Tag Archives: filehippo update checker

Updates 2012-04-10

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Hey folks!

Microsoft released 6 bulletins addressing 11 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Forefront UAG, and .NET Framework.

Adobe released quarterly security updates for Reader and Acrobat. If you’re uing a version of Adobe Reader prior to Adobe Reader X, or are using a version of Acrobat prior to Acrobat 9.5, your version is no longer maintained and will not receive further updates. PLEASE remove the currently installed version and upgrade to the current version (link below). If you’re using current versions of Reader and Acrobat use Help, Check for Updates to install the update.
http://get.adobe.com/reader
As with all Adobe products, be sure to UNCHECK any toolbars, add-ons and other “offers” both during download and during installation.

Adobe AIR 3.2 is a security and feature update. This version adds a number of performance updates, including multithreading support. This is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?air

Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.228 is a security and feature update. In addition to security and performance updates, this version adds automatic update capability. About time!
https://12pd.com/click?flashie
https://12pd.com/click?flash

Apple released updates for Java, iTunes, Safari, Logic Express, Logic Pro, RAW compatibility, and the Apple Updater. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current version. This includes security updates that are already being exploited in the wild. You’ll need to install updates, reboot, then install updates again.

Looking for an upgrade?

‘Tis the season! This time of year (tax time), tends to have the second-best hardware sales of the year (second only to Black Friday – and who wants to shop on Black Friday?). If you’ve been putting off an upgrade for “the sale” and can’t wait another 6 months, start looking now. Most of these sales will only be around the next week or so. Check out Amazon:
https://12pd.com/click?amazoncomputers
https://12pd.com/click?nicelaptops
Or at your preferred office supply store.

Important Notes

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

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

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need.

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

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

Driver Updates

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

AMD Catalyst 12.3 (formerly ATI Catalyst) adds support for newer hardware, compatibility updates, and minor bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/downloads.aspx

WD SmartWare Software 1.5.4.5 adds newer hardware support and fixes an uninstall issue. This is not a security update.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/Step1.asp

BullZip PDF Printer 8.2.0.1406 improves printing accuracy and provides better print auditing. This is not a security update.
http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php#download

Browser Updates

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

Firefox 11.0 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

Opera 11.62 is a security update. Use Opera, Help, Check for Updates to install the most current version.

Safari 5.1.5 is a compatibility and security update. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current version.

Google Chrome 18.0.1025.152 fixes an SSL issue and updates the integrated Flash Player. This type of bug encourages users to trust invalid certificates, which is a significant user behavior issue. Google Chrome has an integrated version of Adobe Flash Player, which was updated recently to address multiple security issues. This is a security update. Use Wrench, About to get the current version.

SeaMonkey 2.8 adds several features, corrects several bugs and stability issues. This is a security update. Use Help, About to install the most current version.

HTTrack 3.45.3 corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.httrack.com/page/2/en/index.html

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 2.25 adds From/To and message direction columns. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Thunderbird 11.0 and 11.0.1 correct multiple security and stability issues. This is not a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

Internet Updates

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

Trillian for Android 1.2.3 changes photo behavior to directly interact with the camera when possible, as well as several bugfixes. Use the device update mechanism to get the most current version.

Evernote 4.5.4.6498 provides several stability and performance updates. This is not a security update.
http://www.evernote.com/

uTorrent 3.1.3 Build 27022 fixes several minor cosmetic issues, compatibility with anti-virus applications and resetting default options to be more user-friendly. This is not a security update.
http://www.utorrent.com/

Codec Updates

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

Win7 Codec Package 3.6.0 updates included codecs. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application. This is not a security update.
http://shark007.net/win7codecs.html

Win x64 Codec Support 3.6.0 updates included codecs. This update applies only to 64-bit computers, and requires either the Win7 Codec Package or the Windows Vista Codec package. This is not a security update.
http://shark007.net/x64components.html

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

iTunes 10.6.1 is a security and stability update. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current version.

