Updates 2012-12-11

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Shawn K. Hall

Hi, Folks!

Microsoft released 7 updates today to address security issues in Windows, Word, Windows Server and Internet Explorer. A reboot is required. Be aware that an important Root Certificates update is available under Optional updates, but be sure to Hide the update for Bing Desktop so you can avoid that crapware.
http://update.microsoft.com/

Apple released updated for OS X, iWork, Remote Desktop, RAW, iCloud Control Panel, AppleTV and iTunes. This includes security updates. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current versions.

The iTunes interface is changed significantly after the update, but you can restore some of the look by following the instructions here:
http://osxdaily.com/2012/11/29/5-tips-make-itunes-look-normal/

Adobe Flash Player 11.5.502.135 is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?flash
https://12pd.com/click?flashie

Adobe AIR 3.5.0.600 is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?air

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.

Bullzip PDF Printer 9.3.0.1516 adds user interface languages, PDF level 1.7 compatibility, new macros, and Shell execute mode support for RunOnSuccess, RunOnError, and AfterPrintProgram.
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 17.0.1 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

Google Chrome 23.0.1271.97 is a security update. Use Menu, About to get the most current version.

Opera 12.11 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

SeaMonkey 2.14.1 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 2.41 adds a message direction filter. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Internet Updates

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

Skype 6.0.0.126 is a stability update. Among other things, this fixes the internal update checker – so if you’re having problems updating with Help, Check for Updates, download the file directly from the link below, close Skype completely and install the update. This is not a security update.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home

BrowsingHistoryView 1.15 adds support for IE10. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

Evernote 4.6.0.7670 provides various cosmetic changes, corrects tags disappearing and other bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.evernote.com/

FileZilla 3.6.0.2 corrects an extremely annoying FTP over TLS stalling bug. Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version. This is not a security update.

Nmap 6.25 vastly increases fingerprints and signatures, adds several features and corrects a handful of bugs. This is not a security update.
http://nmap.org/

uTorrent 3.2.3 Build 28705 corrects several crash/hang bugs, improves auto-update, and other bugfixes. Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version. This is not a security update.
http://www.utorrent.com/downloads

WinSCP 5.1.2 corrects several stability bugs. This should be treated as a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

Codec Updates

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

Vista Codec Package 6.4.3 updates included codecs. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application. This version works for both Windows XP and Windows Vista.
http://shark007.net/vistacodecpackage.html

Win7 Codec Package 3.9.1 updates included codecs. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application.
http://shark007.net/win7codecs.html

Win8 Codec Package 1.3.3 updates included codecs. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application.
http://shark007.net/win8codecs.html

Win x64 Codec Support 3.9.1 updates included codecs. This update applies only to 64-bit computers, and requires either the Win7 Codec Package, Win8 Codec Package or the Windows Vista Codec package.
http://shark007.net/x64components.html

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

CDBurnerXP 4.5.0.3661 adds Extended UDF support, command-line extensions, additional column displays, and an improved burning library that should resolve many stability issues. This is not a security update.
http://cdburnerxp.se/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

EA Origin 9.1.3.2637 improves speed and performance, adds broadcasting to twitch.tv, third-party game support within library, and various bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_origin/

Minecraft and Minecraft Server 1.4.4 and 1.4.5 provides over 120 bugfixes, including a security issue. This is a security update.
http://www.minecraft.net/

Office Updates

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

Notepad++ 6.2.2 corrects a PHP styling bug, adds relative path support, and selected line count. This is not a security update.
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.2.2.html

Adobe Illustrator 16.0.3 is a stability update. Use Help, Updates to get the most current version.

Photoshop 13.0.2 update for CS6 adds HiDPI display support. Use Help, Updates to get the most current version.

DPS Desktop Tools for InDesign CS6 updates Folio Overlays, Folio builder, Digital Publishing Plug-in, Content Viewer and DPS App Builder. This is not a security update.
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/new.jsp

Blender 2.65 corrects over 200 bugs, adds fire simulation, smoke improvements, and other improvements. This is not a security update.
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/

Kindle for PC 1.10.5 Build 40382 does not provide a changelog, so this should be treated as 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.

