 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

Windows 11 is now stable and can be upgraded to if your hardware supports it, but I recommend you continue to use Windows 10 until early 2025 before you consider switching to it.

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.

AMD Adrenalin 23.7.1 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Crucial Storage Executive 9.04 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

DS4Windows 3.2.12 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/Ryochan7/DS4Windows/releases/latest

Garmin Express 7.17.3 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/software/express/

Nvidia Driver 474.44 is a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Xerox Smart Start 1.9.12.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.support.xerox.com/en-us/content/143617

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.52.130 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 114.0.5735.198 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 114.0.1823.79 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 115.0.2 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 115.0.2 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Vivaldi 6.1.3035.84 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Microsoft Edge WebView2 114.0.1823.79 is a security update.
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/

Email Updates

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

Spark 3.6.5.51733 resolves several bugs and improves mail collections. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark (macOS) 3.6.5.51732 resolves several bugs and improves mail collections. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 102.13.0 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.

Dropbox 177.4.5399 resolves a reliability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

Facebook Messenger 190.0.0.9.106 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download

FileZilla Client 3.65.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 12.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 77.0 is a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Microsoft Teams 1.6.00.16472 resolves a couple bugs and adds user feedback. This is not a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Pocketnet-Core 0.21.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://pocketnet.app/

PushBullet 502 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.pushbullet.com/

Rclone 1.63.0 adds several new features and resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal 6.24.0 adds search to mentions. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Signal (Android) 6.24.4 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Syncthing 1.23.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Technitium DNS Server 11.3 adds new record types and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 4.8.4 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WinSCP 6.1.1 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.15.3.18551 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 3.0.10 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Bitwig Studio 5.0 is a major update add over a hundred new features, objects, object controls, and resolves over 20 bugs.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

darktable 4.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/

Kodi 20.2 resolves almost 40 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://kodi.tv/

Plex Desktop 1.73.1.3905 improves the Discover feature. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.42.0.3898 resolves a couple bugs with Live TV. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.32.4.7195 resolves several bugs. This is 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.

GameMaker Studio 2023.6.0.89 resolves over 60 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

GDevelop 5.2.166 enables 3D editing for all users, adds 3D models to the asset store and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Lego Studio 2.23.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/ldd

Steam 2023.06.14 resolves over a hundred bugs and improves the notification and in-game chat experience. 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.

Adobe ColdFusion 2018u17, 2021u7, and 2023u1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-40.html

Adobe InDesign 18.4 and 17.4.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb23-38.html

Adobe Reader DC 23.003.20244 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Blender 3.6 vastly improves performance and adds several new features, including cache, UI, text and selection improvements, new Simulation abilities and UV improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Calibre 6.22.0 adds support for new hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

ImageMagick 7.1.1-12 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/

Kdenlive 23.04.2 improves timeline and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://kdenlive.org/

Notepad++ 8.5.4 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 5.0.7 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 10.0.1.371 is a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Security Software Updates

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

Chainsaw 2.7.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

HTTP Toolkit 1.12.8 doesn’t provide a changelog so should betreated as a security update.
https://httptoolkit.tech/

Microsoft Edge Policy 2023.07.05 adds new policies.
https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Edge-Enterprise/blob/public/edgeenterprise/microsoft-edge-policies.md

PureOS 10.3 improves security and management. THis is a security update.
https://pureos.net/download/

RogueKiller 15.11.0 is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Stinger 12.2.0.641 adds several new detections. This is not a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx

SuperAntiSpyware 10.0.1254 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Camtasia 23.1.0 adds variable speed playback, reflections, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

Open Broadcaster Software 29.1.3 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://obsproject.com/

ScreenToGif 2.38.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.1.1.0 adds support for new encodings. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

IsoBuster 5.2 doesn’t adds support for spanned archives, new file type support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.isobuster.com/download.php

StreamFab 6.1.3.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 1.0.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/unifab.htm

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 8.10.8 vastly improves LastPass import, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 8.10.8 vastly improves LastPass import, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

7-Zip 23.01 improves translation details and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.7-zip.org/

Agent Ransack 2022.3405 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Autoruns 14.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Bitwarden 2023.5.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 6.13.10517 resolves several bugs and adds cleanup support for a dozen more applications. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Cygwin 3.4.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 10.88 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 4.0.26.0 switches underlying .NET support to v7, which significantly improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

ESEDatabaseView 1.73 adds full screen support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/ese_database_view.html

Etcher 1.18.8 fixes the support link. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

FileLocator Pro 2022.3405 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

Fing 3.4.0 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows

Go 1.20.6 is a security update.
https://go.dev/

Homedale 2.07 adds cosmetic changes for local MAC addresses. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

HWiNFO 7.50 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

Kingston SSD Manager 1.5.3.2 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/ssdmanager

ManageWirelessNetworks 1.12 adds a sort-by toolbar button. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/manage_wireless_networks.html

MobileFileSearch 1.46 adds a sort-by toolbar button. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/mobile_device_file_search.html

MPAM 1.393.60.0 adds support for new detections. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/defenderupdates

NetworkTrafficView 2.50 adds support for the sapics geo-IP databases. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_traffic_view.html

NTLite 2023.6.9292 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

OSForensics 10.0.1014 adds new filesto detection. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/download.html

