Updates 2023-08-08

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for August, 2023.

This month brings a whole bucket of ugly, and a reminder that fixing a bug is not the same thing as fixing the software. Every common browser released at least a security update each week for the last month, with Firefox maxing out sanity tests by releasing five (5) security updates in a mere ten (10) days. I warned about this years ago.

There were over 160 major hacks (some involving millions of users and thousands of organizations, one involving billions of users, Microsoft’s own security keys), and over 200 application updates this month. It’s a huge month, with about 4 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

Acupuncture and Integrative Solutions Incorporated, All-In-One Security, Allegheny County, AlphaPo, AMD Zen CPUs, AMD Zen2 CPUs, AMI MegaRAC Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), Argentina’s Comprehensive Medical Care Program, PathGroup Health Plan, Barracuda ESG, Batesville Tool & Die, Inc., Baylor College of Medicine, BAZAN Group, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, Bi-Bett Corporation, BookCrossing, Buckingham County Public Schools, Buffalo State, California Public Employee and Retirement System (CalPERS), Call of Duty, Canon printers, CardioComm Solutions Inc, Care N’ Care Insurance Company, Inc., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cisco SD-WAN vManage, Citrix Netscaler ADC and Gateway serversCloudzy, CoinsPaid, ColdFusion (several times),  Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), Colorado State University (CSU), Comdirect, Commerzbank, Conic Finance, almost all CPUs, CraftRise, Curve Finance, Deutsche Bank AG, air-gapped systems in Eastern Europe, Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, Era Lend, Estée Lauder (twice!), European diplomats, Evotec, Exchange Online, EY Law, Fairfax Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Family Vision of Anderson, P.A., Fortinet SSL VPNs, FortiOS and FortiProxy, Gary Motykie, M.D., Ghostscript, Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), Google Cloud Build, Harkins Pain & Sleep Management Group, Harris Health System, Hawai’i Community College, Helix, Henry Ford Health, Highland Health Systems, Hillsborough County, Hines Interests Limited Partnership, Hot Topic, Howard County General Hospital, Immigration Directorate General in Indonesia, ING, Italian government, Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile/Mobileiron — an unknown number of devices are effected, likely in the millions (and again, and again), IVF Michigan, P.C., Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation, JumpCloud, Kenya’s e-Citizen, LeetSwap, LetMeSpy, Life Management Center of Northwest Florida, Inc., Locally, MagicDuel, Majorel, Maximus Federal Services, Inc,  Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Exchange, MikroTik RouterOS routers, Military and Police “Secure” Radio systems, Minecraft servers, MobiMed ePR, Molina Healthcare, Mondee, at least 545 servers/organizations running MOVEit software, Multichain, National Student Clearinghouse (3,500 colleges and universities97% of postsecondary enrollment in the US), NATO (yes, that NATO), New England Life Care, Inc., 12 Norwegian Ministries, Norwegian Government Security and Service Organisation (DSS), NPO Mashinostroyeniya, OpenAI, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Ortivus, Outlook.com, PaperCut NG/MF, Paramedic Billing Services, Park Royal Hospital, Pension Benefit Information, Performance Health Technology (PH Tech), Physicians Insurance, Poly Network, Postbank, Prospect Medical Holdings, Quinn Emanuel, Razer, Redis, Rite Aid Corporation, Roblox, Roblox Developer Conference, Rockstar Games Inc., Rockwell Automation ControlLogix, Rodeo Finance, Saint Francis Health System, Salesforce, Serco Inc., several hospitals, Shutterfly, 70,000 small office/home office (SOHO) routers, SonicWall, South Central Ambulance Service, South Western Ambulance Service, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Sutter Senior Care, Tampa General Hospital, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Tesla, The Chattanooga Heart Institute, The Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc., Tigo, TLScontact, Tomra, Uber Technologies Inc, Ubuntu OverlayFS, UEFI boot loader security, UK Electoral Commission, Ukrainian and Polish businesses, Unified Pain Management, US Ambassador to China, US Department of Commerce (and at least two dozen other US government agencies), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Vermillion, VirusTotal, VMware ESXi, VMware Tanzu Application Service, Wake Family Eye Care, WooCommerce Payments, WordPress Ninja Forms, Wuhan Earthquake Monitoring Center, Yamaha, Zimbra (twice), and Zyxel firewalls have reportedly been hacked or compromised this month.

In light of all that, Barracuda Networks asserts that fewer than 100 scammers are responsible for global email extortion campaigns, leading to record breaches. There is yet another means of exfiltrating user information and passwords – this time from the sound your keyboard makes as you type.

BAZAN Group, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft Sharepoint, Reddit, Slack, Spotify, and WhatsApp have suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke display and audio hardware, Outlook for Desktop saving, Outlook hyperlinks, websites in Safari, Screen Time on iOS, video recording and playback, certain VPNs, and Windows Update. I am also seeing reports from dozens of my clients that the iOS and iPadOS updates released last week are triggering alerts about “new devices” connecting to users’ Apple accounts. In all cases it was triggered shortly after a restart of a device that had received the OTA update.

Google is *really* pushing Enhanced Safe Browsing, the feature that allows them to monitor all activity on your devices, including third-party apps and websites in other browsers, even when you tell them no. Google announced they will be making it easier to remove personal information and explicit images from Google Search. Google is pushing WEI, though, which will make it impossible to enforce security and privacy in your own browser. As an example, your local Taco Bell could refuse to show you their address on their own website – or even load at all – unless you enable their ability to access your precise location, microphone and camera. This isn’t just my paranoia, it’s a standard Google is pushing at this very moment.

IBM’s Red Hat has announced that they will change the way they “comply” with the GPLv2 open source requirements, limiting access to some of their source. Oracle (yes, that Oracle!) is actually pointing out the insanity of this move.

Amazon is raising prices on some IPv4 addresses.

Clop ransomware is now using bittorrent to bypass takedowns. Cloudflare, primarily known for their security and privacy features, is being abused to aid malware.

The SEC is now mandating that publicly traded companies disclose attacks in four business days after discovery. The Australian government isn’t sure if the Privacy Act applies to their own actions when they violate citizen’s trust or privacy.

Microsoft is going to be forcing users of the native Windows Mail and Calendar applications to the “new Outlook” starting this month. Don’t do it!

Now for the good news:

The FBI finally found out which evil organization purchased malicious spyware after the US banned it: the FBI itself!

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.