XBMC 11.0 is a new major release. This version adds a number of new features and performance improvements, including improved networking, media parsing, AirPlay, upgraded weather service, interactive update support and more. This is not a security update.
http://xbmc.org/

Audacity 2.0 is a major update, correcting a large number of stability and performance bugs, as well as adding several new features. This is not a security update.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Picasa 3.9.135.87 corrects a number of stability issues. Use Help, Check for Updates, or download the updated installer from:
http://picasa.google.com/

VLC Media Player 2.0.1 adds new format and protocol support, and corrects two security issues. This is a security update.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

CDBurnerXP 4.4.0.3018 adds track randomization option when burning, forced burn speeds and corrects a minor bug with UDF support. This is not a security update.
http://cdburnerxp.se/

ImgBurn 2.5.7.0 improves hardware support and corrects a number of bugs. This is not a security update.
http://imgburn.com/

MPC HC 1.6.1.4235 adds automatic update checking (Help, Check for Updates), improved codec and file format support, and corrects several stability and cosmetic bugs. This is not a security update.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpc-hc/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Minecraft and Minecraft Server 1.2.4 and 1.2.5 correct a couple long-standing bugs, improves chat and debugging support, and makes cats more annoying (seriously), and corrects a dozen bugs, including crash bugs. This is not a security udpate.
http://www.minecraft.net/

Office Updates

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

Notepad++ 6.1 is a major update, adding significantly improved language support, PCRE, Document Map, and large file performance. This is not a security update.
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

IrfanView 4.33 corrects a number of bugs, adds performance, stability and filter updates and corrects a publicly disclosed security issue. This is a security update.
http://www.irfanview.com/

Kindle for PC 1.9.3 Build 38425 adds “Print Replica” which emulates the actual print layout for many books, Book Extras by Shelfari, support for collections, and reading most PDF files. This is not a security update. You can install this update by opening the Kindle for PC application, closing it and reopening it.
https://12pd.com/click?kindle4pc

Artweaver 3.0.4 corrects several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.artweaver.de/

Security Software Updates

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

MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware 1.61 improves performance, usability and update reliability. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

Password Security Scanner 1.05 adds an option to stop scanning. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/password_security_scanner.html

Wireshark 1.6.7 several minor bugs address malformed packets, SSL decryption and rpcap crashes, and updates h.263 protocol support. This is not a security update.
http://www.wireshark.org/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VideoCacheView 2.15 adds a minimum size option. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 8.1.7.5 improves hardware compatibility, corrects a crash bug, and several other minor changes. This is not a security update.
http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm

Freemake Video Converter 3.0.2 adds presets for iPad 2, iPad 3, iPhone 4S, and improves stability. This is not a security update.
http://www.freemake.com/

IsoBuster 3.0 is a major update, adding support for flash drives, SD, MMC, Compact Flash, SSD, Jazz, Zip, Floppy drives, additional file systems, and more. This is a huge update, and takes IsoBuster to the level of many data recovery and advanced backup & migration tools. This is not a security update.
http://www.isobuster.com/isobusterdownload.php

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

RoboForm 7.7.5 provides several bugfixes, including crash, stability, cosmetic and browser-compatility fixes. This version also improves performance in IE and Firefox, as well as a Chrome “popup” toolbar option. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?rf

Goodsync 9.1.4.4 corrects several bugs, including Google Docs, Azure & SkyDrive compatibility issues, OnFileChange improvements, and consistency of temporary files (for external process exclusion). This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

LogMeIn Mac 4.1.2229 adds HD support, remote sound support, and automatic updates. Use LogMeIn, Advanced, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

FileHippo Update Checker 1.39 updates language support. This is not a security update.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_update_checker/

