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 2021-09-14

Welcome back, Folks!

This is for Patch Tuesday for September, 2021.

I’m running late with the newsletter this month. I needed to focus on our clients since there was simply so much to do. In the typical month we usually see 85-90 updated applications (some several times). This month there have been over 160. An increase in application release frequency is typical when other major software releases are impending, and the next month will bring Windows 11, iOS 15, a new build of Windows 10, a new version of Microsoft Office, iPhone 13, and Windows Server 2022.

This Month in Technology

AccentureApple devices, and Apple iCloudAT&T (more than once), various airline and IAB staffBangkok AirwaysBanksyBeaumont HealthBlackbaud (more information about a previous hack), Boston Public LibraryBrooklyn Technical High SchoolCampbell Conroy & O’Neil, P.C., Chase Bank, thousands of Coinbase accountsComcast/Xfinity remotes29% increase in attacks targeting the education sector, Cream FinanceDallas Police DepartmentDallas School DistrictDesert Wells Family MedicineDuPage Medical GroupEpikEskyFunFordForHousing and Liberty, over 80,000 Fortinet FortiGate VPN devices, Fortinet FortiWebFortress Home Security, the French Visa ProgramGuntrader (including data of over 100,000 UK gunowners), Howard UniversityHP Omen HubIndiana Department of Health (Contact Tracing System), ImavexEvin (Iranian Prison), JenkinsJohn Deere, JP Morgan Chase, over 1,200 K-12 schoolsKaseya UnitrendsLithuanian Ministry of Foreign AffairsMarketron60,000 domains with MarkMonitorMcDonald’sMemorial Health SystemMicrosoft Power Apps (38 million records!), MikroTik routersMyRepublicNEW Cooperative, a NY Credit UnionOlympusParallels DesktopPeterborough, New HampshireRazer mouse driver (and pretty much all other drivers), Republican Governors AssociationRevere HealthSAC WirelessSonic, various NAS drivesPayPal is sharing user data and transactions with the ADL, pNetworkRazorPayvarious routers from over a dozen vendors, various Russian phonesSouth Africa’s Department of JusticeSpotify data leak, Syracuse UniversityT-MobileTexas GOPTokio Marine, the United NationsUPS, the US Census, the US State Department, hundreds of US financial systems, almost half of all US hospitals, dozens of US government websites, the US Terrorist Screening CenterValveWalgreens, the WordPress Gutenberg Template Library Plugin, and Zoho ManageEngine have been hacked this month.

I separated the Microsoft-specific hacks this month mostly to shame them. The month they claim that “the cloud” is more secure they should absolutely have their noses rubbed in it. Microsoft suffered from yet another nasty, epic, world-wide Exchange attack, but defended their own hosted product by claiming “Microsoft’s Office 365 wasn’t swept up in the breach because it runs in the cloud, which offers more protection,” even though only hours later a critical vulnerability in Microsoft’s Azure Cosmos DB service was confirmed — one of the largest cloud hacks of all time, affecting thousands of service providers. The vulnerability existed for months, so there’s simply no way to know if your accounts were compromised or if permanent access to any victim’s Microsoft Azure services occurred months prior, and Microsoft patched it only two weeks before making the claim above that “the cloud…offers more protection.” As if hammering the point home, yet another series of vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure cloud services were discovered this week which expose millions more endpoints, with thousands already infected. Microsoft’s 365 Cloud PCIIS, Microsoft Teams event data, WSL, and MSHTML used by Microsoft Office have all been hacked this month. Microsoft’s PrintNightmare still isn’t over. In fact, the “fix” breaks printing and printer installation on at least 5% of computers. To top it all off, with all of these incidents they are removing features and they still feel their software is worth a 20% price increase based on the improved security and reliability of their products. Sigh.

The Ragnarok ransomware gang has released a master decryption key. So has REvil (accidentally).

The US Senate is working to make encryption meaningless. Facebook is, too. And Facebook just got slapped by the German Supreme Court for violating free speech rights in Germany. Hypocrisy is their codeword. Facebook actually hid their transparency report. That kinda says it all, doesn’t it? If not, then Apple “considering” removing Facebook for their ties to human trafficking should at least raise an eyebrow. Really, the question should be, why didn’t they? Google geofence warrants are up 1,167%.