Wireshark 1.8.4 corrects several bugs and updated more than 20 protocols. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.wireshark.org/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VideoCacheView 2.40 adds the ability to capture video title from the source website. 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 8.2.2.4 adds support for newer protections and reliability improvements. This is not a security update.
http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm

SUPER November 20, 2012 adds Windows 8 support, new encoding engine and corrects a ‘very critical bug’. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

RoboForm 7.8.5 corrects issues with Opera, Firefox and IE+Chrome Frame, fixes for crash bugs, improves display and internationalization support. This should be treated as a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?rf

Goodsync 9.3.8.5 improves Google Drive, SkyDrive, and SFTP support, and corrects several other bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

Recuva 1.44.778 improves large file support, stability, and other minor improvements. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/recuva

CCleaner 3.25.1872 adds additional application support, improved Firefox plugin security, GUI improvements and other bug fixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Speccy 1.19.411 adds detection for Antivirus, VM, newer hardware, Windows 8, network shares, and minor bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/speccy

RapidEE 7.0 build 825 corrects a minor path bug. This is not a security update.
http://www.rapidee.com/en/download

Hamachi 2.1.0.294 corrects several reliability bugs and improves password security. This is a security update.
http://help.logmein.com/SelfServiceDownloads

IPXWrapper 0.4.0 corrects a number of bugs, and improves emulation features. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.solemnwarning.net/ipxwrapper/

AdExplorer 1.44 fixes a bug that caused AdExplorer to crash when it encountered corrupted extended rights schemas. This should be treated as a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Contig 1.7 has more detailed fragmentation analysis reporting, fixes a bug that enables creation of contiguous files larger than 8GB, and adds support for setting the valid data length on files to avoid zero-fill overhead. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Coreinfo 3.2 now reports the presence of many additional features, including SMAP, RDSEED, BMI1, ADX, HLE, RTM, and INVPCID. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

DebugView 4.81 fixes a bug that could cause it on some executions to fail to capture debug output and enter a CPU-bound loop. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

ProcDump 5.11 fixes a bug introduced in version 5.1 that prevented it from working on 32-bit Windows XP. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

ZoomIt 4.41 improvex zooming quality, and fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

USBDeview 2.20 improves Windows 8 support. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

WakeMeOnLan 1.46 fixed /wakeup to accept MAC address. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wake_on_lan.html

UpdateChecker 1.040 adds support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. This is not a security udate.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_update_checker/

Web Package Updates

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

WordPress 3.5 is a major update, updating included libraries, vast improvements in image handling and media management, plugin and theme installation, nearly 1000 bugfixes and more. This is a security update.
http://wordpress.org/

MailEnable 6.72 corrects several bugs, improves indexing performance, and localization. This is not a security update.
http://www.mailenable.com/

Movable Type 5.2.2 corrects over 70 bugs, and improves MTA. This is not a security update.
http://www.movabletype.org/download.html

phpMyAdmin 3.5.4 is a bugfix release. This is not a security update.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/news.php

Skipfish 2.10b improves parsing to address additional potential fingerprints, and other bugfixes. This is a security update.
http://code.google.com/p/skipfish/

ColdFusion 10.2 for Windows is a security update.
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-25.html

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2012-08-15

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Shawn K. Hall

Hi, Folks!

Microsoft released nine updates addressing vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Exchange, SQL Server, Server Software, Developer Tools and VBA. This includes security updates. A reboot is required.
http://update.microsoft.com/

Apple released updates for various printers, Safari 6.0, Xcode 4.4, iPhoto 9.3.2, Apple Remote Desktop, Aperture 3.3.2, iMovie 9.0.7, Apple FIPS, iWork 9.2, Workgroup Manager, Windows Migration Assistant, and MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This includes security updates. Use the Apple Updater to get the most current version.

Adobe Reader 10.1.4 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

Adobe Flash Player 11.3.300.271 is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?flash
https://12pd.com/click?flashie

Important Notes

Driver Updates

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

WD SmartWare Firmware 1.6.2 provides several bugfixes and added hardware support. This is not a security update.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/Step1.asp?id=wdfMB_Essential&os=win

Browser Updates

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

Google Chrome 21.0.1180.77 is a security update. Use the wrench, About to get the most current version.