AOMEI Partition Assistant 10.1.0 adds interactive UEFI BIOS import and export support. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PowerToys 0.71.0 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

ProcessMonitor 3.95 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

RoboForm 9.4.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

ScreenConnect 23.5.5.8587 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SimpleWMIView 1.55 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

Sysmon 15.0 is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TaskSchedulerView 1.73 adds a sort-by button to the toolbar and resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

Unity 2023.1.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

Ventoy 1.0.93 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

WinGet 1.5.1881 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest

ZoomText 2023 2023.2306.21.400 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

GitHub Desktop 3.2.6 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Godot 4.1 resolves dozens of bugs and adds several new features. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

GitHub includefragment 6.3.0 adds a customelements manifest. This is not a security update.
https://github.github.io/include-fragment-element/

Node.js 20.4.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.20.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 18.16.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 6.4.0.6234 adds several new features and resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

Visual Studio Code 1.80 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.

Invision Community 4.7.11.1 is a security update.
https://invisioncommunity.com/

Drupal 9.5.10 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 4.3.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

OpenCart 4.0.2.2 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.opencart.com/

ownCloud Client 4.1.0.11250 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

Piwigo 13.8.0 is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

Akismet 5.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

Autoptimize 3.1.8.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

Duplicator 1.5.5 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/

myStickymenu 2.6.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mystickymenu/

W3 Total Cache 2.3.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

Widgets on Pages 1.8.1 resolves a compatibility bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/widgets-on-pages/

WooCommerce 7.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

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

Regards,

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

 

Updates 2022-03-08

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for March, 2022. It’s a big one. This month is ugly – and not just in the tech world. It seems that in the same breath that the elite acknowledged and swept the COVID hysteria under the rug, admitting their intervention was entirely propaganda, every government, financial system, media outlet, and software vendor has chosen to simultaneously swallowed a new collection of (quickly disproven) propaganda without the slightest hint of irony. Sigh. We can only do what we can do, but do not be afraid to talk about it. Censorship is how you make enemies, not friends.

This Month in Technology

A1 Hrvatska, Adafruit, Aetna ACE, Allen ISD, Alliance Physical Therapy Group, LLC, Amazon Alexa, AON, Ascension Michigan (single affiliated covered entity) ACE, Asterisk, Asustor NAS devices, Axeda agent, Axis Communications, Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, Beetle Eye, Belarus online services, Bible Fellowship Church Homes, Bronx Addiction Services Integrated Concepts Systems, Inc., CA State Bar, CareOregon Advantage, Caritas Internationalis, CBORD’s GET Mobile security platform, Charlotte Radiology, Cisco’s Email Security Appliance, Coinbase, Community Medical Center, Comprehensive Health Services LLC, Conti ransomware gang, Credit Suisse, Crossroads Health, CVS Pharmacy, dozens of COVID passport apps, Dr. Morrow, Element Vape, Englewood Health, EPIC Pharmacy Network, Inc., Expeditors International, Extend Fertility, Family Christian Health Center, Family Fare LLC, Fleetwood Area School District, FlexBooker, Gems Education, GiveSendGo/Canadian Freedom Convoy, Google Android, Harbour Plaza Hotel, Hays USD 489, Highland Hospital, Houston Health Department, Intel CPU vulnerabilities can expose your cryptographic keys, International Committee of the Red Cross, Internet Society (ISOC), Ireland’s Health Service, Jackson County Hospital District, JAX Spine and Pain Centers, Jersey City Medical Center, KLAYswap, La Posada at Park Centre, Inc., LAPSUS$, LendUs, Liberty of Oklahoma Corporation, Logan Health Medical Center, MacGeneration, Memorial Hermann Health System, Meyer, Microsoft, Microsoft App Store, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Servers, Mizuno, Monongalia Health System, more than 500 Magento 1-based online stores, Morley Companies, Moscow Stock Exchange, Motorola Solutions Inc, new form of distributed denial of service attack, New York State’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Nvidia (and it’s BAD), Ohlone College, Oklahoma City Police Department Rape Kit information, Okta Advanced Server Access, PressReader, Priority Health, PROMESA, Puma, Reality Winner’s Twitter account, Rompetrol, Russian TV stations, Samsung Electronics (including source code), San Francisco 49ers, SAP Internet Communication Manager, Sberbank, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Seneca Nation Health System, South Shore Hospital, Swissport, T-Mobile, Taylor, Ganson & Perrin LLP, TfNSW, the Russian Military, Town Home Care, LLC, Toyota Motor Corp., UK’s Foreign Office, UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, Ukraine local government websites, Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, UMass Memorial Health, Inc., 52 organizations from multiple US critical infrastructure sectors, US defense contractors, US Radiology Specialists, Inc., Viasat, Visual Voice Mail, Vodafone Portugal, VxWorks-based Smart Infusion Pumps, Washington Department of Licensing, WatchGuard firewalls, Williamsville Central School District, Zabbix servers, Zenly, and Zoe Therapy Services have been hacked.

Slack and Twitter both had large outages.