Anyone can post a job for any company on LinkedIn. A new fake Captcha tricks the user into keeping malware. ProtonMail, once a beacon of hope for privacy advocates, has shared IP addresses and device information of a user in violation of their own privacy assertions.

Dogfooding is usually a good thing. Not always.

On hardware – GPU-level malware is a thing. Hacking strict hardware security through a silly design flaw. ASUS has made a few serious mistakes with their $2,000 GeForce RTX graphics cards. If you ever wondered why you shouldn’t borrow someone’s charging cable or wall wart, wonder no more. Samsung has acknowledged that they can disable any Samsung TV using a “feature” (read: backdoor) installed on all their televisions. Do you think they limited this “feature” to their TVs?

Apple is still pushing their Jedi Mind Tricks. They want you to use your phone as your ID, but a recent iOS update even broke the “phone” part of iPhones. Why would anyone trust their identity to their phones?

The Epic v Apple case finally has a ruling. One of the two most significant issues, that Apple forbade any payments not through the App Store, was (rightly) ruled illegal. All other counts were dismissed. It’s being appealed, of course. This could cost Apple a huge chunk of a $20+ billion pie. There are some great reads from discovery. South Korea has passed a new law with similar implicationsEpic v Google is really shaping up.

Be careful how you treat your employees – they might turn out to be the “evil insider” for a ransomware gang.

If you’re a government employee and the scope of your abuse was just to use your boss’s computer then you’re really thinking small potatoes.

Oh, and don’t photograph the moon. You might get sued by UMG.

All technology carries risk, but Wi-Fi is probably the most significant risk to your privacy.

Microsoft broke OneDrive for Business, has some major issues with Outlook 365 right now, and VoIP.ms has been extorted by a DDoS attack.

Apple has dropped it’s lawsuit against Corellium over virtual iPhones, lost their Optis trial, and settled with small developers who publish on the App Store, but it still in bed with Big Brother. The US is pushing a bill right now to prevent App Stores from being the sole source of apps and content for their platforms and the EU is pushing for a minimum of seven years of hardware support.

There is no Section 230 in Australia…and it shows. Until social media companies are slapped by the Supreme Court, they will continue to get away with acting on behalf of government while claiming to be independent.

Since nobody is working “full time” anyway, they’re planning to force employers to cut their hours even more.

A federal court has ruled that the HHS can not force doctors to perform transgender surgeries or abortions. If you were concerned about the damage someone might do to your wedding cake, why would you want them holding a scalpel between your legs?

When the MSM has to resort to blatant lies to support their position and the people eat it up you have to acknowledge that they’re the enemy of honesty. The only real pandemic is a curious series of deaths only affecting those leaders opposed to mandates and ignoring the blatantly obvious data. This isn’t the first time. Sadly, absolute fraud passes for science today. There really are proven treatments available.

The science behind face masks demonstrates that this has never been an honest conversation. Instead, politicized (and ineffective) tests and treatments are more lethal
than the disease. Those required to do so are failing or simply refusing to report injuries (does this mean they lose protection under NVICP?) and the events that are reported still resemble a certain climate change “hockey stick.” They’re maliciously and negligently ignoring the dataactual health and safety concernscommitting fraud, and cherry-picking sources so they can make tiktok videos. They’re intentionally falsifying data to coerce and terrorize the publicGeorge Orwell would be proud. The spews media, and by extension, their loyal vidiots, aren’t interested in the truth. They mindlessly supportJab Crow,” racism, rape, tyranny, dehumanizing people, and sweep the scandals under the rug with their massive propaganda machine.

If they were honest and their goals were actually in line with reality, then isolation and replication would be required *before* the creation of a cure, but they’re still pushing tests that can’t distinguish Coronavirus from Influenza. The “vaccines” intentionally, permanently alter your DNA. Claims of effectiveness have repeatedly been disproven, as have their false claims of FDA licenseapproval.” So they push illegal mandates that aren’t intended to protect your health, even going so far as to ban students from online classesPoliticians ignoring mathematics isn’t really anything new. Especially when there’s animportantagendaIt’s time for a human rights commission for war crimes over this bio weapon. After all, more servicemembers have died from the vaccines than the disease.