Firefox 14.0.1 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

Opera 12.01 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.

SeaMonkey 2.11 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 2.36 adds an option to auto-resize columns. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Thunderbird 14.0 is a security update. Use Help, About to get the most current version.
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/14.0/releasenotes/

Internet Updates

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

Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.6.636 is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?shockwave

Skype 5.10.0.116 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home

Connectify 3.6.0.24540 improves stability, performance and software compatibility. This is not a security update.
http://www.connectify.me/

WinSCP 4.3.9 improves stability, and ports several features from the 5.x betas to this version. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

Codec Updates

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

Win7 Codec Package 3.7.5 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

Vista Codec Package 6.3.4 updates included codecs. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application. This version works for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. This is not a security update.
http://shark007.net/vistacodecpackage.html

Win x64 Codec Support 3.7.5 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.

CDBurnerXP 4.4.1.3341 adds a playlist filter, and fixes a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
http://cdburnerxp.se/en/download

MPC HC 1.6.3.5818 updates ffmpeg library. This is not a security update.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpc-hc/

Picasa 3.9.136.07 corrects several bugs, primarily with the sync functionality. This is not a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

VLC Media Player 2.0.3 adds support for OS X Mountain Lion, improves stability and updates translations. This is not a security update.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Minecraft 1.3.1 and Minecraft Server 1.3.1 improves single-player mode by integrating MC server, LAN world detection, adds cheats, bonus chest, adventure mode, trading, emeralds, cocoa, tripwires, creative mode inventory, writeable books, temples, improved debug, stacking, performance and various bugfixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.minecraft.net/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Acrobat X 10.1.4 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

Artweaver 3.1.1 improves a variety of features. 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.

SuperAntiSpyware 5.5.1012 provides a number of improvements. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Wireshark 1.8.1 corrects several stability bugs, and adds newer protocols and MS NetMon capture file support. This is not a security update.
http://www.wireshark.org/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Fraps 3.5.6 corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.fraps.com/

VideoCacheView 2.35 adds support for new Chrome defaults. 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 8.2.0.0 corrects several stability and quality bugs, and adds Blu-ray chapter support and additional output presets. This is not a security update.
http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm

Education updates

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

Kodu 1.2.88.0 “Mars Edition!” adds a new character, Rover, new games, curriculum, commands, and other features. This is not a security update.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=10056

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

RoboForm 7.8.0 fixes several bugs, including Chrome and Opera compatibility, crash and stability problems. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?rf

Goodsync 9.2.9 corrects several bugs with file change detection, sync, conflict resolution and propagation. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

Autoruns 11.33: This fixes a bug that caused the run as administrator elevation to fail if Autoruns was started from a path with spaces. This is a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Process Explorer 15.22 fixes a crash bug. This is a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

Whois 1.1 fixes a bug that could cause an infinite loop and a verbose command-line option (-v). This is not a security update.
http://sysinternals.com/

CCleaner 3.21.1767 adds newer application support, GUI improvements and bug fixes. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

FolderChangesView 1.10 adds several command-line options. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html

Wireless Network Watcher 1.50 adds an autoexec-on-detect option. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

USBDeview 2.12 corrects a reliability problem. This is not a security update.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

CPU-Z Installer 1.61 corrects a clock-speed bug and adds newer hardware support. This is not a security update.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

GPU-Z 0.6.4 adds newer hardware support, fixes several crash bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

RapidEE 7.0 build 817 corrects several bugs and adds various key mappings. This is not a security update.
http://www.rapidee.com/en/download

CrucialScanner 20120723 adds newer hardware support. This is not a security update.
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

MySQL 5.5.27 corrects a number of bugs, primarily with InnoDB and replication and variable/settings reliability. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/

Web Package Updates

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

Dada Mail 5.2.0 is now bundled with three WYSIWYG editors, improves Send option pages, cleans GUI, and changes settings configuration. This is not a security update.
http://dadamailproject.com/download/

Drupal 7.15 corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://drupal.org/download

phpList 2.10.19 is a security update.
http://www.phplist.com/

phpMyAdmin 3.5.2.2 is a security update.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/news.php

Adminer 3.5.1 improves SQLite support and CSV export. This is not a security update.
http://www.adminer.org/en/

MailEnable 6.59 corrects the installer package and improves stability and security of service accounts. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.mailenable.com/

Anti-Splog 2.0.1 corrects a couple minor bugs. This is not a security update.

bbPress 2.1.2 corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 1.6.1 corrects several non-security issues. This is not a security update.