CCleaner 3.17.1689 provides several performance improvements and corrects a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Autoruns 11.22 fixes a bug in the XML output structure, jump-to-folder functionality for scheduled task entries, and fixes a buffer overflow triggered by very long registry paths. This is a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Accesschk 5.03 adds object owner as well as security descriptor flags to the -l switch. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Process Monitor 3.0 adds bookmark support, shortcuts, include filters, and now records process environment variables and current working directory for process create events. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Pslist 1.3 fixes a rounding bug that caused Pslist to report lower than actual CPU utilization when used with the -s option. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

DQSD 4.1.1.0 updates searches and improves Windows Vista/7 compatibility. This is not a security update.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dqsd/

GPU-Z 0.6.0 adds newer hardware support, display compatibility, and additional installer options. This is not a security update.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

RapidEE 6.1 build 810 adds several new shortcuts, translation improvements, inline substitution and corrects a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.rapidee.com/en/download

DriveLetterView 1.12 corrects a stability bug related to disconnected drives. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/drive_letter_view.html

USBDeview 2.06 corrects a stability bug related to disconnected drives. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

WakeMeOnLan 1.30 adds NetBIOS support. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wake_on_lan.html

Wireless Network Watcher 1.42 adds initial detection notification and the number of connected devices in the tray icon.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

MySQL 5.5.22 corrects several InnoDB and replication bugs, as well as two significant security issues. This is a security update.
http://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/

Redemption 5.3.0.2696 adds improved .Net coding, VTODO support, improved RFC822 export compatibility, greater scope for passed arguments, and corrects a couple dozen stability and reliability bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 4.1.12-77245 corrects several stability and reliability bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

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

BuddyPress 1.5.5 is a maintenance and security update. This update also changes the CSS for the jumpbar, so your theme may need modification.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

phpMyAdmin 3.4.10.2 and 3.5.0 are security updates. 3.5 adds a number of improvements that affect performance and style, as well as the native ability to remember last sort field, improved support for triggers, events and stored routines, and a vastly improved SET/ENUM editor (but seriously, ANYTHING would have been an improvement here). This is a security update.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/news.php

phpList 2.10.18 is a security update.
http://www.phplist.com/

WordPress Importer 0.6 adds support for WXR 1.2 and multiple CDATA sections, and now treats posts as unique if their post_type is different. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-importer/

BuddyStream 2.5.08 corrects several stability and reliability bugs. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddystream/

Coppermine Gallery 1.5.20 is a security update. Follow the directions at the link below if you use Coppermine Gallery:
http://forum.coppermine-gallery.net/index.php/topic,74682.0.html

DotNetNuke 06.01.05 corrects over 30 non-security bugs. This is not a security update.
http://dotnetnuke.codeplex.com/

MailEnable 6.5 corrects a couple dozen bugs, including those affecting stability and performance, and adds the ability to bind SSL certificates to different postoffices. This is not a security update.
http://www.mailenable.com/

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

Regards,

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

 

Updates 2010-05-11

Posted on by

Hey folks! Patch Tuesday is here again.

Windows Update this month includes three updates – one for Windows, one for Microsoft Office and one for Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Live. These are each security updates. Late last month, Microsoft re-released two updates for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. One of the updates addresses random lockups during shutdown. If you’ve experienced this issue, it will automatically be added to your update list the next time you run Windows Update, and is likely already installed. An update to support SD cards larger than 32gb was also released as an optional update. Also updated is the Windows 2000 security update for Windows Media Services.
  http://update.microsoft.com

Apple released security updates for all current versions of OSX as well as updates to Digital Camera Raw Compatibility, Aperture, Final Cut Server, Mac Pro Audio and various driver updates. This includes security updates. Use the “Apple Updater” to get the most recent versions of all the affected software.

___

Looking for an upgrade?

I regularly receive requests for recommendations on upgrades and new computers. This is definitely the season of discontent: It seems everyone has been disappointed with their computer performance recently. Operating systems and applications each consume so many more resources than they did just a couple short years ago. If application developers had anything to say, we’d probably be forced to upgrade our computers every month! While the computer linked below is NOT for everyone, it’s something that has so many features and so much power out of the box, that it would likely last anyone purchasing it at least 5+ years, and for many people, over 10 years.