The anti-privacy passports are not designed to prove you’re immune. They’re not designed to prove you’re not a carrier.

Whether there’s sufficient evidence to determine the cause of any deaths over the last 18 months, one thing is sure: Science no longer has any validity.

At least some regions are waking up to the insanity of a group of super-governmental multi-national corporations with total immunity from any and all liability. Or elseIt’s time to opt out.

The FBI admits no one (else!) orchestrated the Jan 6 protest. Nevertheless, it was, according to “experts,” the darkest day in American history. (And they don’t mean the subsequent human rights violations.) Odd that the same agenda is unfolding through Big Pharma.

A real President doesn’t abandon their people, or commit war crimes when they’re embarrassed, the Speaker shouldn’t be silencing the names of those who died on their watch, and the FCC, the FDA, OSHA, and other government agencies should actually study what they approve. Companies that only answer to consumers do.

Only after the last year of humans treating other humans as trash, and validating it by dumbing down the rest, could a flight attendant say, matter-of-factly, that “we don’t follow federal law” and expect her victim to just roll over and comply.

It makes perfect sense, then, that the Constitution and Declaration of Independence would be labeled “harmful content” by the National Archives. Not to be outdone, the UK – once the standard to measure an open press – will now punish reporters who “embarrass” the government with up to 14 years in prison.

Now for the good news:

Inexpensive batteries are on the horizon and Starlink satellites are being fitted with lasers.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~2.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15 and 14.8, iPadOS 15 and 14.8, tvOS 15, macOS Big Sur 11.6, watchOS 8 and 7.6.2, Safari 15, Safari 14.1.2, Xcode 13, iTunes 12.12 for Windows and Security Update 2021-005 Catalina. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15 and 14.8 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15 and 14.8 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8 and 7.6.2 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 15 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 93.0.4577.63 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.

Citizen Driver 2021.1 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/citizen/download/

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.4.3 improves removal. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

HP Laserjet Stub 13.3.3 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://123.hp.com/us/en/devices/LASERJET

Nvidia 472.12 adds support for Windows 11, CUDA 11.4, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.29.81 adds more advertising, improves IPFS support, resolves several crashes and other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 94.0.4606.54 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 93.0.961.52 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 92.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.14.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Vivaldi 4.2.2406.48 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.9.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Thunderbird 91.1.1 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.

Skype 8.75.0.140 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Telegram 3.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian 6.5.0.17 updates libraries and resolves upload bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

AnyDesk 6.3.3 improves connection reliability. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk (macOS) 6.3.2 adds a URL handler and adds a warning for permissions. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

aria2 1.36.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://aria2.github.io/

BrowsingHistoryView 2.50 improves menu sorting behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.79.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

DNSDataView 1.61 resolves an international compatibility bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/dns_records_viewer.html

Dropbox 130.4.4978 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Server 1.0.1 (wow! I honestly thought they’d never release a major version) adds ACME Let’s Encrypt support, logging improvements, library updates and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.14 adds OpenSSL 3.0 support, resolves several bugs, adds ability to manage filter settings, and improves cross-platform compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 51.0 improves reliability and stability. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Npcap 1.55 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 4.4.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Rclone 1.56.1 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Technitium DNS Server 6.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Zoom 5.7.8.1247 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.6.1 improves hardware support and resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Flickr Downloadr 3.4.3.1 updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

iTunes 12.12.0.6 is a security update. Use Apple Software Update to install the most current version.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

MediaMonkey 5.0.3 resolves a duplication bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.mediamonkey.com/windows#download

Plex Home Theater 1.5.1.2629 updates libraries, improves hardware support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.24.3.5033 adds support for new hardware, updates libraries, resolves stability and reliability bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2021.09.20 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Nintendo Switch 13.0.0 adds Bluetooth Audio, the ability to install Dock updates, and preserve the Internet connection in sleep mode. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PlayStation PS5 21.02-04.00.00 adds M.2 SSD expansion support, 3D audio, and resolves several bugs. 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.