BuddyStream 2.6.1 corrects several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 3.2.1 corrects a number of bugs and updates included libraries. This is not a security update.

Email Log 0.8.1 is only a typo fix. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 6.2.2 corrects several bugs, including a stability issue. This is not a security update.

WPtouch 1.9.5.1 corrects a couple 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 2010-09-05

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Shawn K. Hall

Hey folks!

Microsoft has released a registry changeset that enables Windows PC’s to alter the search order for DLL’s, eliminating the current working directory from the search path. This will very effectively eliminate the vast majority of the vulnerabilities that might be exploited from the current series of errant DLL calls in popular applications. While this specific issue has been known for over a decade, it is only recently that this mehodology has been widely exploited. Using the registry changes at the link below CAN break existing applications, so MAKE A BACKUP! However, the altered behavior really is how DLL’s have been used in most applications for years, so it is unlikely that it will negatively affect your computing environment. Use the “Fix It” at the link below to install or change this behavior.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2264107

MacBook firmware corrects freeze and crash issues. This is not a security update. Use the Apple Updater to install this update.

iWork 9.0.4 fixes several issues, particularly within table formatting and certain other layout issues. This is not a security update. Use the Apple Updater to install this update.

Adobe Shockwave 11.5.8.612 is a security update. If you have Shockwave installed (and you probably do), please update ASAP. This is a security update. Be sure to UNCHECK any optional toolbars and addons both during download AND during installation.
http://get.adobe.com/shockwave

Silverlight 4.0.50826.0 corrects several stability and performance issues, and a potential security vulnerability when used through RDP. This is a security update. You’ll need to close ALL browsers before installing the update.
http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/

Time Lost is Never Recovered

I’ve been using a password management tool for about a year now that I truly doubt I could live without. When I initially learned of Roboform, I was very hesitant to even give it a chance. After all, I already have all my passwords recorded, painstakingly, and extremely well organized. And this didn’t allow me to add other information to the records that I might someday need (like the specific email address tied to an account). Nevertheless, I gave it a chance, just in case it really did make my web working any faster. You should too.

I now have over 400 logins stored within Roboform. Website management is greatly eased – instead of having to retype my username (if I can remember it) and password, I’m now using completely (and I mean COMPLETELY) random passwords generated by Roboform, storing the passwords in an encrypted vault and in a free backup online. I can login to any of these sites with literally one click. If I don’t remember the URL for one of the sites I need to access, that information is stored within the ‘login’, as are any other ‘notes’ you wish to include as well.

You can also add other details, contacts, notes, bookmarks, identity profiles and more – all within the same interface. If you are filling out a form online (such as creating an account on a site), it’ll actually prompt you to save the information. The next time you’re back to the site it provides direct access to the stored login you created minutes, or even years before. Click it, you’re logged in. Whew.

That’s all cool, but what if you’re one of us that uses multiple computers and devices. Great! Roboform is cross-platform, works in most browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and others), works on most mobiles (iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android and more), and directly within any web browser that supports JavaScript. Yes, seriously. Did I mention it actually synchronizes the data between each device for you? Talk about a time saver!

Check it out!
https://12pd.com/click?roboform

Yes, there is a free version – and it supports up to ten logins. If you need more than that, the full version is on sale this holiday weekend.

Important Notes

Driver Updates

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

ATI Catalyst 10.8 adds OpenGL ES 2.0 support, and other performance improvements. This is not a security update.
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx

MS IntelliPoint 8.0.225.0 (MS mouse drivers) is a major version update, but with little along the details. Due to timing, I expect this to be a security update related to the DLL hijacking issues seen prominently today. Treat as a security update.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/download/download.aspx?category=MK

MS IntelliType 8.0.225.0 (MS keyboard drivers) is a major version update. