Welcome back, everyone. It’s Patch Tuesday!

Today, Microsoft released 11 updates affecting Windows, Word, Excel, MS Office, Groove, SharePoint, OWA and MSRT. A reboot is required. This includes security updates. They released a couple updates that should have been applied to your Windows-based computers last week, too, including a certificate update to address the DigiNotar hack, adding that entire company to their certificate revocation list.
http://update.microsoft.com/

Adobe Reader 10.1.1 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

Adobe Flash Player 10.3.183.7 fixes a several compatibility issues. While this specific build is not a security update, if it’s even remotely possible you don’t have the current version, treat this as a security update as the last build corrected dozens of security issues.
https://12pd.com/click?flash
https://12pd.com/click?flashie

Adobe Shockwave 11.6.1.629 is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?shockwave

Java 6u27 improves performance and stability, updates the timezone tables, and adds certification for Firefox 5. This is not a security update.
http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

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.

ATI Catalyst 11.8 fixes compatibility and stability issues with many of the new line of devices going back several months. If you have an ATI card, consider this an important update. This is not a security update.
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx

nVidia 280.26 is a minor stability and performance update. This is not a security update.
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us

BullZip PDF Printer 7.2.0.1313 adds PStill support, debugging, and priority controls. This is not a security update.
http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php

MS IntelliType 8.20.469.0 is a stability update. This is not a security update. Look at the bottom of your keyboard for the model and version number. This is not a security update. You CAN NOT use this version with a PS/2 connection – it MUST be using USB in order for this driver to continue to allow your keyboard to work!
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/downloads

Browser Updates

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

There have been a lot of Firefox updates recently. Only the most recent revisions (6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are security updates, however, and the stability issues that the new major versions have introduced have been “all abuzz” in the online world. At this point, if you’re still using Firefox, it’s probably best to switch to a more stable system such as Chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari. Mozilla has announced that their new release track intentions for Firefox are to release a new MAJOR version (7, 8, 9…) every six weeks regardless of added feature set. This means that even if no significant changes have occurred in the features or capabilities in Firefox by next Christmas, we should see Firefox 14.0 released by then. This is already becoming a nightmare for web developers, system administrators and even end users, as monitoring changes for this single application becomes a full time job. Unless – and until – Mozilla reconsiders this decision, I strongly suggest that you avoid use of Firefox as your primary browser. Maintenance should never become this time consuming. Anyway…back to the business of updates.

Firefox 6.0 thru 6.0.2 are feature, performance and security updates. This is a security update. Use Help, About to obtain the most current version.

Google Chrome 13.0.782.220 is the second Chrome security update inside of a week. Both to address Flash and SSL certificate issues. Chrome should download the update automatically, but requires you to close and reopen it to install the update.

Opera 11.51 corrects several bugs including security updates and performance issues. This is a security update. Use the Opera button, Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

SeaMonkey 2.3 thru 2.3.3 correct a number of security and stability issues, and add various new features. This is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 1.81 fixes a crash bug, while adding better sorting and searching functionality. This is not a securityu update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Thunderbird 6.0 thru 6.0.2 are feature, performance and security updates. This is a security update. Use Help, About to obtain the most current version.
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

Internet Updates

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

FileZilla 3.5.1 improves security in kiosk mode, installer issues, updates PuTTY compatibility and adds MVS listing compatibility. This is a security update.
http://filezilla-project.org/

Skype 5.5.0.115 adds Windows 8 support, as well as fixing an authentication issue. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home

Trillian Astra 5.0.35 corrects issues with Google Talk. This is not a security update.
http://www.trillian.im/windows/

Trillian Astra 5.1.8 adds native Skype integration, improves AIM, ICQ, chat history and corrects a number of minor bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.trillian.im/windows/

Trillian for Mac 1.2.1 adds new chat window tabs, history searching, and Lion-related bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.trillian.im/mac/

Connectify 3.0.0.20932 is a major update that improves performance, device ID, cleaner interface, service startup, and other bugs. This also introduces the “Pro” version ($30) which adds even more features. This is not a security update.
http://www.connectify.me/

DynDNS Updater 4.1.8 incorporates a number of stability fixes and brand changes, as well as adding internal hostname resolution. This is not a security update.
http://dyn.com/support/clients/

Evernote 4.5.0.5229 adds print preview, audio recording and playback, toolbar modification and various bug fixes. This is not a security udpdate.
http://www.evernote.com/

Codec Updates

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

Win7 Codec Package 3.0.7 fixes LAV audio. 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 3.0.7 fixes LAV audio. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application. 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.