Audacity 3.0.4 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 2.93.4 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Gimp 2.10.28 is a major update ported to GEGL, adds multithreading, GPU-side processing, hi-DPI support, and improved user interface, selection tools and more. This is not a security update.
https://www.gimp.org/

IcoFX 3.6.1 resolves a startup bug. This is not a security update.
https://icofx.ro/

Krita 4.4.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.1 resolves over 400 bugs. This is a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software, and should be avoided in favor of the “Still” version for most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.1.6 resolves 44 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Adobe XMP Toolkit SDK 2021.08 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/xmpcore/apsb21-85.html

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.12 and 22.5.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-84.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.10.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-82.html

Adobe Genuine Service 7.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/integrity_service/apsb21-81.html

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187658 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/Digital-Editions/apsb21-80.html

Adobe Premiere Elements 20210809.daily.2242976 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-78.html

Adobe Photoshop Elements 20210811.m.158081 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop_elements/apsb21-77.html

AdobeCreative Cloud Desktop Application 5.5 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-76.html

Adobe ColdFusion 2018.12 and 2021.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb21-75.html

Adobe Framemaker 2019.8 and 2020.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/framemaker/apsb21-74.html

Adobe InDesign 16.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb21-73.html

Adobe SVG-Native-Viewer 20210914 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/svg-native-viewer/apsb21-72.html

Adobe InCopy 16.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb21-71.html

Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb21-67.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.007.20091, 2020.004.30015, and 2017.011.30202 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-55.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.22 resolves several stability bugs with Tor. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

BelArc Advisor 11.1 adds support for new software and operating systems. This is not a security update.
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

Hashcat 6.2.4 improves performance, adds hash modes, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://hashcat.net/hashcat/#downloadlatest

KeePass 2.49 improves accessibility, reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

OnionShare 2.3.3 adds dark mode, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

OpenSSL 1.1.1l and 3.0.0 are security updates.
https://curl.se/windows/
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

RogueKiller 15.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.38.0 adds Node.js support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

WebBrowserPassView 2.11 adds a new export/import option, Firefox CSV. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/web_browser_password.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD 3.70.55 adds Facecam support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.elgato.com/en/game-capture-software

SnagIt 2021.4.4 resolves several bugs. This 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 1.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

PDF Creator 4.4 resolves several bugs, adds CS Script action, page numbers, and a couple more actions. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

Education updates

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

Zotero 5.0.96.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.zotero.org/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8.7 resolves dozens of bugs and compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

Autoruns 14.01 resolves a bug with VirusTotal and adds a dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Beyond Compare 4.4.0.25886 adds support for TLS 1.3, improves SFTP and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl4

Bitwarden 1.28.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CPU-Z Installer 1.97 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

DesktopOK 9.21 improves support for Windows 11 and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 2.9.378.0 adds several new features and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Drive Snapshot 1.49 adds support for new operating systems and improves encryption. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/

Etcher 1.5.122 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything Toolbar 0.7.2 resolves a display bug. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Fido 1.24 adds UEFI Shell downloads and command line support. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

LessMSI 1.8.2 resolves a CAB parsing bug. This is not a security update.
https://lessmsi.activescott.com/

NTLite 2.3.0.8330 adds support for Windows 11 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.0.1 adds several new tables and queries, updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.45.0 improves stability and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.84 adds dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Process Explorer 16.43 resolves a memory leak and other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Synergy 1.14.1 resolves several bugs, improves reliability and adds new operating system support. This is not a security update.
https://symless.com/synergy/

Sysmon 13.24 improves stability and event handling. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TCPView 4.14 adds dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TeamViewer 15.21.8 resolves a license warning bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

WhyNotWin11 2.4.1 improves compatibility detection. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

WifiChannelMonitor 1.70 adds 802.11ac monitoring mode. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_channel_monitor.html

WifiInfoView 2.71 improves internationalization. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

Windows 11 RCT 1.1.0 improves compatibility detection. This is not a security update.
https://bytejams.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.03 is a massive update. This version adds zoom, improved search controls and organization, Explorer interaction and improved cosmetic controls. This is not a security update.
https://wiztreefree.com/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Godot 3.3.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js v12 12.22.6 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v14 14.17.6 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v16 16.9.1 updates libraries, resolves several bugs, and improves error handling. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Unreal Engine 4.27 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unrealengine.com/en-US/

Visual Studio Code 1.60 adds debug watch values, improves cosmetics, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

OpenCart 3.0.3.8 resolves an RTL bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.opencart.com/

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.13 is a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Dada Mail 11.15.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

Docker Desktop 4.0.1 introduces the new licensing scheme, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.13 is a security update (the second in a week).
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.2.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

MailArchiva 8.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

MailEnable 10.36 resolves several bugs, including a certificate assignment bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 22.1.1 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Client 2.9.0.5150 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

ScreenConnect 21.12.4575.7914 adds several controls for compatibility and reporting, improves stability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

YOURLS 1.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://yourls.org/

WordPress 5.8.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.1.12 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.9.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 9.1.1 is a security update.

Duplicator 1.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Postie 1.9.57 improves attachment handling. This is not a security update.

Show IDs 1.1.8 adds support for the latest WordPress. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

Social Post Feed 4.0 is a major update adding several new features. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.28 removes a warning. This is not a security update.

Visual Composer 38.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.1.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.7.0 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 2021-05-11

Welcome back, Folks!

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

This Month in Technology

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

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

The FBI is violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

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

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

Piracy is bad and FLoC is worse10DLC is a step in the right direction, but will likely only result in increased text messaging forgery.

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

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

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

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

Now for the good news:

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

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

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Important Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Driver Updates

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

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

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

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

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

Browser Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Email Updates

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

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

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

Internet Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

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

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

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

Office Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Security Software Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

Education updates

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

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

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

Web Package Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Autoptimize 2.8.4 is a security update.

BuddyPress 7.3.0 is a security update.

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

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

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

WPtouch 4.3.41 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-04-13

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for April, 2021. There have been over 50 major hacking incidents, many hardware devices with critical security issues (often these are responsible for the major hacking incidents), and over a hundred updates this month. Almost every browser has released weekly security updates for the last two months. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting kind of sick of it. Finally, there’s an OpenSSL security update this week, so expect many more updates throughout the next month from every vendor that rolls their own encryption.

This Month in Technology

Acer, Apperta FoundationAzureBIG-IP, the Blender websiteBoggi Milano MenswearBooking.comBroward County (FL) Public SchoolsBrown UniversityBuffalo SchoolsCalifornia State Controller’s OfficeClubhouseCNA FinancialCrash 4 (within a day of release!), Facebook (which had the audacity to blame it’s users), Gigaset Android Update Server (preinstalled, too), Harvard Business SchoolHaverhill Public SchoolsIdaho Central Credit Union, the Indian governmentiOS, iPhones, iPads and Apple WatchesKentucky unemployment insurance systemMaricopa (AZ) Community Colleges, Michigan-based Flagstar BankMillersville UniversityMobiKwikMultiCareNetgear switches, the Netmask libraryParkMobilePeakTPA/Carolina SeniorCarePHPRollSAPSchneider Electric Smart MetersShellShopifySierra WirelessStanford MedicineSwarmShopUbiquiti (even if they won’t admit it), Union Bank of NigeriaUniversity Of CaliforniaUniversity Of ColoradoUniversity of MiamiUniversity of WisconsinUPMCVerkada, various VPN devices, Wake Forest Baptist-Lexington Medical CenterWeLeakInfo (ironic), Yeshiva University, and Zoom (more than once) have each been hacked.

There’s still fallout from the Exchange vulnerabilities for which Microsoft released patches in March, but with today’s release there are newly discovered vulnerabilities and patches, too. Even so, about 8% of Exchange servers still aren’t patched with the March fixes.

Newly discovered vulnerabilities allow bypass of Spectre mitigations on Linux, and on other platforms via JavaScriptAMD Zen 3 CPUs, Cisco SOHO Routers, and QNAP NAS devices are just a small sampling of hardware devices with serious security problems this month. 80% of global enterprises report firmware cyberattacks, while the other 20% probably just don’t have sufficient training or equipment to be able to detect them.

Major Google Android WebView problems have been notable this month and banking malware have been found in ten apps on the Google Play store. And Apple’s macOS Mail App can be hacked simply by receiving an email (again).

Azure AD/Microsoft 365, Azure DNS, Facebook, and Google have suffered recent outages.

T-Mobile is the latest to convert their customers into products. TikTok and Facebook tracking is worse than you imagine.

From the “I’m glad it didn’t happen to me” file we have an example of an aggressive space saving measure gone horribly wrong. There’s a growing trend of targeting the customers of ransomware victims to convince them to pay and another new cross-platform cryptomining worm.

Mobile privacy is a myth as both Google and Apple collect telemetry even when telemetry is disabled, but at least they’ve finally closed one of the more significant SIM-jacking holes.

Big Tech gets to make their own rules. They’re so aggressive about it that their own security staff sometimes can’t tell if they’ve been hacked. Google is being sued in France for violation of privacy. Apple has banned an accessibility keyboard from their AppStore in an effort to force them to into a buyout. Hopefully Epic will be able to use this and Apple’s hypocritical statements in Australia in their antitrust suit.

As with all disasters and government programs (but I repeat myself), the “American Rescue Act” is being trolled by malware authors to infect unsuspecting users. LinkedIn users are also being targeted thanks to the LinkedIn hack.

Not all of those Norton Antivirus renewal messages are scams (just most of them), and the UK is now suing Norton for failing to comply with their investigation into their “Dark Pattern” subscription model.

If Big Tech, Big Government, and the MSM didn’t censor Presidents (even Venezuela’s),
representatives, doctors, Christians, students, and even knitters, push false narratives, and tolerate terror, child abuse, racism, and sexism, while providing security only to one side of the aisle and targeting the other, I suspect there would be much more peace. Virginia Tech is being sued for banning the amorphously definedhate speech“, while once more college racism turns out to be a hoax. It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that victimhood itself is a disease.

A single death is a tragedy but killing small businesses was always part of the plan. The lockdowns were never about a virus. They were about pushing compliance with masks and experimental (lethal and anything butsafe and effective“) mRNA treatments onto an unwilling public, to “hack the software of life” preventing the ability to survive and dismantling every freedom unless you accept the jab. A surge is happening, not just at the border, but in post-jab death rates. All of this to ensure that their slush funds would be financed and elections could never be honest again.

There have been tens of thousands of fraudulent ballots in Michigan Georgia, and New Hampshire. In Georgia, one county ordered voter registration applications for 25 times the population. At least we can all agree on some common sense election reform. Or can we? The same businesses that require an ID to use their services are attacking new laws that require the same scrutiny for elections.

Now for the good news:

After more than a decade the US Supreme Court has finally ruled in favor of Google.
It’s about time. While I have no love for Google, the idea that you can’t develop code that uses the same parameters or names as Oracle code is sickening. How many of you have have written functions to format a date or number? It’s not like granular coding styles leave much to the imagination. This would be like an author suing another author because the chapters of their book were named “Chapter 1”, “Chapter 2” and so on. Good decision.

As long as I have my soapbox: Save Crypto!

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

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

Apple released updates for GarageBand 10.4.3, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 12.5.2,, iPadOS 14.4.2, and watchOS 7.3.3. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.4.2 and 12.5.2 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.4.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.3.3 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 89.0.4389.95 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 (11.0) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

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

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

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

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

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

Driver Updates

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

Drivers by Seagull 2021.1 adds hardware support, improves response time, and adds features to certain models. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/

Crucial Storage Executive 7.01 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.3.8 improves AMD removal and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Logitech Options (macOS) 8.50.210 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

NVidia 465.89 adds new profiles, improves compatibility with various games and newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.22.71 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 89.0.4389.128 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 89.0.774.76 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 87.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.9.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.7 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 3.7.2218.52 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 78.9.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

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

BrowsingHistoryView 2.47 adds high-DPI support and an option to copy URL QR Code to the clipboard. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.76.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 119.4.1772 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.53.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