AB Volvo, Activision Blizzard, Adobe, Airbnb, Apple, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, Aston Martin, BMW, Cisco, Coinbase, Daimler Truck, Dell, Epic Games, Ford Motor Company, Google, Google AdWords, Google Maps, Harley-Davidson, Intel, Jaguar Land Rover, Jolla, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Motors, Namecheap, Netflix, Nintendo, PayPal, Reddit, Readdle, Samsung Electronics, Snapchat, Spotify, SWIFT, Telegram, The EU, TikTok, Toyota Motor Corporation, Twitter, Ubisoft, Visa, Volkswagen, and YouTube have imposed their own private sanctions on Russia and sometimes Belarus.

In response to software vendors (Apple, Microsoft, Readdle and others) imposing their own form of sanctions on Russia, Russia has passed new a licensing law, effectively greenlighting piracy. After ceasing reporting from Russia, the BBC has launched Tor access in several languages. Meanwhile Russia blocks sites that violate their new propaganda law and even rocket sales to the US.

Elon Musk, never a stranger to controversy, has declared that his Starlink service will not bow to censorship demands.

It was disheartening when Canada stole the bank accounts of anyone who dared to donate to a legal protest and dispatched Antifa and the UN to put down protestors

it was worse when they simply locked down all the banks (or at least realized the damage they were doing to themselves), even if they did quickly reverse their insanity. The Mercury account lockouts affected “a large set of accounts” throughout Africa. Worse yet, the entire world banking system has locked out Russia. By the way, do Google and Apple think that disabling their pay platforms in Russia will be the move that will encourage adoption by the rest of the world?

On the topic of social credit systems, I’d like to address the theory that cryptocurrency can be used in spite of bank interventions and government lockdowns. That’s not always the case, as Coinbase demonstrated this week.

As if spurned to action by the recent release of vaccine information and bribery, Twitch is now banning streamers that share “misinformation,” such as the actual medical fraud vaccine information and research by the vaccine manufacturers themselveswill now be banned.

That’s ok, you can go back to “real life” now that cities are opening back up. Did the science change, is it all part of some greater agenda, or are people just bored?

With such a war on truth and science, how can anyone fall for the Battle of Snake Island, Ghost of Kiev, Ukrainian ransomware, or any of the dozen other examples of legacy media propaganda right now?

The CIA has been conducting bulk surveillance on US citizens and the Supreme Court is okay with police planting hidden cameras throughout your property. Telegram isn’t as secure as you might think it is.

Oh – Let’s talk about Apple AirTags…one lady tracked her shipped goods with them and caught the mover lying about it. I’m more skeptical of this story about exposing a secret intelligence service, but the reality is that stalking and tracking for vehicle/home theft are part of the downside.

Microsoft is testing a new build of Windows 11 Pro that will now require a Microsoft account in order to be able to use Windows. This directly violates their previous statements about not forcing Windows Professional and Enterprise versions to use Microsoft accounts. While this will increase deployment and maintenance costs, the real trouble is going to be with transient users that are forced to login with “a” Microsoft account on a business machine and will no longer be able to easily untie that machine or role account from the deeply embedded Microsoft “features.”

Meris Botnet was used to target a single website with over 21 million requests per second. Google Drive is flagging native macOS files as violating copyright. Another new rootable vulnerability has been discovered for Linux. The EU is trying to mandate weakened security so they can better enforce the GDPR, digital identity and social credit systems.

Now for the good news:

The problem with cryptocurrency is that it necessarily depends on a public ledger (the blockchain). Espresso intends to fix that.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is a big one. The typical computer should see roughly 2.2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for .NET and Visual Studio, HEIF Image Extension, HEVC Video Extension, Microsoft 365, Raw Image Extension, Remote Desktop client, VP9 Video Extension, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows RT, Windows Server, Azure Site Recovery, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for IoT, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Office Visio, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Windows ALPC, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Paint 3D, Role: Windows Hyper-V, Skype Extension for Chrome, Tablet Windows User Interface, Visual Studio Code, Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, Windows CD-ROM Driver, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows COM, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Event Tracing, Windows Fastfat Driver, Windows Fax and Scan Service, Windows HTML Platform, Windows Installer, Windows Kernel, Windows Media, Windows PDEV, Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows Remote Desktop, Windows Security Support Provider Interface, Windows SMB Server, Windows Update Stack, XBox, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1, macOS Monterey 12.2.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.4, Security Update 2022-002 Catalina, Safari 15.3, and watchOS 8.4.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.3.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.3.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8.4.2 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 98.0.4758.107 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 Monterey (12.x) means that macOS Mojave (10.14) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Catalina (10.15) 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 (v21H2) is very large 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 will 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.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v21H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

Windows 11 is still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months before you consider switching to it.

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 18.0.4.9 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.

HP M281cdw Firmware 20211221 resolves the network stability issue from the previous firmware that effectively disabled the device.

Logitech Options 9.60.87 is a security update.

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.36.111 is a security update.

Firefox 98.0 is a security update.

Firefox ESR 91.7.0 is a security update.

Google Chrome 99.0.4844.51 is a security update.

Microsoft Edge 99.0.1150.36 is a security update.

SeaMonkey 2.53.11 is a security update.

Vivaldi 5.1.2567.57 is a security update.

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.10.0 is a major update to the underlying code, adding ARM support, improved spellcheck, performance, and port improvements. This is not a security update.

Thunderbird 91.6.2 is a security update.

Internet Updates

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

AnyDesk 7.0.6 improves password management and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.

curl 7.82.0 resolves dozens of bugs and adds several new automations. This is not a security update.