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-120F Desktop PC
  https://12pd.com/amazon?B00318CG5K
Quad-core 64-bit processor, 1 terabyte drive, 8 gb of RAM, and a video card that supports three simultaneous displays, including DVI + VGA + HDMI. It’s over 20% off right now, weighing in at around $850.

___

Important Notes

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

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

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need.

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

___

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

nVidia GeForce 197.75 drivers provides support for newer hardware and games, as well as bridging of up to 4 SLI devices and support for 720p output. This is not a security update.
  http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us

ATI Catalyst Drivers 10.4 improve performance on some hardware, correct over a dozen bugs, and adds support for higher resolutions up to 4kx2k on some hardware. This is not a security update.
  http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

___

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

AVG Free Edition 9.0.819 provides several changes to the AVG browser toolbar, including the ability to disable it in IE without removing and reinstalling AVG. This is not a security update.
  http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free

Avast! Free Antivirus 5.0.545 provides a number of minor bug fixes, including features related to VPN compatibility, Outlook integration and rootkit detection. This is a security update.
  http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

MalwareBytes’ AntiMalware 1.46 improves speed and performance, and corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.
  http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-download.php

SuperAntiSpyware 4.37.1000 adds blended 32/64 installer, portable scanner, updated scanning engine, and improved rootkit detection. This is not a security update
  http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

___

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

Win7 Codec Package 2.4.9 updates several codecs. This is a security update.
  http://shark007.net/win7codecs.html

Vista Codec Package 5.6.9 updates several codecs. Note that this package DOES work for Windows XP. This is a security update.
  http://shark007.net/vistacodecpackage.html

Win x64 Codec Components Package 2.5.5 updates several codecs. This is a security update.
  http://shark007.net/x64components.html

___

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

Yahoo! Messenger 10.0.0.1264 is the fourth minor update the the 10.x series. This should be considered a security update.
  http://messenger.yahoo.com/

SmartFTP 4.0.1108.0 adds several new features, more than a dozen bugfixes (including proxy support), and improved security options and settings. This is a security update.
  http://www.smartftp.com/download/

Opera 10.53 corrects several dozen bugs across all aspects of the software, including several issues with broken interfaces after scrolling. This is a security update.
  http://www.opera.com/

Trillian for BlackBerry is in Beta right now, so if you’re an avid Trillian user, as I am, and you’re a BlackBerry user, check it out!
  http://blog.ceruleanstudios.com/?p=1278

Skype 4.2.0.166 corrects over a dozen bugs, primarily stability and reiability issues, as well as at least one crash bug. It also adds HD video, call transfer to another Skype contact, mobile or landline, and call quality tools. This is a security update.
  http://www.skype.com/download/skype/

Miranda 0.8.22 improves default settings with Yahoo and GaduGadu, and bugs within Yahoo, ICQ and zlib. This is a security update.
  http://www.miranda-im.org/download/

AIM 7.2.7.2 adds Facebook support. This is not a security update.
  http://products.aim.com/

Google Earth 5.1.3534 doesn’t provide a changelog, so please assume that it’s a security update. If you have Google Earth installed, update it now.
  http://earth.google.com/

___

Media updates:
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

iTunes 9.1.1 corrects a crash bug when used with some 3rd-party hardware, AAC conversion bugs, as well as several other security and stability issues. This is a security update. Use Apple Updater or download the newest package below:
  http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

QuickTime 7.6.6 is a stability and security update. This is a security update. Use Apple Updater, or download the newest package below:
  http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

Silverlight 4.0.50401.0 is a major version upate, adding offline DRM, advanced databinding, and comprehensive printing support, among other features. This is not a security update.
  http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/

CDBurnerXP 4.3.2.2140 adds multiple media formats, nrg-to-iso conversion, cue player, UDF, language features, and other minor bugfixes. This is not a security update.
  http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Picasa 3.6 Build 105.65 adds drag and drop in Collage Maker for Mosaic, Frame Mosaic, and Grid. This is not a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates, or download the newest package below:
  http://picasa.google.com/