Microsoft released updates to address 88 vulnerabilities in .NET Core, .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Azure Arc, Azure DevOps, Azure HDInsights, Dynamics Business Central Control, Memory Integrity System Readiness Scan Tool, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office Visio, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Reliability Analysis Metrics Calculation Engine, SQL Server, Tablet Windows User Interface, Visual Studio, Windows Bluetooth A2DP driver, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Defender, Windows Fax and Scan Service, Windows Group Policy, Windows HTML Platform, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Kernel, Windows LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, Windows Message Queuing, Windows Mobile Device Management, Windows Projected File System, Windows Reliability Analysis Metrics Calculation Engine, Windows Smart Card, Windows System Assessment Tool, Windows Wireless Wide Area Network Service, and MSRT (~ 2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Ventura 13.5, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, Safari 16.6, iOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6, iPadOS 15.7.8, iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, watchOS 9.6, and Pro Video Formats 2.2.6. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.7.8 and 16.6 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.7.8 and 16.6 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 9.6 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 16.6 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 108.0.5359.239 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 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 23.7.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

BullZip PDF Printer 14.3.0.2961 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php#download

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.6.5 improves removal. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Drivers by Seagull 2023.3 adds support for 300 new models including several RFID tag printers. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/

DS4Windows 3.2.13 several new features and improves hardware compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/Ryochan7/DS4Windows/releases/latest

Ghostscript 10.01.2 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/download.php

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.56.20 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Microsoft Edge 115.0.1901.200 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 116.0.2 is a security update…the fifth in the last ten days! Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 115.1.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Google Chrome 115.0.5790.170 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 115.0.1901.188 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Microsoft Edge WebView2 115.0.1901.200 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/

SeaMonkey 2.53.17 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 6.1.3035.257 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to get the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.11.0 improves cosmetics and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Spark (macOS) 3.6.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark 3.6.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 115.1.0 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) 7.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 8.2.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 179.4.4985 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

Facebook Messenger 192.0.0.8.125 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download

FreeFileSync 12.5 resolves several bugs and improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 79.0 is a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Grocy Desktop 2.5.0 updates Grocy to 4.0.1 and resolves several bugs and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/grocy/grocy-desktop

Microsoft Teams 1.6.00.20074 updates the channels experience and improves security. This is a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Nextcloud Server 27.0.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Npcap 1.76 resolves a couple bugs, improves performance, and updates the code signing key. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Qbox 4.0.5.48 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.coraltreetech.com/qbox

Rclone 1.63.1 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility and resilience. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal (Android) 6.27.10 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Signal 6.27.1 improves voice and video calling. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/macos/
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Skype 8.99.0.403 resolves several bugs, integrates motr Bing AI, and adds self-chat. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Telegram 4.8.10 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Zoom 5.15.6.19959 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update. Note that Zoom has also recently updated their Terms of Service to assert ownership of any audio, video, or other communication through their platform IN ANY WAY THEY SEE FIT with no way to opt out.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 3.0.11 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Bitwig Studio 5.0.4 resolves a couple minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

darktable 4.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/

Picard 2.9 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Desktop 1.75.0.3920 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.44.1.3926 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.32.5.7349 resolves several bugs and improves hardware compatibility. 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 2023.6.0.92 improves macOS compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

GDevelop 5.2.169 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Lego Studio 2.23.7.3 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/ldd

Minecraft Server (Bedrock) 1.20.14.01 is a security update.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock

PS5 23.01-07.60.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 23.003.20269, 20.005.30516.10516, and 20.005.30514.10514 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb23-30.html

Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source 2.4.6-p2, 2.4.5-p4, 2.4.4-p5, 2.4.3-ext-4, 2.4.2-ext-4, 2.4.1-ext-4, 2.4.0-ext-4, and 2.3.7-p4-ext-4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb23-42.html

Adobe Dimension 3.4.10 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/dimension/apsb23-44.html

Adobe XMP Toolkit SDK 2023.07 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/xmpcore/apsb23-45.html

Blender 3.6.1 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Calibre 6.24.0 adds the ability to operate full text search across a subset of books, fixes calibre:// links, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

GnuCash 5.3 resolves a couple bugs and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.gnucash.org/

ImageMagick 7.1.1-15 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/

Inkscape 1.3 resolves dozens of bugs and improves several tools. This is not a security update.
https://inkscape.org/release/

Kdenlive 23.04.3 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://kdenlive.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.5.5 resolves 70 bugs. This is not a security update. Remember that the “Fresh” line is beta software and you should use the “Still” line instead.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.9.1 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Paint.net 5.0.8 resolves several bugs. 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.

Gpg4win 4.2.0 resolves a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

HTTP Toolkit 1.13.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://httptoolkit.tech/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.34 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware Mac 4.20.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/

OpenSSL 1.1.1v and 3.1.2 are security updates.
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

ProtonVPN 2.4.3 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

Radmin VPN 1.4.4642.1 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.radmin-vpn.com/

Tails 5.16 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.51.0 resolves several bugs and adds support for several new filters and scriptlets. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.14.0 adds silent operation support, winget and go support, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Camtasia 23.1.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

SnagIt 23.2.0 updates libraries and resolves over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.1.1.2 adds support for new encodings. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

StreamFab 6.1.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 1.0.2.8 improves conversion speed and resolves a couple 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.

.NET Runtime 7.0.10 is a security update.
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet

1Password 8.10.9 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

8GadgetPack 37.0 updates My Weather and removes unsupported widgets. This is not a security update.
https://8gadgetpack.net/

Bitcoin 25.0 improves network communication, RPCs, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Bitwarden 2023.7.1 adds commands to the CLI Secrets Manager. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 6.14.10584 is a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Dell Command Update 5.0.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 11.01 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 4.0.45.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs to improve compatibility. This is a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Etcher 1.18.12 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything Toolbar 1.2.0 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Go 1.21.0 is a major update, adding several new tools and language constructs. This is a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.3.1 improves AutoUpdate sync, stability, and resolves several compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

HWiNFO 7.60 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

Java 8u381 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

JShelter 0.13 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://jshelter.org/install/

LiveTcpUdpWatch 1.51 adds dark background and full screen support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/live_tcp_udp_watch.html

NetworkOpenedFiles 1.61 adds dark background and full screen support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_opened_files.html

NTLite 2023.7.9371 resolves several bugs and improves features. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

OSForensics 10.0.1015 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/download.html

osquery 5.9.1 adds ARM support and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.72.0 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Explorer 17.05 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Rufus 4.2 improves compatibility and stability, adds conversion options, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_US/

ScreenConnect 23.5.8.8598 improves logging. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SmartMonTools 7.4 adds several new switches, improved hardware support, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://smartmontools.org/

TcpLogView 1.38 updates IP database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/tcp_log_view.html

Ventoy 1.0.94 resolves compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

VMMap 3.33 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/vmmap

WinRAR 6.23 is a security update.
https://www.rarlab.com/

WinScan2PDF 8.61 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

ZoomIt 7.1 adds audio capture support. This is not a security update.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/zoomit

ZoomText 2023 2023.2307.29.400 improves keyboard shortcuts and resolves several bugs.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 34.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

Android Studio 2022.3.1.18 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

AutoHotkey 2.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

AutoHotkey 1.1.37.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

GitHub Desktop 3.2.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Godot (macOS) 4.1.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

MySQL Server 8.0.34 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

Node.js 18.17.0 updates libraries, improves performance, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 20.5.0 updates libraries, improves performance, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Visual Studio Code 1.81 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 7.0.10 resolves dozens of 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.