Dropbox 143.4.4161 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.

FileZilla Client 3.58.0 updates libraries, log details and prepares for 2FA support. This is not a security update.

FileZilla Server 1.3.0 is a security update.

FreeFileSync 11.18 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Omada Software Controller 5.1.7 resolves several bugs, adds new services and features, increases hard limits, and adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.

Skype 8.81.0.268 resolves several bugs and adds ability to revoke and recreate profile. This is not a security update.

Syncthing 1.19.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WinSCP 5.19.6 is a security update.

Zoom 5.9.7.3931 is a security update.

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.8.1 improves performance and stability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

iTunes 12.12.2.2 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.

Plex Desktop 1.41.0.2876 resolves DVR and LiveTV bugs, and improves search. This is not a security update.

Plex Home Theater 1.12.0.2884 resolves several bugs, resolution and MPV improvements, and improves stability. This is not a security update.

Plex Media Server 1.25.6.5577 resolves several bugs, improves collection, smart filtering, and reliability during media changes and replacement. This is not a security update.

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.6 and 23.2 are security updates.

Adobe Illustrator 26.1.0 is a security update.

Adobe After Effects 22.2.1 and 18.4.5 are security updates.

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Epic Games 13.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

GameMaker Studio 2022.2.0.614 adds Text-In-Sequence, Track-In-Sequence, changes array behavior, updates libraries, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Steam 2022.03.04 resolves over 20 bugs. This is not a security update.

PlayStation PS5 21.02-04.51.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.

Office Updates

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

Atom 1.60.0 improves usability and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

IcoFX 3.7 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

LibreOffice Fresh 7.3.1 resolves over a hundred bugs, including crash and freeze issues. This is not a security update. Remember that the Fresh line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the Still (stable) version by most users.

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Notepad++ 8.3.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Paint.net 4.3.8 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.

Calibre 5.38.0 resolves several bugs and adds new news sources. This is not a security update.

Adobe Reader DC 22.001.20085 is a security update.

Security Software Updates

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

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.4 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.

RogueKiller 15.4.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

uBlock Origin 1.41.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Velociraptor 0.6.3 adds several new features and improves performance. This is not a security update.

Wireless Network Watcher 2.30 adds custom context menu items option. This is not a security update.

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD 3.70.56 updates Twitch API. This is not a security update.

Open Broadcaster Software 27.2.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

ScreenToGif 2.36 resolves several bugs and adds new installation packages and package types. This is not a security update.

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.6.3 adds support for new encodings and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

IsoBuster 4.9.1 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.

MakeMKV 1.16.7 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Agent Ransack 2022.3307 resolves several bugs and adds new columns for Folder Depth, Product Version, File Version, and filtering for Owner and Product Version. This is not a security update.

Autoruns 14.09 resolves a reliability bug. This is not a security update.

Bitwarden 1.31.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Carbonite 6.4.1 resolves two bugs. This is not a security update.

CPU-Z 2.00 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.

DesktopOK 9.71 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

DMDE 4.0.0.800 adds Btrfs support, improves ReFS, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

dnGrep 3.0.29.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Etcher 1.7.7 updates libraries, improves updater, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

FileLocator Pro 2022.3307 resolves several bugs and adds new columns for Folder Depth, Product Version, File Version, and filtering for Owner and Product Version. This is not a security update.

GoodSync 11.10.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

grepWin 2.0.10 improves cosmetics. This is not a security update.

Nextcloud Server 23.0.2 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

NTLite 2.3.4.8643 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

osquery 5.2.2 updates libraries, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

AOMEI Partition Assistant 9.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

PowerToys 0.56.2 adds new features and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

ProcessMonitor 3.89 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.

Recuva 1.53.2065 adds telemetry. This is not a security update.

Macrium Reflect 8.0.6636 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

ScreenConnect 22.2.7029.8094 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

SimpleWMIView 1.48 adds quick-filter option “begins with.”

Sysmon 13.33 resolves a crash bug and improves memory handling. This is not a security update.

TaskSchedulerView 1.70 adds option to open task folder and enable or disable header line in exports. This is not a security update.

Unity 2021.2.14 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Wazuh Agent 4.2.5 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

WifiInfoView 2.75 adds MAC Group column, MAC Group filtering and 64-bit build. This is not a security update.

WinGet 1.1.12653 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WinRAR 6.11 improves reliability and compatibility. This is not a security update.

WinScan2PDF 7.55 improves reliability. This is not a security update.

WizTree 4.08 adds custom filtering for full scan results. This is not a security update.

ZoomText 2022.2202.36.400 adds new voices and languages, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 33.0.0 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.

Docker Desktop 4.5.1 is a security update.

GitHub Desktop 2.9.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Godot 3.4.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Node.js 16.14.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Node.js 17.6.0 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

SQLite 3.38.0 resolves several bugs and updates syntax and compatibility. This is not a security update.

Visual Studio Code 1.65.1 is a security update.

Web Package Updates

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

Dada Mail 11.18.0 adds LWP support and resolves an invalid mailbox bug. This is not a security update.

Drupal 9.2.13 is a security update.

Drupal 9.3.7 is a security update.

Joomla 4.1.0 is a major update adding task scheduling, child template overrides, accessibility improvements and syntax highlighting. This is not a security update.