CDBurnerXP 4.3.8.2631 adds various control and usability options, and fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://cdburnerxp.se/

iTunes 10.4.1 fixes keyboard inconsistencies, and various other bugs. This is not a security update. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current version.

Office Updates

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

Inkscape 0.48.2 is a stability and bugfix release. This version corrects issues with OSX Lion, tablets, various crashes and the Save As functionality. This is not a security update.
http://www.inkscape.org/

Kindle for PC 1.7.1.33056 adds collections, “Print Replica” to emulate the printed version and PDF reading support. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?kindle4pc

Security Software Updates

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

Avast! Home Edition 6.0.1289 adds Script Shield to help protect browser interactions, Web Shield, WebRep and other improvements, including security and stability. This is a security update. Use the built-in Update method to install the most recent version.
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

AVG Anti-Virus Free “2011” version 2012.1796 improves stability, security, performance, and adds various features and troubleshooting information. This is a security update.
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-file-dm-afh

MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware 1.51.2 fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VideoCacheView 1.98 corrects invalid characters in file rename. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

CCleaner 3.10.1525 adds newer browser support, improvements in previous filters and minor optimizations. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Defraggler 2.07 adds drive health information, improved SSD detection, and several minor bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/defraggler

Speccy 1.12.265 adds multiple new features, improvements in quality, search and reporting, and fixes a few minor bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/speccy

GPU-Z 0.5.5 adds support for newer hardware and improved BIOS version detection. This is not a security update.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

DebugView 4.77 adds a command-line switch to enable or disable kernel-mode capture, a switch to enable millisecond clock display, and a number of bug fixes. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

ProcDump 4.0 enables you to control the contents of the dump with your own minidump callback DLL and adds a new switch that has ProcDump wait for a specified process to start. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Process Explorer 15.04 fixes several minor bugs, and quickly follows updates 15.02 and 15.03, which do correct some security issues. This should be treated as a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Process Monitor 2.96 changes several UI elements and updates the graphs to match the style introduced in Process Explorer 15.
http://sysinternals.com/

SDelete 1.6 fixes a bug that prevented it from accessing some files on 64-bit Windows and swaps the zero-free-space and clean-free-space arguments to make them more intuitive. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

RoboForm 7.4.2 fixes bugs with Opera, Firefox, iTunes, and corrects crashes, search and certain submission behaviors. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?rf

Goodsync 8.7.8.8 fixes a number of bugs and improves visual interface. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 4.1.2-73507 provides a number of bugfixes as well as VBoxAdditions issues. This is not a security update.
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

VirtualBox Extension Pack 4.1.2-73507 updated for VBox 4.1.2. This is not a security update.
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/virtualbox/downloads/index.html#extpack

Web Package Updates

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

phpMyAdmin 3.4.4 is a bugfix and security release. This is a security update.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/news.php

BuddyPress 1.2.10 is a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

bbPress 2.0-rc-5 fixes several pre-release bugs and improves internal API’s. This is not a security update. Full release is just around the corner!
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bbpress/

BuddyStream 2.1.4 adds BP 1.5 compatibility, fixes several bugs (including frequent database errors and a global Facebook filter) and improves stability. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddystream/

Multisite Plugin Manager 3.1 fixes auto-activation for new blogs. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/multisite-plugin-manager/

Redirection 2.2.9 fixes an XSS in the menu system. This is a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/

Simple Facebook Connect 1.0 is a total rewrite. There are quite a few changes, but the highlights are mostly redesign-related and improved structures. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-facebook-connect/

WP Geocode Filter 1.0.2 adds GeoIP functionality. This is not a security update.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wpgeocode/

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

Regards,

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