HumHub 1.14.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en

ISPConfig 3.2.11 adds support for Debian 12 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ispconfig.org/ispconfig/download/

Invision Community 4.7.12 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://invisioncommunity.com/

Grocy 4.0.1 is a major update adding new API features, compatibility, and performance improvements. This build also resolves several bugs.
https://github.com/grocy/grocy

MailEnable 10.47 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

ownCloud Client 4.2.0.11670 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

Contact Form 7 5.8 adds several hooks and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

Duplicator 1.5.5.1 improves messaging and subsite mapping structure. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/

Social Post Feed 4.1.9 adds promotional link, updates the block and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/

Theme My Login 7.1.6 resolves a couple bugs and adds a new hook. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/theme-my-login/

W3 Total Cache 2.4.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 7.9.0 resolves over a hundred bugs, updates blocks and options. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WP Mail SMTP 3.8.2 resolved several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/

WPBakery 7.0 adds a couple elements, improves notifications and compatibility. 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 2023-04-11

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for April, 2023.

This month brings over 160 significant hacks, and over 170 application updates. This is pretty normal these days, and the updates will weigh in at a little over 2.5 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

3CX, 51,000 websites, Ace Nursing, Activision, Adobe ColdFusion, Alivia Health, AllCare Plus Pharmacy, Inc, Allied Benefit, American Pain and Wellness, PLLC, an “East Asian company that develops data-loss prevention software for government and military,” Apple Safari, Aspire Public Schools, Associates in Dermatology, Atlantic Dialysis Management Services, Atlantic General Hospital, Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, Bing.com search (via Azure AD), BitGo, BitKeep, Bitzlato, Black & McDonald, Blue Shield of California, Breached, Brooks Rehabilitation, Capita, ChatGPT, Chippewa County, CHU University hospitals, City of Oakland, City of Toronto, CloudPanel, Community Health Systems, Crown Resorts, Dole Food Company, a Dutch maritime logistics company, eFile-com, El Camino Health, El Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero, Elementor Pro WordPress plugin, Elmbrook School District, Essendant, Eye4Fraud, Fabrega Molino, Federal Law Enforcement Database, Ferrari, Florida-based community healthcare system, Frideres Dental LLC, Gala Games, General Bytes, 130+ organizations using GoAnywhere MFT, Guam Memorial Hospital, Hatch Bank, Hawaiian death registry, HDB Financial Services, Health Plan of San Mateo, Hitachi Energy, Homewood Health, HP LaserJet printers, Independent Living Systems, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, Indian health system, Instituto De Educación Secundaria Ies Emilio Canalejo Olmeda, Integrated Supports for Living, Inc, Killer Instinct, Latitude Financial Services, Leaked Reality, LinusTechTips, Lionsgate, Long Son Petrochemicals, Lumen, Majestic Care Middletown Assisted Living LLC, McDonald’s, Medellin government, MedEx, Medminder, Merritt Healthcare Advisors, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Mozilla Firefox, MSI, National Basketball Association, NCB Management Services, Nebu, Netgear Orbi, New Medical Healthcare, New York City public school special education students, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, NewBridge Services, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Nexx smart devices, NHS Highland, Nonstop Administration and Insurance Services, Inc, NorthStar Emergency Medical Services, NS, Open University of Cyprus, Oracle VirtualBox, ParaSpace, Pension Protection Fund, PetroVietnam, Poolz Finance, POSCO Engineering & Construction, Postal Prescription Services – Kroger, Procter & Gamble, Proskauer Rose, QNAP, Rio Tinto, Rochester Public Schools, Rubrik, SafeMoon, Saks Fifth Avenue, Samsung, SD Worx, Shopper+, South Texas Health System, Sundry Files, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Inc, Tasmanian Education Department, Telegram, Tesla Model 3, the WiFi protocol (this is big), TheGradCafe, Throne, TMX Finance (TitleMax, TitleBucks, InstaLoan), Top of the World Ranch Treatment Center, Toyota Italy, Tusla, Twitter, Uber, Ubuntu Desktop, UC San Diego Health, UHS of Delaware, Inc, UK’s Criminal Records Office, UK’s Virgin Red, Ukrainian utility company, US Congress, US Department of DefenseUS Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Marshals Service, US Special Operations Command, US Wellness Inc, US Wellness, Vazquez Nava Consultores y Abogados, Veeam’s Backup & Replication, Veritas Backup Exec, VM2, VMware Workstation, WellBe, Wells Fargo, West Virginia hospital, Western Digital, Wilkes-Barre Career and Technical Center, WinRAR SFX, WooCommerce, Yardley Dermatology Associates, PC, Yucatan government, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut), Z2U, ZenGo, Zimbra Collaboration Suite, and Zoll have reportedly been hacked or compromised this month.

Amazon has pulled the plug on their most successful charitable endeavor, AmazonSmile.

According to the FBI, 860 “critical” infrastructure organizations were hit with ransomware in 2022. Shouldn’t they just stop if they’re so concerned, since they’re usually the ones behind most terrorists?

It should come as no surprise that the recent spate of train derailments comes not long after a manager at one of the largest rail companies told inspectors to stop marking rail cars that needed repairs.

Apple Weather, Microsoft Defender, Reddit, and WD My Cloud suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke Red Dead Redemption 2, and caused problems for many printers by replacing the vendor print drivers with Microsoft’s incompatible drivers. But at least Microsoft is now inserting ads in the Start menu, right? Grrr.

Here’s yet another demonstration of how your “smart device” can be exploited without your knowledge. GM’s Cruise robotaxis have been recalled after they caused an accident in San Francisco. 

Now for the good news:

 

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

Windows 10 and Windows 11 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 93 vulnerabilities in .NET Core, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Service Connector, Microsoft Bluetooth Driver, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft Message Queuing, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver, Microsoft Printer Drivers, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, Microsoft Windows DNS, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Windows Active Directory, Windows ALPC, Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, Windows Boot Manager, Windows Clip Service, Windows CNG Key Isolation Service, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows DHCP Server, Windows Enroll Engine, Windows Error Reporting, Windows Group Policy, Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol, Windows Kerberos, Windows Kernel, Windows Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, Windows Lock Screen, Windows Netlogon, Windows Network Address Translation (NAT), Windows Network File System, Windows Network Load Balancing, Windows NTLM, Windows PGM, Windows Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Windows Raw Image Extension, Windows RDP Client, Windows Registry, Windows RPC API, Windows Secure Boot, Windows Secure Channel, Windows Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP), Windows Transport Security Layer (TLS), Windows Win32K and MSRT (~
GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, iPadOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.6, macOS Monterey 12.6.5, macOS Ventura 13.3.1, Safari 16.4.1, Studio Display Firmware Update 16.4, tvOS 16.4, and watchOS 9.4. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 16.4.1 and 15.7.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 16.4.1 and 15.7.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 9.4 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 16.4 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 112.0.5615.62 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 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 release of the Windows 10 (v22H2) 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 12 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 (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 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.