IPInfoOffline 1.60 adds CIDR and Duplicate Count columns, and updates internal IP database.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/ip_country_info_offline.html

Npcap 1.30 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Technitium DNS Server 6.2 is a major update. The 6.0 branch adds DNS Application support, more options, and improved compatibility. This is not a security update. Be aware that the current version chokes during updates because it stalls on removal of the previous version.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 2.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WGet 1.21.1 is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

Zoom 5.6.1.617 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.14 resolves several bugs and adds new positions and motions. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

FastStone Viewer 7.5 adds dark theme, support for audio formats, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Picard 2.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.7 and 22.3.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-28.html

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187606 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/Digital-Editions/apsb21-26.html

Adobe Bridge 10.1.2 and 11.0.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb21-23.html

Atom 1.56.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

RoboHelp RH2020.0.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/robohelp/apsb21-20.html

Krita 4.4.3 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.2 resolves over 60 bugs. This is not a security update, but the “Fresh” line is beta, so should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.0.5 resolves over 100 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 7.9.5 resolves several bugs. 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.

Tails 4.17 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

ClamWin Portable 0.99.4.103 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://portableapps.com/apps/security/clamwin_portable

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

RogueKiller 14.8.6 is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.34.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.9.2 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2021.3.0 resolves several bugs and improves toolset. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

MakeMKV 1.16.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?makemkv

Education updates

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

e-Sword 13.0 adds Audio Bible support. This is not a security update.
https://www.e-sword.net/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Windows 7.6.797 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitwarden 1.25.1 resolves installation issues, adds support for Safari 13 and updates electron. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 5.78.8558 improves cleaning options and behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Cygwin 3.2.0 is a major update, improving threading and symlink support, and resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 8.77 improves translations and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dupeGuru 4.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dupeguru.voltaicideas.net/

Etcher 1.5.117 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything Toolbar 0.6.3 resolves a user-mode compatibility problem, requiring uninstallation of previous versions before upgrade. All future builds will be machine-level only. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

GoodSync 11.6.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 1.95 adds translation. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.13 improves SSD/SSHD detection and benchmark testing. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.1.0.7845 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 4.7.0 adds several new tables, concat* functions, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

ProduKey 1.96 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

PsExec 2.33 is a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

RoboForm 9.1.2 adds website problem reporting and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Samsung Magician 6.3.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

SimpleWMIView 1.43 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

System Monitor 13.02 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

TaskSchedulerView 1.67 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TcpLogView 1.35 adds Process User column and improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/tcp_log_view.html

TCPView 4.0 adds flexible filtering, search, and display of the Windows service that owns an endpoint. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

WifiInfoView 2.68 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinObj 3.02 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WirelessKeyView 2.22 adds an option to copy QR Code of the selected item. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_key.html

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.06 resolves a hotkey bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Android Studio 4.1.3.0 resolves a stable/beta channel bug. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

Node.js 12.22.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.16.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 15.14.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 5.27.0.5916 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

SQLite 3.35.4 is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

TortoiseGit 2.12.0 updates libraries, resolves more than a dozen bugs, and improves consistency. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisegit.org/

Unreal Engine 4.26 adds many new features. This is not a security update.
https://unrealengine.com/en-US/

Visual Studio Code 1.55.2 is a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.11 adds a method to enable 2FA. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Docker Desktop 3.3.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.6 resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.8.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

Joomla 3.9.26 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MailEnable 10.34 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 21.0.1 resolves over 70 bugs, updates libraries, and improves reliability and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.6.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 11.4.0 is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.4.2767.7752 makes several cosmetic changes and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SpamAssassin 3.4.6 is a security update.
https://spamassassin.apache.org/downloads.cgi

Antispam Bee 2.9.4 adds support for ajax calls. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.8.3 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 7.2.1 is a security update.

Social Post Feed 2.19.1 improves compatibility and reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Email Log 2.4.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Redirection 5.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.26 is an SJW release. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.1.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.1.2 resolves several bugs and adds AWS regions, new MIME types and pagination links. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.2.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 2.7.0 changes PHP requirements (5.5+) and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.0.12 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/