MailArchiva 8.7.4 improves performance. This is not a security update.

MailEnable 10.38 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

phpList 3.6.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

phpMyAdmin 5.1.3 is a security update.

SMF 2.1.1 is a major update release with several new features, and improves compatibility and reliability. This update will disable any mods and custom themes and some older mods and themes will need changes to be compatible. This is not a security update.

WordPress 5.9.1 resolves over 80 bugs. This is not a security update.

Antispam Bee 2.11.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 10.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.18 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Social Post Feed 4.1.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.5.8 resolves a couple bugs and adds cosmetic and layout features. This is not a security update.

Widgets on Pages 1.6.0 is a security update.

WooCommerce 6.3.0 is a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.3.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.15 is a security and woke-ness update. Since they’re now injecting content of their own choice into your website, they can no longer be trusted and you should remove this plugin from your websites.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2022-02-08

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for February, 2022.

It’s only the beginning. February tends to be “patch it once, whoops, patch it again” month most years, so expect another cycle later in the month.

This Month in Technology

Abington Memorial Hospital (dba Jefferson Abington Hospital), dozens of WordPress  Themes and Plugins by AccessPressAditya Birla Fashion and RetailAdvocates, Inc., Albany Family DentistryAlbuquerque Public SchoolsAllegheny Health Network Home Infusion, LLCArgo CDArnprior Regional HealthAWS GlueBoxBTC-AlphaCaring CommunitiesChico StateCisco StarOSColorado Department of Human ServicesCounty of Kings (CA)Crypto.comDelta ElectronicsDigital Insurance, LLC doing business as OneDigital, Evos in the NetherlandsFiondella, Milone & LaSaracina, LLPGlobal Affairs CanadaGolden State DermatologyGoodwillGreensward AcademyGriggsville-Perry School DistrictHensoldtIDEMIA biometric ID hardwareIndependence Blue Cross, International Committee of the Red CrossiRise Florida Spine and Joint Institute, LLCKP SnacksLympoMcAfee Enterprise (Trellix)various medical devicesMedical Healthcare Solutions, Inc., Medical Review Institute of AmericaMemorial Health SystemMeterMidland UniversityMillennium Eye Care LLCMonclerMotorolaMultichainNews Corp, publisher of The Wall Street JournalNobel FoundationOiltanking in GermanyOlympic Games AppOpenSubtitles, Oscar Buckeye State Insurance CorporationOscar Health Plan of CaliforniaOscar Insurance Company of FloridaOscar Insurance Corporation of OhioPace Center for GirlsPanasonicPellissippi State Community College in TennesseePennsbury School DistrictPhiladelphia FIGHT Community Health CentersPolkitPractolytics LLCPumaR.R. DonnellyRaveco MedicalRedDoorzSEA-Invest in BelgiumSecuritasSegwaySeneca Family of AgenciesSouth City HospitalSpencer Gifts LLC Health and Welfare Benefit PlanSt. Lucie County’s Drug Screening LabSwiss Federal RailwaysSwissportTaylor Regional HospitalThai University Central Admission SystemThomas Jefferson University Hospital, Inc., Ubiquiti’s UniFi NetworkUniversity of Arkansas for Medical SciencesUpstoxVantage Holding Company, LLCVolunteers of America Southwest CaliforniaWalgreen Co., Washington Department of LicensingWormhole, and Zimbra have been hacked.

GitHubDiscord, and Telegram have suffered major outages.

Phishing is proving to be even more effective against multi-factor authentication (MFA), as I’ve warned for decades. UPnP is still the worst network design feature. Buy an expensive GPU, gift your identity. Firefox’s “private” email relay service has been added to disposable email blacklists. As expected. Target, the premier member of the “hacked every month club“, is releasing the source code for some of their security software. Google Drive is flagging files containing the number “1” as violating copyrights. VPN companies Nord and Surfshark will merge. 11th and 12th generation Intel CPUs will not be able to play Blu-ray UHD disks.

The IRS is now mandating the use of a private third-party in order to access your own IRS information online. But wait, there’s more! The company, id.me, conceals their own identity and hides their WHOIS data. Tax-filers are already being phished with a threat of refunds being cancelled. The worst news: Nvidia has called off its efforts to acquire Arm.

Now for the good news:

The US Department of Justice has indicted 6 India Call Centers for Scams Targeting Seniors. Maybe the amount of scam calls we get will decrease? I doubt it though, considering the vast increase I’ve received in the last month. 🙁

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is almost back to normal. Well, for now. The typical computer should see roughly 1.8 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for .NET, Windows, Azure Data Explorer, Kestrel Web Server, Microsoft DNS Server, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office Visio, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Power BI, Roaming Security Rights Management Services, SQL Server, Visual Studio Code, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Kernel, Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers, Windows Named Pipe File System, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows Remote Access Connection Manager, Windows Remote Procedure Call Runtime, Windows User Account Profile, Windows Win32K, and MSRT (~1.4 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.3 and 15.2.1, iPadOS 15.3 and 15.2.1, tvOS 15.3, watchOS 8.4.1, Safari 15.3, macOS Monterey 12.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.3, and Security Update 2022-001 Catalina. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.3 and 15.2.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.3 and 15.2.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

tvOS 15.3 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

watchOS 8.4.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 98.0.4758.91 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 Monterey (12.x) means that macOS Mojave (10.14) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Catalina (10.15) 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 (v21H2) is very large 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 will 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.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v21H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

Windows 11 is still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months before you consider switching to it.

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 18.0.4.8 is a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Daemon Tools Lite 11.0.0 adds new image support, DD write, and resolves several other bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.daemon-tools.cc/products/dtLite

Logi Bolt App 1.2.6024 adds support for the Logitech Unifying Adapter and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/4418089333655

Logitech Options 9.50.269 is a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025297893

Nvidia 473.04 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 1.35.100 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 98.0.4758.80 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 98.0.1108.43 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 97 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.6 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Vivaldi 5.0.2497.48 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 91.5.1 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.

Mumble 1.4.230 is a major update resolving dozens of bugs, adding many new features and introducing true plugin support. This is not a security update.
https://www.mumble.info/downloads/

Prosody 0.11.13 is a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Telegram 3.5.2 resolves several bugs and improves reactions. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian Mac 6.4.0.4 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

BrowsingHistoryView 2.51 adds Visit Duration and improves Visited From. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

Dropbox 141.4.3299 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 11.17 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 55.0 adds integrated desktop search, resolves several bugs and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Omada Software Controller 5.0.30 adds newer hardware support, 2FA for Cloud Access, DHCP reservations in Services, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Syncthing 1.19.0 resolves a bug and improves ignore patterns. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Zoom 5.9.3.3169 resolves several bugs, adds new features (and requirements) and controls. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Java 8u321 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Flickr Downloadr 3.4.5.1 only updates the packager. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

Picard 2.7.3 resolves the launcher bug. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Desktop 1.40.1.2823 resolves a packaging error in the installer. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.10.0.2819 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.25.5.5492 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.

Epic Games 13.1.7 resolves a couple bugs and prepares for feature changes. This is not a security update.
https://www.epicgames.com/

GameMaker Studio 2022.1.1.610 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

Nintendo Switch 13.2.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

Steam 2022.01.20 resolves several 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.

Adobe After Effects 22.2 and 18.4.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb22-09.html

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop 2.7.0.15 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb22-11.html

Adobe Illustrator 26.0.3 and 25.4.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb22-07.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.5 and 23.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb22-08.html

Adobe Premiere Rush 2.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_rush/apsb22-06.html

Artweaver 7.0.11 is a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/

Atom 1.59.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

Blender 3.0.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Inkscape 1.1.2 resolves over 40 bugs, improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://inkscape.org/release/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.3.0 resolves hundreds of bugs. This is not a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the “Still” line whenever possible.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.2.5 resolves almost a hundred bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.2 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.3 improves support for large files and resolves several bugs. Be aware there may be plugin stability issues for the near future. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Scribus 1.5.8 improves dark mode, import, PDF export, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.scribus.net/

Calibre 5.36.0 improves metadata parsing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

Kindle for PC 1.34.63103 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc

Security Software Updates

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

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware Mac 4.14 improves up-sell ability. This is not a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/

OnionShare 2.5 is a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

RogueKiller 15.2.0 adds several new features and cosmetics. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Tails 4.27 updates components and libraries. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.41.0 adds dark mode and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

QubesOS 4.1.0 is a major update, with updated components, improved granular controls, new features and resolves many bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.qubes-os.org/downloads/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VideoCacheView 3.09 improves compatibility with new Chromium-based browsers. 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.

DVDFab 12.0.6.0 resolves several crash bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Agent Ransack 2022.3294 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Autoruns 14.08 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

ControlMyMonitor 1.35 adds display filter options. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

Cygwin 3.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 9.61 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 3.0.0 improves the build process and now generates signed packages, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Everything CLI 1.1.0.23 adds support for long file names. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Everything Toolbar 0.7.4 resolves a first-boot filter bug. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Fido 1.28 adds support for Windows 11 21H2 v1. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

FileLocator Pro 2022.3294 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

Git SCM 2.35.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://git-scm.com/

GoodSync 11.10.3 resolves several compatibility bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Kingston SSD Manager 1.5.1.6 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/ssdmanager

NTLite 2.3.3.8585 adds new settings, upgrades components, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

PowerToys 0.55.1 resolves several bugs and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.88 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Macrium Reflect 8.0.6525 improves media creation, compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

RoboForm 9.2.4 improves Basic Auth support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Samsung Magician 7.0.1 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

SmartMonTools 7.2 significantly improves field detection and reporting, offers YAML output, drive database extensions, and other fixes. This is not a security update.
https://smartmontools.org/

Sysmon 13.32 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TCPView 4.17 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

VMMap 3.32 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/vmmap

Windows 11 RCT 1.4.0 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://bytejams.com/

WinRAR 6.10 adds support for new formats, improved compatibility, resolves several bugs, and optimizes user interface. This is not a security update.
https://www.rarlab.com/

ZoomIt 5.0 adds support for Windows 11 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/zoomit

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 32.0.0 adds native M1 support. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

Docker Desktop 4.4.4 is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.0.28 is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

Node.js 12.22.10 upgrades libraries and time zone information. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.19.0 updates time zone information, adds Corepack and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 17.4.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

TortoiseGit 2.13.0.1 updates requirements, libraries, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisegit.org/

Visual Studio Code 1.64 improves cosmetics, automation, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.1.32 is a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

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

Drupal 9.2.12 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

MailArchiva 8.7.1 improves role functionality and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

ownCloud Client 2.10.0.6519 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

ownCloud Server 10.9.1 improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.org/install/

phpMyAdmin 5.1.2 and 4.9.9 are security updates.
https://www.phpmyadmin.net/

ScreenConnect 21.15.6739.8073 improves automation, triggers, auditing, 2FA timeouts, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.9 resolves dozens of bugs and implements front-end editing. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.2.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.9.5.1 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 10.0.0 is a major update offering several new features and resolving dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.4 adds double opt-in support, new action and filter hooks and resolves a bug with the default contact form. This is not a security update.