AMD Adrenalin 23.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.6.2 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Nvidia Driver 474.30 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 1.50.114 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 112.0.5615.49 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 112.0.1722.34 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Microsoft Edge 109.0.1518.78 is a security update. This version should be used only on devices where the current stable release is not available.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 112.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

SeaMonkey 2.53.16 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.7.2921.65 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 3.48 adds sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Spark 3.3.6.46134 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark (macOS) 3.3.6.46132 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 102.9.1 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.

AnyDesk 7.1.11 is a bug fix for a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

BrowsingHistoryView 2.55 adds sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 8.0.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 171.4.6182 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 12.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 73.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Microsoft Teams 1.6.00.6754 is a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Nextcloud Server 26.0.0 is a major update with improvements across a dozens features and many bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Npcap 1.73 is a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 5.9.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Rclone 1.62.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal (Android) 6.16.2 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Signal 6.13.0 improves dark mode and cosmetics. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Syncthing 1.23.4 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 4.7.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian 6.5.0.28 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

WinSCP 5.21.8 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.14.2.14578 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Bitwig Studio 4.4.10 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

iTunes 12.12.8.1 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Plex Desktop 1.67.1.3665 fixes the subtitle render/crash issue. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.37.2.3674 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.32.0.6918 resolves a font bug and a certificate installation bug. 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.

GameMaker Studio 2023.2.1.75 adds a new particle editor to the IDE and reworks some of the interface. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

GDevelop 5.1.160 resolves several bugs and adds more than a dozen new assets and feature improvements. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Lego Studio 2.23.3.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/ldd

Nintendo Switch 16.0.1 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

PS5 23.01-07.01.01 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2023.03.15 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as 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 Reader DC 23.001.20143 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187658 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html

Adobe InCopy 18.2 and 17.4.1 are security updates. Use Creative Cloud to install the update.

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 23.001.20143 and 20.005.30467 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb23-24.html

Adobe Substance 3D Stager 2.0.2 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-stager.html

Adobe Dimension 3.4.9 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/dimension.html

Adobe Substance 3D Designer 12.4.1 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-designer.html

Artweaver 7.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/

Calibre 6.15.1 resolves several bugs and improves document compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

ImageMagick 7.1.1-6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.5.2 resolves over 90 bugs. This is a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.8.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.5.2 resolves several context menu and cosmetic bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 5.0.3 adds center-point shape drawing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.5.368.0 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.

Caine 13.0 is a security update.
https://www.caine-live.net/

Chainsaw 2.6.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

FSS 2023.3.19 updates service list. This is not a security update.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/farbar-service-scanner/dl/62/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.26 improves reporting and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

ProtonVPN 2.4.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

ProtonVPN (macOS) 3.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

QubesOS 4.1.2 is a security update.
https://www.qubes-os.org/downloads/

RogueKiller 15.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Stinger 12.2.0.570 improves detections. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx

SuperAntiSpyware 10.0.1250 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Tails 5.11 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.48.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Velociraptor 0.6.8 integrates several net
https://github.com/Velocidex/velociraptor/releases/latest

Wireless Network Watcher 2.31 adds a dark mode option and updates internal MAC address database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

YARA 4.3.0 resolves several bugs and adds new functions and behaviors. This should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/yara/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Camtasia 22.5.3 resolves several crash bugs, installation issues and improves the UI. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

SnagIt 23.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.1.0.3 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

StreamFab 6.1.1.6 improves compatibility and provides new output options. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 1.0.1.7 improves compatibility. 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 8.10.4 fixes of a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 8.10.4 fixes over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

AstroGrep 4.4.9 updates libraries, adds dark theme, improves filters and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
http://astrogrep.sourceforge.net/

Bitwarden 2023.3.3 adds domain verification, improved browser security, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CalyxOS Device Flasher 1.0.7 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://calyxos.org/install/

Carbonite 6.4.6 is a security update.
https://account.carbonite.com/

CCleaner 6.10.10347 improves cleaning and adds to the their driver update solution. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

CrucialScan 20230308 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/store/systemscanner

CurrPorts 2.71 adds full screen display option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

DesktopOK 10.77 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

DMDE 4.0.6.806 fixes several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dmde.com/

Everything Toolbar 1.0.5 improves stability and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

FolderChangesView 2.35 adds dark mode support and sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html

Go 1.20.3 is a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

IsMyHdOK 3.88 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2023.4.9191 adds components, new settings and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.8.2 is a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.69.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Explorer 17.04 is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

PsExec 2.42 adds support for long paths. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec

Regedix 2.0.0.0 adds registry scan and resolves paste bug. This is not a security update.
https://regedix.webrox.fr/

RoboForm 9.4.6 is a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Rufus 3.22 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_US/

ScreenConnect 23.2.9.8466 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

TCPView 4.18 resolves a crash bug and improves dark mode. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TeamViewer 15.40.8 resolves a LAN bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

Unity 2022.2.14 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

Ventoy 1.0.91 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

WifiInfoView 2.79 resolves a display bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinScan2PDF 8.55 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.13 adds regexp search, search history, command line options, virtual drives, sorting options, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

XnConvert 1.98 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.xnview.com/en/xnconvert/

ZoomText 2023 2023.2303.77.400 adds tethered view. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 34.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

GitHub Desktop 3.2.1 resolves a dozen bugs and provides several improvements. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Node.js 16.20.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 19.9.0 adds a new tracing feature, URL parser improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.41.2 resolves several bugs and improves several features. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.77.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.24 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.4.12 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.5.7 resolves a bug in the editor. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

WordPress 6.2 adds several new native features – custom CSS, sticky positions, new site editor, block management, Openverse media access, and more. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 5.1 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

Autoptimize 3.1.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

Contact Form 7 5.7.5.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

Duplicator 1.5.3.1 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/

Limit Login Attempts 1.7.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/limit-login-attempts/

Redirection 5.3.10 resolves a save bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/

W3 Total Cache 2.3.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 7.5.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WP Cerber Security 9.5.3 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wpcerber.com/

WPtouch 4.3.52 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wptouch/

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

Regards,

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

 

Updates 2021-12-14

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for December, 2021. This month has been relatively mild, especially for the typical user. Businesses are facing some serious Christmas disasters including massive botnets targeting WordPress, Log4j, payment platforms, and state-run “passport” systems. Nevertheless, the grind continues.