Paint.NET 3.5.5 corrects a bug when saving 8-bit images, improves performance and adds support for .NET Framework 4.0. This is not a security update.
  http://www.getpaint.net/

IrfanView 4.27 improves performance for many features, including window sizing, keyboard controls, and plugin updates. This is a security update.
  http://www.irfanview.com/

SUPER v2010 build 38 adds IFO/BUP rendering, TAK, JTV and SHN support, and corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.
  http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html#Dnload

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0.3 is a security update. This is a security update.
  http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4610

Adobe InCopy CS4 6.0.5 provides fixes for INCX, Scripting, Tables, Text import, multiple-story placement, the UI, page items, PDF and graphic import, layout and hyperlinks. This is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates, or download the update package below:
  http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4670

Adobe InDesign CS4 6.0.5 is a compatibility update. This is not a security update. If you do not share files with other users, you may wish to avoid this update, as it can cause some of your placed items to appear to be repositioned. If you publish through a third party, or share files for editing, however, you will want to install this update right away. Use Help, Check for Updates, or download the update package below:
  http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4668

___

Utility Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Goodsync & Goodsync2Go 8.2.5.7 fixes issues with relative path mapping and multi-variant filter. This is not a security update.
  http://www.goodsync.com/download/affs/goodsync-x12pd.exe

UpdateChecker 1.037 from FileHippo was released yesterday, adding multi-language support. This is not a security update.
  http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

HijackThis 2.0.4 fixes a couple parsing bugs which might result in incomplete scans. This is not a security update.
  http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/

CCleaner 2.31.1153 improves performance and support for several applications, fixes several bugs, and improves cookie handling interface. This is not a security update.
  http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

Microsoft has released updates to several SysInternals utilities, including AccessChk, LiveKd, and LogonSessions. This is not a security update.
  http://www.sysinternals.com/

Wireshark 1.2.8 adds several additional protocols, corrects various parsing issues, and fixes a number of bugs, including crash and overrun bugs. This is a security update.
  http://www.wireshark.org/

Slingshot 1.1 adds the ability to disable the URL shortening service. This is not a security update.
  http://slingshot.commanigy.com/

Memtest86+ 4.10 adds support for the i7, i5, i3 and AMD 6-core processors, as well as various other hardware updates. Corrects a crash bug, and several other bugs, and now provides a USB-key installer.
  http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

___

Developer updates:
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

TortoiseSVN 1.6.8 corrects about a dozen bugs, including several crash bugs and reliability for cloning and copying trees. This is not a security update.
  http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads

___

Web Package Updates:
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

phpMyAdmin 3.3.3 corrects a dozen bugs, mostly cosmetic in nature. This is not a security update.
  http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/downloads.php

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2010-03-09

Posted on by

Hey folks!

Patch Tuesday has come again, including anywhere from two to five updates for Windows and Office. These are all security updates. A reboot may be required.
  http://update.microsoft.com/
This is the last chance for updates to Windows XP SP2, too, so if you’re still (foolishly!) using SP2, PLEASE take the time now to install Service Pack 3. That will get you at least a few more years of use out of XP, and it’s really a necessary step for XP (and has been for at least 3 years). Likewise, Vista RTM (the original release) will also “die” soon, so you need to install SP2 for that, if you’re running Vista (or go straight to Windows 7!). Finally, all versions of Windows 2000 will officially be retired in July, and no more updates will be provided. While it was one of the most stable versions ever released, if you’re still using Win2K today, you really need to upgrade. If your computer won’t support a newer Windows OS, consider switching to a “live” distribution of Linux: It’s free, and many of the features you likely require from your machine are supported out of the box. Add OpenOffice.org and it’ll be a better machine than it was with Windows 2000 during it’s heyday.