Duplicator 1.4.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Redirection 5.2.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

WooCommerce 6.1.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.10 is 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 2022-01-11

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for January, 2022.

It’s a big one. This month has been insane. There’s always a surge in hacking events near holidays, but this month had almost double the *known* hacking events from previous months. What’s worse is that many of the vulnerabilities used were known weeks and sometimes years in advance, though the patches were not yet installed or the specific applications and services were simply not being maintained or secured. Grrrr.

This Month in Technology

A New Leaf, Inc., Advocate Aurora HealthAlabama Department of Rehabilitation ServicesAll in One SEOAmediaAndrew Sauchelli, DMDApache httpdApple Blossom Family PracticeAzure App ServiceBansley and Kiener (B&K), Belgium’s MilitaryBernalillo CountyBioPlus Specialty Pharmacy Services LLCBrazil’s Health MinistryBroward HealthC.E. Niehoff & CompanyChaddockCiox HealthCommission on ElectionsCOVID-19 Home TestsCrawford County Assessors OfficeDaniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc., DatPiff, The De Montfort SchoolDouglas C Morrow ODPCDuneland School CorporationEvanston Township High SchoolExpresso and SICFertility Centers of Illinois, PLLC, FinalSiteFlexBookerFlorida Digestive Health Specialists LLP, Forensic Science IrelandFresenius Kabi infusion pump systemsGarrett metal detectorsGeorgia Bone & Joint Surgeons, P.C., Google Docs Comment PlatformGrass Valley, CAGumtreeH2 DatabaseHellmann Worldwide LogisticsImpresaInetum GroupiPhone 13James Kagan, MDJefferson Surgical ClinicKearsarge Regional School DistrictLastPassLog4j (several times)Loyola University Medical CenterLuxemburg-Casco School DistrictmacOS powerdirMcMenaminsMedQuest Pharmacy, Inc., Microsoft Active DirectoryMicrosoft TeamsMonkey Kingdom (via Grape), Monongalia Health System Inc., Monroe Public SchoolsMonterey Peninsula Unified School DistrictNetgear NighthawkNorthwest Broward Orthopaedics AssociatesNorth Shore Hebrew Academy High SchoolOG department storeONUSOregon Eye SpecialistsPeck & Associates, PC, Pithadia Medical Professional Services, Inc., ProtempsPulseTVQNAPRavkooRedLine StealerRhode Island Public Transit AuthorityR.R. Donnelley & SonsRunning Warehouse LLC, Sainsbury’sSaltzer HealthSaskatchewan Liquor and Gaming AuthoritySEGAShelley School DistrictShutterflySkate Warehouse LLC, Skin Care Specialty PhysiciansSotheby’s Realty’s BrightcoveSouthern Orthopaedic AssociatesSpar StoresStandard BankSuperior PlusSurgery Group SCT-MobileTackle Warehouse LLC, Tennis Warehouse LCC, Tiyuli and LametayelUAW Retiree Medical Benefits TrustUberUbisoftUK Defence AcademyUltimate Kronos GroupUS Commission on International Religious FreedomUScellular, Utah Department of Health, Virginia Division of Capitol PoliceVirginia General AssemblyVolvoWalgreen Co., WD MyCloudWelfare, Pension and Annuity Funds of Local No. ONE, I.A.T.S.E., and Zoho UEM have been hacked.

Norton 360 is now opting you in for their CPU cryptomining if you have their software installed. The very same software designed to protect you from evildoers that would take advantage of your computer to do this kind of thing…is now doing it. Apple has released an Android app under the auspice of helping users discover Tracker devices that might be tracking them…by enabling your device to allow them to communicate with the Apple Tracker network. Firefox still doesn’t properly support OCSP stapling. Dell BIOS updates are crashing devices. Microsoft has integrated their own financing platform into Edge.

Microsoft rang in the new year by breaking Microsoft Exchange (on-prem) for every server that had filtering enabled (almost all of them). Microsoft acknowledged the problem about 20 hours after it began and released resolution steps by deleting and rebuilding the scanning engine about 31 hours after it began. Sonicwall, too.

CloudflareAWS, Twitch, Zoom, PSN, Slack, Hulu, Imgur have had extended outages this month.

Please, for all that is holy, check your backups!

Phishing is an ever-growing problem. Sophos reminds us how to check for scams like this.