This Month in Technology

ActMobile Networks (VPN), Alberta HealthAstoria Company LLC, thousands of AT&T Edgewater Networks devicesAtrafBay Village High SchoolBeaverhead County High SchoolBioPlus Specialty Pharmacy Services, LLCBitmartBrazilian Ministry of HealthBroward Public SchoolsBrussels Bru-VaxBureau VeritasCentral Depository Services LtdCalifornia Pizza KitchenCostcoCox CommunicationsDeKalb County School DistrictDelta-Montrose Electric AssociationDNA Diagnostics CenterEpiscopal Retirement ServicesEscambia County School DistrictEskenazi HealthEvanston Township High SchoolFlorida Heart AssociatesFrench-Public School BoardFrontier SoftwareGoDaddy Inc (and 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, Host Europe, Media Temple, and tsoHost), GravatarHeadwaters Health Care CentreHealth Service ExecutiveHellman Worldwide LogisticsHikvision surveillance systemsHisar health departmentHPE, dozens of HP printer modelsHuntington HospitalIDC GamesIKEAIndonesian police, various Iranian gas stationsJohnson Memorial HealthKisters AGKMSPicoKronosLakeside SchoolLINE PayLewis and Clark Community CollegeMaryland Department of HealthManhasset School DistrictMicrosoft Exchange ServersMedsurant HealthMNG CargoNewfoundland and Labrador Health-Care SystemNordic Choice HotelsNorth Oklahoma County Mental Health CenterNortheastern UniversityNowiny Commune OfficeOld Pulaski Middle SchoolOne Community HealthOregon Anesthesiology Group, P.C.Pakistan’s National Database Biometric DataPanasonicPellissippi State Community CollegePlanned Parenthood Los Angeles, millions of PlayStation 5 devicesQNAP NAS devicesRedDoorzRideau Valley Health CentreRiverhead Central School DistrictRobinhoodS&R Membership ShoppingSanDisk SecureAccessSea Mar Community Health CentersShelley School DistrictSimon Eye Management, millions of Sky RoutersSonicWall SMA 100 VPNsSouth Australian GovernmentSouthern Ohio Medical CenterSPAR StoresSpotswood Public SchoolsStor-a-file LimitedStripchatSupernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Swire Pacific OffshoreTATATP-Link routersTrue Health New MexicoTulane University Medical CenterUlss 6 EuganeaUS defense contractorsU.S. State DepartmentUtah Imaging AssociatesVirginia’s Division of Legislative Automated SystemsVestasVolvoWaikato DHBYemeksepetiZa: Standard Bank, and Zoho ServiceDesk have reportedly been hacked this month.

A Tesla server outage prevented owners worldwide from unlocking their cars.

Another 5 hour outage at AWS caused problems for thousands of websites that depend upon the “reliability” of cloud services. Netflix, Ring, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon deliveries, and Roku were just a few affected sites and services.

Google Photos suffered from a bug for 10 days that damaged all downloads over 128 MB. They alerted their customers to the problem about a month after fixing the bug.

Instead of focusing on providing a more secure product, Apple is suing the NSO Group for developing malware that exploits vulnerabilities in Apple products.

Google, Apple and Samsung payment services exposed to provide unlimited access to digital wallets without authentication.

Grafana – used in thousands of applications for the gorgeous displays it can provide – has patched multiple critical security vulnerabilities. Expect vendors to play catch-up as they release updates that update their Grafana libraries.

Like Grafana, Log4j is another widely used engine across thousands of applications – mostly in corporate and enterprise applications. It’s been exploited in 40% of corporate networks globally, so far. It’s not just corporate risk – even Minecraft is vulnerable.

A massive series of attacks targeting managed WordPress websites has compromised at least 1.8 million sites so far. Merely patching the sites and removing unused and out-dated plugins and themes would have eliminated the risk here.

Now for the good news:

Alexa.com is finally being shut down after 25 years of misrepresenting the web.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is smaller than it has been in months. The typical computer should see roughly 2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes updates for Windows Server 2008. This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Monterey 12.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, Security Update 2021-008 Catalina, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, tvOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, and watchOS 8.1.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

tvOS 15.2 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

watchOS 8.3 and 8.1.1 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 96.0.4664.77 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.

Citizen Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/citizen/download/

CognitiveTPG Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/cognitivetpg/download/

Logitech Options 9.40.86 adds support for new hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025297893

Logitech SetPoint 6.70.55 adds support for new hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025141274

Xerox Smart Start 1.6.28.0 adds support for newer drivers. This is not a security update.
https://www.support.xerox.com/en-us/content/143617

Zebra Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/zebra/download/

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.32.115 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 96.0.4664.110 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 96.0.1054.53 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 95.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.4.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.0.2497.28 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 91.4.0 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 7.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk for macOS 6.3.3 improves M1 compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.80.0 resolves over 100 bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 136.4.4345 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.57.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.15 resolves several bugs and improves user interface and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 54.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Npcap 1.60 resolves over a dozen bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Syncthing 1.18.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 3.3.0 adds media distribution controls, bot improvements and channel controls. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WinSCP 5.19.5 resolves several bugs and adds Google Cloud S3 API support. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.8.7.2058 adds many new features and resolves a dozen bugs, mostly with compatibility. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.19 improves compatibility with VRoid Studio and adds Leap Motion. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Plex Desktop 1.39.1.2763 resolves code signing. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.9.0.2741 adds audio stream selection, resolves several bugs, and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.25.2.5319 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.

GameMaker Studio 2.3.7.606 improves reliability and performance, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

Nintendo Switch 13.2.0 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

PS5 21.02-04.50.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2021.11.19 resolves several bugs, improves reliability and stability. This is a security update.

Office Updates

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

Audacity 3.1.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 3.0 is a major new version with dozens of new features, improvements in modeling, shadows, geometry and more. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.4 is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.1.8 is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Notepad++ 8.1.9.3 resolves several bugs and improves diagnostics to troubleshoot a persistent crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 4.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.2.359.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Adobe Premiere Rush 2.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_rush/apsb21-101.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.11 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-103.html

Adobe Connect 11.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-112.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.4 and 23.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-113.html

Adobe Prelude 22.1.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/prelude/apsb21-114.html

Adobe After Effects 22.1.1 and 18.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-115.html

Adobe Dimension 3.4.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/dimension/apsb21-116.html

Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb21-117.html

Adobe Media Encoder 15.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/media-encoder/apsb21-118.html

Adobe Lightroom 5.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/lightroom/apsb21-119.html

Adobe Audition 14.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/audition/apsb21-121.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.25 adds backups, external storage support, updates applications and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

BelArc Advisor 11.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

Chainsaw 1.1.4 improves logging, error handling, and removes progress bar for reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

Hashcat 6.2.5 improves improves hardware compatibility, performance, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://hashcat.net/hashcat/#downloadlatest

RogueKiller 15.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.39.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.10.0 adds support for managing collections. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Wireless Network Watcher 2.26 updates internal MAC address database and improves high-DPI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2022.0.0 adds several new features including a universal file format, cross-platform markup, and cloud storage, improves performance, and resolves several bugs.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/releases/snagit.msi

VideoCacheView 3.08 adds compatibility with newer browser builds. 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.