If you have not done so already, please update your Adobe Reader, Flash and other Adobe plugins immediately. According to security software company F-Secure, 61% of all malware today uses Adobe Reader, and another large chunk exploits Flash and other Adobe vulnerabilities. From Adobe Reader 9+, use “Help, Check for updates” to install security updates. The same is true for most other non-plugin Adobe software. Here’s the important links to specific downloads:
  http://get.adobe.com/reader
  http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer
  http://get.adobe.com/shockwave
  http://get.adobe.com/air
Be sure to uncheck any toolbars, add-ons and other “offers” both during download and during installation.

Important Notes

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

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

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need.

Media updates:
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

RealPlayer SP 1.1.1 is released today. This is likely a security update. If you’ve still got RealPlayer installed, I would personally recommend uninstalling it in favor of one of the Codec Packages, but if you opt to keep it, please update ASAP.
  http://www.real.com/

Vista Codec Package 5.6.3 improves VNC support, and updates several codecs. This is not a security update. Note that Vista Codec Package DOES support Windows XP. If you’re having trouble on an older machine getting web or downloaded audio or video to play, try this Codec package!
  http://shark007.net/vistacodecpackage.html

Utility updates:
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

FileHippo Update Checker 1.036 is a performance improvement. This is not a security update. If you’re using UpdateChecker, be sure to change the settings option to “hide Beta updates”. This will enable you to see the most current “live” version of an update that may be hidden if a Beta update is available!
  http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

Avast! Free Antivirus 5.0.462 was released today as well. No changelog, so no indication of what is different over the previous build, but if you’re using Avast!, you should check for program updates right away. This should be considered a security update.
  http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

Roboform 6.9.99 uses a new certificate, and fixes issues with the MSI installer and policies for Enterrpise. This should be considered a security update, since the certificate for previous versions will expire soon.
  http://www.roboform.com/dist/AiRoboForm.exe

MyDefrag 4.2.9 provides various performance and reliability fixes. This is not a security update.
  http://www.mydefrag.com/Manual-DownloadAndInstall.html

Web Package Updates
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

phpMyAdmin 3.3.0 provides replication support, new import/export modules (with progress indicators!), synch of structure between servers, and a number of bug fixes. This version requires PHP5 and MySQL5. This is not a security update.
  http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/downloads.php

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2009-10-13

Posted on by

Hey folks!

Patch Tuesday has come again, including anywhere from three to thirteen updates for Windows and Office. If you haven’t installed these updates already, do so now. These are security updates.
  http://update.microsoft.com/
Please be sure to install all the necessary “optional” updates, which can only be included if you select “Custom” or “view available updates” when the page initially loads.

Yet another critical security vulnerability has been discovered in multiple Adobe products. Exploits are actively being published by malicious websites and are, unfortunately, being promoted through ads and into pages within the “top ten results” on most search engines. If you have ANY Adobe products installed (Adobe Acrobat, Reader, Flash, Shockwave, AIR, or others), you are hereby warned to be *very careful* online and scan your machine often. If it starts to misbehave, or if you are unable to use the updating functionality within any of the programs, you are advised to shut your computer off immediately and seek technical assistance. At least one of these vulnerabilities can be avoided by disabling the Javascript parsing within Adobe Reader (which should be done ANYWAY!), but that will not prevent infection from the other vectors.

Adobe says they “may” release updates to correct this issue today and that they “may” not be able to release patches until next month. In either case, check for updates early and often. Checking on a daily basis until these patches are released does not make you Chicken Little. 🙂

Apple has released quite a few updates this month, including “security, stability and bug fix” updates for:
  Mac OSX 10.6.1
  Patch 2009-005 for all other OSX versions
  iTunes 9.0.1
  QuickTIme 7.6.4
  Various Mac hardware drivers & firmware updates
  iWork 9.0.3
  Logic Express & Pro 9.0.1, and 9.0.2
  Main Stage 2.0.1
  Apple Remote Desktop 3.3
As usual, you can access these updates through the Apple Updater for those applications you have installed, and can access the website below to install additional features and applications:
  http://support.apple.com/downloads/

Trillian released patches for the Yahoo plugin, as well as opening a new beta for the Astra series (4.1). This is a security update. If you are using Trillian you should use the Help, Check for Updates feature to install either the 4.0.118 or 3.1.14 version. Or get it here:
  http://trillian.im/

Skype 4.1.0.179 corrects a security issue within the extras manager, and fixes a freezing bug within the video shortly after video starts to play. If you have Skype installed, install this update before you launch Skype again.
  http://www.skype.com/download/skype/

FileZilla 3.2.8 & FileZilla 3.2.8.1 both came out over the weekend, resolving a couple crash bugs, cosmetic issues and introducing a new method of resuming uploads for certain types of servers. If FileZilla is your FTP client of choice, you can use the internal “Help, Check for Updates” feature, or download the installer here:
  http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client

Notepad++ 5.5.1 fixes some memory leaks, and adds “.txt” to new text documents, among other minor changes. As “simple” text editors go, I’m more and more impressed with Notepad++ each time I explore the features. If you need use Notepad even remotely as often as I do, consider playing with this. It’s a perfectly capable HTML (and many other script) editor, with hundreds of additional features you’ll need – uh – someday. 🙂
  http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

Google’s browser, Chrome, had another milestone as it released yet another patch for a non-interactive vulnerability. Version 3.0.195.24, update now if you have Chrome installed, corrects this, while the 4.x branch remains in beta.
  http://www.google.com/chrome/

NVidia released the next minor build of their driver platform, Forceware 191.07, with WHQL certification. It’s a large update, but if you’re using any video-intensive games or applications, this could increase performance on your machine, if, of course, you have an NVidia video card.
  http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Media updates:
Most people only require one or two of the following applications.

Picasa 3.5 was released last week, introducing better image tagging and tag management, as well as what Google describes as “better sync support.” While I wouldn’t rely on most software-based image synchronization tools, Picasa has proven itself within my own toolset, so I do intend to give it a chance. If you’re just now getting into digital photography, this would probably be the best way to go.
  http://picasa.google.com/

CDBurnerXP 4.2.6.1706 was released earlier this month, adding support for additional audio formats and CD-Text. This is not a security update.
  http://cdburnerxp.se/en/download

Vista Codecs 5.4.6 was released, correcting issues with certain AVI subtypes, MKV and patching the Gabests and ffdshow filters. Since it includes the ffdshow patch, it should be considered a security update – but should ONLY be installed if you’re using a previous version of this codec package, or none at all.
  http://shark007.net/

ImgBurn 2.5.0.0 is a free, powerful and quite extensive media burner. While CDBurnerXP supports many of the same features, some things are just simpler in ImgBurn:
  http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

DVDFab 6.0.7.0 was released a couple weeks ago, primarily performance updates. This is not a security update.
  http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm

If you don’t trust Apple anymore than I do, you’re probably using QuickTime Alternative – and they’ve released version 3.0.0 this last week. This is an update to the core processing, so it could correct issues you are having with newer quicktime-based files. However, it is not a security update, and since it’s the first release of the 3.x branch, I would be wary of installing it until the first patch is released.
  http://www.filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/

Utility updates:
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Filehippo has released UpdateChecker 1.035, again, touting “internal performance improvements.” Had I not seen and used this myself months ago – and experienced problems with the UpdateChecker program as a result, I’d have a little more faith. The bytes are different, so it could be that they simply mis-labeled something at some point. It seems to be stable enough, now:
  http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

Sun has released VirtualBox 3.0.8.53140, correcting more than thirty issues, though most are things few people would experience. It does include security updates. If you’re using VirtualBox, you should install the update – especially if you’re one of the few that had it stop working on them completely when installing 3.0.6. Oops. 🙂
  http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

I released Syncaid 1.1.0.4 two weeeks ago, introducing several new features and correcting a bug that affected the use of both the “child” and “extract” options simultaneously. New features include “last”, “limit”, “type” as an alias for “extensions”, “assume” is now treated as an array (as are several others). Read more here:
  https://saferpc.info/syncaid/

The SysInternals team has released several updates to their tools package including an important update to Autoruns, and a new feature “Disk2vhd” which enables you to create a virtual machine from the *running* operating system on your computer! This is something that will save me hours of porting machines through various P2V and VM applications. If you have been keeping an older machine around because the new one just doesn’t support one of the applications you “need” to run on it – consider using this tool as an alternative. It’ll save you electricity, space, and frustration.
  http://sysinternals.com/

MyDefrag 4.2.2, yet another defragmentation tool, was released last week. While I normally don’t pay any attention to defragmentation tools anymore (they’re rarely really necessary on newer computers – and can take quite a while to run if you’re using even a significant portion of your newer hard drive), this one really got my attention when I read that it can run as a screen saver. Quite an ingenious use of processing time, while making sure it’s as hands-off as you want it to be.
  http://www.filehippo.com/download_MyDefrag/

MemTest86+ released their first major version, 4.0, in years. This version reduces the time for the first pass, which is often all that is necessary if you suspect bad memory on a machine. It can reduce the detection time from an hour to only a few minutes if RAM is bad, and still provides the “let it run forever” mode to give you the peace of mind that can only be obtained from running memory diagnostics iteratively for several hours and numerous passes.
  http://www.memtest.org/

Web Package Updates
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.

phpMyAdmin 3.2.2.1 and 2.11.9.6 were released yesterday. These are security releases for an attack that is active and in the wild. If you have phpMyAdmin installed, update NOW:
  http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/downloads.php

eCommerceTemplates 5.8.3 was released for both ASP and PHP, including over 20 updates, several of them directly related to correct processing of payments. You should update immediately to correct validation and potentially failed transaction issues…however, be aware that some users are complaining that this patch is preventing some of their customers from accessing their own profiles. That might be enough to make me wait for 5.8.4. 🙂
  http://www.ecommercetemplates.com/updaters.asp

Whew. Isn’t that enough for now? Keep it clean out there. 😉

Regards,

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

Updates 2009-07-28

Posted on by

Hey folks!

Hit Windows Update! An out-of-cycle security patch for all 5+ versions of IE, including IE8, as well as a critical security patch for ATL (while this is a development component, chances are most people have it installed anyway) and the C++ runtime were released today. These are all critical security updates that you need to install if you use Windows, even if Internet Explorer is *not* your default browser. Hit it now:
  http://update.microsoft.com/

Adobe released a security update to Shockwave 11.5.1.601 last week. Unfortunately, Adobe doesn’t provide a changelog of any kind, so all we know is that it’s a security update. Everyone (all platforms and browsers) should install this update:
  http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/

If you’re one of the many people addicted to CCleaner, you’ll be happy to know that CCleaner 2.22.968 was released today. It corrects bugs in IE8 and OpenOffice cleaning, and adds support for Opera 10 and Safari 4. The update is available here:
  http://www.ccleaner.com/
If you don’t use CCleaner already, you do not need it.

DVDFab, my favorite DVD ripping application released version 6.0.4.0 yesterday. It includes stability and performance improvements, including support for additional devices.
  http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm
If you don’t have it, you don’t need it, but if you’re looking for an excellent DVD ripping solution – this is it!

FileHippo released UpdateChecker 1.034 this week which corrects a cosmetic bug in the tray application. While not a critical update, if you use the “install” version of UpdateChecker, you will want to install this update:
  http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

For web developers…

bbPress 1.0.2 was released last night, correcting the plugin security vulnerability patched in the 1.8.2 branches of WP/WPMU. If you’re using bbPress, it’s critical that you install this update urgently, as any forum member might be able to compromise the forum through a privilege escalation bug in many common plugins.
  http://bbpress.org/download/

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

Regards,

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