Now for the good news:

Mozilla has added Secure DNS to Firefox, now enabled by default. Unfortunately, this bypasses DNS filtering options you may have assigned yourself – so if you use Firefox you’ll need to enable your own DoH URLs within the settings.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

Microsoft released updates for.NET Framework, Microsoft Dynamics, Edge, Exchange Server, Microsoft Office, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Active Directory, CLFS, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Defender, DirectX, Windows Installer, Windows RDP, Windows Remote Desktop, ReFS, Windows Security Center, Windows Storage Spaces, Windows Tile Data Repository, Windows UEFI, Windows User Profile Service, and MSRT (~2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for Safari 15.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

Google Chrome OS 96.0.4664.111 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 Monterey (12.x) means that macOS Mojave (10.14) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Catalina (10.15) 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 (v21H2) is very large 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 will 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.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v21H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will 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.

Windows 11 is still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months before you consider switching to it.

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 18.0.4.7 removes support for Vista, updates libraries, and improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.34.80 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 97.0.4692.71 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 97.0.1072.55 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 96.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.5.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Iridium 2021.12.96 is a security update.
https://iridiumbrowser.de/

SeaMonkey 2.53.10.2 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.0.2497.35 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 91.5.0 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 (macOS) 6.4.0 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.81.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 139.4.4896 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Server 1.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.16 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Omada Software Controller 5.0.29 is a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Prosody 0.11.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Syncthing 1.18.6 improves usability. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 3.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Zoom 5.9.1.2581 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.8.0 makes nearly 4,000 changes including performance, bug fixes, new hardware support and more. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Picard 2.7.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

TuneIn 1.25.0 does not provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://tunein.com/radio/home/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2022.12.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/about/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Reader DC 21.011.20039 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 21.011.20039, 20.004.30020, and 17.011.30207 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb22-01.html

Adobe Illustrator 26.0.2 and 25.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb22-02.html

Adobe Bridge 12.0.1 and 11.1.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb22-03.html

Adobe InCopy 16.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb22-04.html

Adobe InDesign 16.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb22-05.html

Audacity 3.1.3 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Krita 5.0.2 is a major update. This version adds several features, resolves bugs and improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.5 resolves almost 100 bugs. This is not a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the stable version (“Still”) by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 4.3.7 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

Security Software Updates

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

elementary OS 6.1
https://elementary.io/

Gpg4win 4.0.0 is a major update adding several new features and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

KeePass 2.50 improves performance and generator, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

OpenSSL 1.1.1m is a security update.
https://www.openssl.org/source/

OpenSSL 3.0.1 is a security update.
https://curl.se/windows/

OpenSSL 3.0.1 is a security update.
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

ReactOS 0.4.13 provides over 250 bug fixes and improvements. This is not a security update.
https://reactos.org/

RogueKiller 15.1.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Tails 4.26 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

TinyWall 3.2.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tinywall.pados.hu/

uBlock Origin 1.40.6 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.35.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

HandBrake 1.5.1 updates libraries, resolves several bugs and improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

IsoBuster 4.9 adds support for new hardware, new formats, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.isobuster.com/download.php

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

7-Zip 21.07 adds VHDX support, improved parameter handling and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.7-zip.org/

Agent Ransack 2022.3283 improves performance and reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.6.0 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

Autoruns 14.07 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Active Directory Explorer 1.51 fixes a Windows Store packaging crash. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/adexplorer

CacheSet 1.02 fixes a 64 bit OS regression. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/cacheset

Beyond Compare 4.4.1.26165 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl4

ControlMyMonitor 1.31 adds a new parameter for Secondary displays. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

CPU-Z 1.99 adds support for new hardware and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

DesktopOK 9.51 adds dark mode. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 2.9.482.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Etcher 1.7.3 is a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1015 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Everything CLI 1.1.0.21 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

FileLocator Pro 2022.3283 provides performance and reliability improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

GoodSync 11.10.0 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 2.02 improves colors. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

Macrium Reflect 8.0.6495 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

NTLite 2.3.2.8526 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.1.0 adds resource limiting, new objects, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.53.1 adds several new features and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.87 fixes resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Samsung Magician 7.0.1 is a major update, but doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

SearchMyFiles 3.16 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

Sysmon 13.31 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TeamViewer 15.25.8 fixes a VOIP bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

TraceRouteOK 2.71 updates language files. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WifiInfoView 2.72 updates the internal MAC database and resolves a high-DPI bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

ZoomText 2022.2112.10.400 resolves several bugs and improves display. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Maraura 3.9.7 updates Java support and libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
http://arianne.sourceforge.net/engine/marauroa.html

Docker Desktop 4.3.2 updates the scan engine to detect log4j vulnerabilities. This is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Godot 3.4.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js 12.22.9 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.18.3 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.13.2 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 17.3.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.37.2 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.

Drupal 9.3.2 resolves a major stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.10.3 is a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

MailArchiva 8.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

ownCloud Server 10.9 is a security update.
https://owncloud.org/install/

Piwigo 12.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.14.5924.8013 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SMF 2.0.19 is a security update.
https://www.simplemachines.org/

WordPress 5.8.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Slider Revolution 6.5.14 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

WPBakery 6.8.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wpbakery.com/

Autoptimize 2.9.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

BuddyPress 9.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Social Post Feed 4.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/

Postie 1.9.59 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postie/

NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 4.3.25 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/social-networks-auto-poster-facebook-twitter-g/

Visual Composer 41.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

WooCommerce 6.1.0 is a major update, resolving several bugs and adding features. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/zero-spam/

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

Regards,

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