PDF Creator 4.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.9.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

7-Zip 21.06 adds memory controls, dictionary size improvements, hash validation support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.7-zip.org/

Agent Ransack 2022.3277 adds OCR, new themes, improves indexing, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Bitcoin 22.0 removes defunct protocols, updates privacy and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Carbonite 6.4.0 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://account.carbonite.com/

Cygwin 3.3.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 9.44 adds dark theme support, high-DPI improvements, and several bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Etcher 1.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Fido 1.27 adds support for Windows 10 v21H2. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

FileLocator Pro 2022.3277 adds OCR, new themes, improves indexing, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

Git SCM 2.34.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://git-scm.com/

GoodSync 11.9.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

grepWin 2.0.9 improves reliability and adds exact match support. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stefankueng/grepWin/releases/latest

Homedale 2.01 improves MAC Address vendor detection and IE DFS dump. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.44 improves accuracy. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.3.2.8519 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

PointerStick 5.61 improves high-DPI support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

PowerToys 0.51.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

ReactOS 0.4.13.32 resolves over a hundred bugs, and improves stability, compatibility and reliability. This is a security update.
https://reactos.org/

SearchMyFiles 3.15 improves summary mode, zero-value filters, and search improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

Synergy 1.14.2 resolves over a dozen bugs, improves reliability, adds M1 support, and adds automatic restart on settings change. This is not a security update.
https://symless.com/synergy/

TraceRouteOK 2.66 adds dark theme support, high-DPI improvements, and several bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

USB Oblivion 1.17.0.0 resolves a key name bug and improves performance. This is not a security update.
http://www.cherubicsoft.com/en/projects/usboblivion

WakeMeOnLan 1.90 adds global and bulk WOL support and updates MAC addresses databases. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wake_on_lan.html

WhyNotWin11 2.4.3.1 improves stability, hardware detection, and compatibility improvements. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

WinScan2PDF 7.51 resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.07 improves MTP/PTP compatibility, reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

ZoomText 2021 2021.2111.4.400 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

ZoomText 2022 2022.2110.70.400 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Docker Desktop 4.3.1 is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Node.js v14 14.18.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v16 16.13.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v17 17.2.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 6.1.0.6054 adds MarkSaved and OverridePSTDisableGrow, and IMAP4 controls, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

SQLite 3.37.0 improves STRICT, CHECK constraints, and CLI improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.63 adds several features and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.1.30 resolves several 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 1.6.16 improves compatibility and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.3.0 updates libraries and dependencies, improves compatibility, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.10.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

MailArchiva 8.4.1 is a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

Nextcloud Server 23.0.0 is a major update adding massing performance improvements, improved external integrations, Backup and more. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Client 2.9.2.6206 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

phpList 3.6.6 is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 12.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.14.5791.8004 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.8.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Autoptimize 2.9.3 improves multisite support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

bbPress 2.6.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.3 improves Constant Contact integration, filters and form properties. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Social Post Feed 4.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This version will need to reconnect to any Facebook feeds you use. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.2.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-10-12

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for October, 2021.

This month we’ve got the new Microsoft Office, Windows 11, iOS 15, iPhone 13, and Windows Server 2022…so far. A new build of Windows 10 is still on the horizon, and a security update for Java is slated for next week. That said, Patch Tuesday this month is very large. The typical computer should see roughly 2.3 GB in updates today.

This Month in Technology

Amnesty InternationalAjarnApple AirTag, Apple Game CenterAzure DevOpsBanco PichinchaBank of AmericaBitcoin.orgBrewDog, the Canadian Vaccine Passport systemCanopy Parental ControlCoinbaseCompoundCox Media GroupCrystal ValleyDahua cams, various DVR devicesElastic StackFantasy Football HubGiant GroupForward AirHorizon HouseHuawei Cloud, various IT companiesJVCKenwoodMarketronMedtronic insulin pump controllers, Microsoft Windows Platform Binary TableMoneyLionNeiman MarcusNEW CooperativeOlympus USPacific City BankPlaybookPort of HoustonSandhills GlobalSimon Eye Management90% of the supply chainSyniverseThe TelegraphTwitch (there’s a lot of information out there about this Amazon property hack), United Health Centers, the US Navy, various aerospace and telco firms, various Apache Airflow servers, various Apache services, various Confluence servers, various hotels, various healthcare facilities, various real estate organizations, various University Wi-Fi networks, various VMware ESXi serversVertafore, and Weir Group.

The assets and financial information of 35 world leaders have been exposed in the Pandora Papers.

A Microsoft Azure customerBandwidth.com, and VoIP.ms have been struck by major denial of service attacks.

How serious are the privacy risks of RFID? The US military is using RFID to track their guns. This results in the ability to track (and target) those carrying the weapons.

How serious is ransomware? Another child has died as a result of equipment that was disabled during an attack.

The Google idle detection API can be used to abuse you only when it knows you’re not looking. For a company whose slogan was “don’t be evil,” and that has the highest paid programmers in the world, between idle detection and FLoC, they’re really proving to either not be able to anticipate the potential risks or they simply don’t care.

Firefox is now injecting ads into the address bar. Apple Pay allows hackers to take your money from your locked iPhonePhishing messages posing as Verizon are using mathematical symbols to evade detection. Intuit is warning users of phishing attacks targeting QuickBooks users. Popular projects on public repositories remain high profile targets. If you can’t trust the hacker you bought your exploit kit from, who can you trust? Sigh.

The biggest outage this month was the Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Oculus, and WhatsApp that has lead to millions of users abandoning FacebookTrello has had a couple outages, too.

Microsoft is planning to randomly disable access to their customers to see if they’re using their services. Personally, I would just check the logs.

Microsoft 365 broke MFA again, locking users out of their accounts. And a bug in their Exchange Autodiscover implementation has leaked over a 100,000 credentials. A newly discovered UEFI bootkit has been backdooring Windows devices for almost a decade.

Google, the same company that warned of the risks of compromise through 2FA (as have many others), will be forcing 150 million accounts to use 2FA.
This is the same company that accidentally sent thousands of past due messages to their users last month. Their Android operating system is very privacy-averse, too.

A new ransomware strain doesn’t even both encrypting your files anymore, simply collecting a copy of your data and using the threat of release to extort their users.

If you’re still using a landline phone it’s probably because you don’t like change. Get ready, change is coming anyway. In order to more easily assist those having a mental health crisis, the FCC is going to require you to use full 1+10-digit dialing
when making any calls on a landline and 10-digit dialing from most mobile phones starting in late October. The intent is to make dialing a 3-digit number possible for the suicide hotline (988).

PG&E has been charged with causing yet another wildfire.

Now for the good news:

For what it’s worth, robocalls are now illegal.

Even the majority of IT professionals think patching is too hard. Don’t do it yourself, let me.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Windows 11 is out. Even if your hardware supports it, don’t install it yet. Consider it in the “open beta” phase. The new build of macOS (12.0 / Monterey) should be released sometime soon, too. The same goes for that: consider it a beta for at least the first couple months.

Patch Tuesday this month is very large. The typical computer should see roughly 2.9 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~2.3 GB). This includes updates for Windows Server 2008. This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for watchOS 8.0.1, iOS 12.5.5, iOS 15.0.2, iPadOS 15.0.2, and Security Update 2021-006 Catalina. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.0.2 and 12.5.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.0.2 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8.0.1 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 93.0.4577.95 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

Don’t forget to check your mobile devices, too! Many updates will also apply to your tablet, phone, kindle or television – so check your device-appropriate App Store and install updates.

Important Notes

Everything above this section should be checked by everyone on every computer. Chances are good that close to every single computer you touch will be affected by those updates. This is not the case with the items below, though you should still check each line item below to see if it applies to software you have installed.

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

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

Please remember that while I list many different applications within these updates, most people should ONLY install updates for a program if they already have a previous version of that program installed.

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

Also note that using the applications own “check for updates” function, when available, will best preserve your current settings, and often avoid any crapware that might come with a fresh installer. Use this option if it’s available to you.

Finally, if you’re sick of doing this all yourself, let me! Call or email me any time, and we can set you up with subscription SaferPC updates which will be installed each month whenever necessary. Click, call or email for more details:
https://saferpc.info/updates/
209-565-12PD
shawn@12pointdesign.com

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.4.4 adds support for Windows 11 and improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

HP LaserJet Stub 13.4.8 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be considered a security update.
https://123.hp.com/us/en/devices/LASERJET

MS Mouse and Keyboard Center 14 adds support for newer hardware, Spotlight and improves Smart Switch. This is not a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/downloads/mouse-keyboard-center

Xerox Smart Start 1.6.26.0 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be considered 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 1.30.89 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 94.0.4606.81 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 94.0.992.47 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 93.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.15.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.9.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 4.3.2439.44 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 3.43 adds hi-DPI support and improves sorting behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Thunderbird 91.2.0 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

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

Telegram 3.1.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

curl 7.79.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 132.4.3800 does not provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.56.0 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Omada Software Controller 4.4.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Rclone 1.56.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Syncthing 1.18.3 improves reliability and resolves a cosmetic bug. This should be treated as a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Technitium DNS Server 7.0 is a major update to the API and Apps feature, each of the Apps, adds several more Apps, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

WGet 1.21.2 is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

WinSCP 5.19.3 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.8.1.1435 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

iTunes 12.12.1.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Picard 2.6.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Desktop 1.35.1.2632 corrects a couple minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PlayStation PS5 21.02-04.02.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2021.10.07 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.

Artweaver 7.0.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/

Audacity 3.0.5 resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 2.93.5 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.1 resolves over 80 bugs. This is not a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the “Still” line.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.1.6 resolves over 40 bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.3.5 improves security. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.1.5 adds date insertion and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

OpenOffice 4.1.11 is a security update.
https://www.openoffice.org/download/

Adobe Reader DC 21.007.20099 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Acrobat DC 21.007.20099 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-104.html

Adobe Connect 11.2.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-91.html

Adobe Reader Mobile 21.9.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/reader-mobile/apsb21-89.html

Adobe ops-cli 2.0.5 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/ops_cli/apsb21-88.html

Adobe Commerce 2.4.3-p1 and 2.3.7-p2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-86.html

Adobe Campaign 21.3.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/campaign/apsb21-52.html

Security Software Updates

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

PureOS 10.0 is a security update.
https://pureos.net/download/

Tails 4.23 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

OnionShare 2.4 is a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

RogueKiller 15.1.1 is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

TinyWall 3.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tinywall.pados.hu/

uBlock Origin 1.38.4 resolves Twitch filtering and important filters. 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 2.34 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 1.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.9 adds the ability to “securely” share a link with others. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.9.822 adds the ability to “securely” share a link with others. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Autoruns 14.03 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Bitwarden 1.28.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

ControlMyMonitor 1.29 adds the ability to set font options. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

dnGrep 2.9.400.0 improves bookmarks and adds option to hide missing files in Everything search. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Etcher 1.6.0 adds basic auth support and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything CLI 1.1.0.20 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.26 adds Windows 11 downloads. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

Fing 2.7.0 adds user-presence tracking, improves the security tab, and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows

GoodSync 11.8.6 resolves several bugs, updates certificates and libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 1.99 resolves a privacy bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

NTLite 2.3.0.8394 updates libraries and assignment options. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.4.1 adds Windows 11 compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PowerToys 0.47.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.85 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Samsung Magician 7.0.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

TCPView 4.15 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TeamViewer 15.22.3 improves chat notification and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

WhyNotWin11 2.4.2.1 improves compatibility and accuracy. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

Windows 11 RCT 1.2.1 updates libraries and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://bytejams.com/

WinGet 1.1.12653 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest

WizTree 4.03 improves reliability, and improves details when loading exports. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Godot 3.3.4 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js 12.22.7 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.18.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.11.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Visual Studio Code 1.61 adds split views, improved locking, new decorations, improved pair guides and more. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PPSSPP 1.12.2 adds support for Android 12, scoped storage, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://ppsspp.org/downloads.html

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.15 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Dada Mail 11.16.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

Docker Desktop 4.1.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.2.7 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

MailArchiva 8.3.2 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

Nextcloud Server 22.2.0 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.6.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

ScreenConnect 21.13.5058.7951 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

Slider Revolution 6.5.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

Akismet 4.2.1 resolves an AMP validation bug. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 4.3.23 is a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.30 is now a non-GoDaddy project. This is not a security update.

Visual Composer 39.1 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

WooCommerce 5.7.1 reverts a path change bug. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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

 

Updates 2021-08-10

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for August, 2021. It’s a big one. There have been a series of Apple, Microsoft, and various hardware vulnerabilities, as well as the quarterly Oracle updates that kept the industry hopping. Couple that with Black Hat 2021 last week, which kept reminding us how poorly those who design our technology have done and continue to do.

This Month in Technology

Apple devices via Pegasus, IOMobileFrameBuffer, and Wi-Fi namesAtlassianCharming Kitten (hacking group), Cloudstar, cdnjs, FortiNet FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, HP (and Samsung and Xerox) printer driver, Illinois State Police, Linux via SequoiaPulse Connect Secure, SonicWall Secure VPN, Swisslog Healthcare’s Translogic PTSVMware ESXiWindows via a SAM security bug, Hello, PrintNightmare (x3+), and PetitPotam, and a new exploit method for wiretapping DNS.

Apple announced a new feature where they scan your content “only” for images of child exploitation provided by an unaccountable third-party, while they assure their customers’ “screeching voices” that they won’t allow governments to directly access the data or feed the database or algorithms (uh-huh), just remember that this is the same company that vowed to silence online dissent and already works with governments to expose their users’ activity. Oh, and they’re launching their own VPN service which they claim even they won’t know what you’re using it for. Wink, wink.

While I’m on the subject of VPNs, Windscribe (a “secure” VPN service) servers were seized and were discovered to not use encryption. Talk about a false promise of privacy!

Now let’s do security. If you still thought Avast (the “get hacked every year” anti-virus company) was worth anything, knowing that Norton (the “we’ll just run our own crypto mining software on your hardware and you can pay us for it” people) was in talks to buy them for about $8B should make your skin crawl. Zoom lost an $85 million class-action cybersecurity lawsuit, and Colonial Pipeline is being targeted now.

The US Federal Government received a C- grade for their IT security. Half of the agencies tested received D grades. These are the same agencies that recently made a claim about the most secure election in history. Pay no attention to the missing 95% of ballots or remote access to voting machines. Or else!

Edward Snowden has a great writeup of physical vs theoretical security concerns,
and another on how the “security” industry is failing everyone. Regular maintenance (of everything!) is critical to technology security. Stale hardware & software are responsible for nearly every security incident. This is what we do and why this newsletter is even being published.

There was a major outage at Akamai that took down a large portion of the Internet.

Google broke ChromeOS twice this month for many users, once by preventing users from being able to login due to a single character coding error. I’m reminded of a Mark Twain quote: “Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”

The thing about someone willing to buy your ransomware: when they feel wronged they’re likely to betray your ransomware gang.

Amazon is losing employees while CNN is firing them. Property owners are being ripped off by the state, and their tenants. There are child predators at Disney World.

There’s now a lawsuit over CDC under-counting vaccine deaths, meanwhile they’re over-counting infectionsignoring the risks, downplaying the ineffectiveness of the vaccine-induced herd immunity, and mandating cancer in children. Multiple pharmaceutical giants neglected to keep records of which “vaccines” were placebos and the European Parliament is being held liable for vaccine injuries and deaths. At least there has been victory in Alberta. It’s hard to take them seriously when they’re demonizing free will, treating dictates as law, government agencies are concealing their own violations of international lawmandating doctors violate their medical licenses in order to keep them, while flip-flopping like fish, and imposing prison time for unlawful parading. Would you trust someone with your life who thinks you should be in prison for disagreeing with them? It’s not enough for government to take 13%+ of what you pay at the pump (most gas stations profit is 1% or less) and force you into electric vehicles that they can pull the plug on anytime, they want to charge you for every mile you travel, too, personal or business.

Now for the good news:

Andy’s Mountain Grill & Deli is coming back! Starlink is growing fast and improving reliability and environmental tolerances.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

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

Apple released updates for iOS 14.7.1 and iPadOS 14.7.1, macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina, Security Update 2021-005 Mojave, watchOS 7.6.1, tvOS 14.7, Safari 14.1.2, and iTunes 12.11.4. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.7.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.7.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.6.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 14.7 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 92.0.4515.130 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

Don’t forget to check your mobile devices, too! Many updates will also apply to your tablet, phone, kindle or television – so check your device-appropriate App Store and install updates.

Important Notes

Everything above this section should be checked by everyone on every computer. Chances are good that close to every single computer you touch will be affected by those updates. This is not the case with the items below, though you should still check each line item below to see if it applies to software you have installed.

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

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

Please remember that while I list many different applications within these updates, most people should ONLY install updates for a program if they already have a previous version of that program installed.

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

Also note that using the applications own “check for updates” function, when available, will best preserve your current settings, and often avoid any crapware that might come with a fresh installer. Use this option if it’s available to you.

Finally, if you’re sick of doing this all yourself, let me! Call or email me any time, and we can set you up with subscription SaferPC updates which will be installed each month whenever necessary. Click, call or email for more details:
https://saferpc.info/updates/
209-565-12PD
shawn@12pointdesign.com

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

Nvidia 471.68 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Xerox Smart Start 1.6.25.0 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 1.27.111 is a security update. Use Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 92.0.4515.131 is a security update. Use Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 92.0.902.67 is a security update. Use Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 91.0 is a security update. Use Help, Check for updates to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.13.0 is a security update. Use Help, Check for updates to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.8.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 4.1.2369.16 is a security update. Use Help, About to install the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/

Internet Updates

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

AnyDesk for macOS 6.3.0 improves scam handling, adds PKG release, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.78.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 128.4.2870 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.55.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Google Earth 7.3.4 is a security update.
https://earth.google.com/

Java 8u301 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Nmap 7.92 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/

Prosody 0.11.10 is a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

PuTTY 0.76 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

Rclone 1.56.0 adds many new features, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Skype 8.73.0.124 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Telegram 2.9.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WinSCP 5.19.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.7.4.804 improves notifications and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Email updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Thunderbird 78.13.0 is a security update. Use Help, Check for updates to get the most current version.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Flickr Downloadr 3.4.1.1 updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

iTunes 12.11.4 is a security update.
https://apple.com/itunes

Plex Media Server 1.23.6.4881 resolves several bugs and improves scanner. 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 12.2.12 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.epicgames.com/

Nintendo Switch 12.1.0 improves stability. This is not a security update.

Steam 2021.07.21 resolves a path bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Connect 11.2.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-66.html

Adobe Magento Commerce 2.4.3, 2.4.2-p2, and 2.3.7-p1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-64.html

Adobe Reader DC 21.005.20060 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Atom 1.58.0 improves cosmetics and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

Audacity 3.0.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 2.93.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Krita 4.4.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.5 resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided for the stable release.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.3.0 resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.1.2 improves dark mode. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Security Software Updates

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

DNSQuerySniffer 1.85 adds sort menu options and improves high DPI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/dns_query_sniffer.html

elementary OS 6 is a major update that integrates several new features and controls and a simplified installer. This is not a security update.
https://elementary.io/

RogueKiller 15.0.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.37.2 resolves several books. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Tails 4.21 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD 3.70.51 adds PS5 and Xbox Series X/S to input and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.elgato.com/en/game-capture-software

ScreenToGif 2.33.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 2021.4.3 is a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

HandBrake 1.4.0 adds several new filters, improves hardware encoding, resolves several bugs, and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Dell Command Update 4.3 is a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 9.15 improves compatibility with Windows 11 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

GoodSync 11.8.0 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 1.98 improves CLI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.33 improves compatibility with Windows 11 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.2.0.8152 adds several new features, improves performance, updates libraries and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.4 adds Disk Defrag and resolves a bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

ProcDump 10.1 adds an option to specify a dumpfile comment and supports triage dumps. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

PowerToys 0.43.0 improves stability and accessibility, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

RDCMan 2.82 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

RoboForm 9.1.9 resolves several bugs. This follows shortly after a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Rufus 3.15 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en/

Sigcheck 2.82 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

Synergy 1.14.0 is a security update.
https://symless.com/synergy/

Sysmon 13.23 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

ZoomText 2021 2021.2107.13.400 adds support for new hardware and 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.

Node.js 16.6.1 resolves several bugs. This build closely follow 16.6.0, which was a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.17.4 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 12.22.4 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Visual Studio Code 1.59 improves extensions, finalizes the Testing API, adds Remote Containers, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

WinMerge 2.16.14 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.1.26-145957 resolves several 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.

Dada Mail 11.14.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

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

Drupal 9.2.3 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.9.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

MailArchiva 8.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

Nextcloud Server 22.1.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Server 10.8 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.org/install/

phpList 3.6.4 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

ScreenConnect 21.10.4238.7885 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.8 integrates Blocks into Widget logic, adds new patterns, and styles. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Antispam Bee 2.10.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.9.0 improves customization and controls. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 9.0.0 improves compatibility, block support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Interactive World Map 3.1.9.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Postie 1.9.56 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Redirection 5.1.3 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

Social Post Feed 2.19.3 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.27 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

Visual Composer 38.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.1.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.5.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.0.13 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.0.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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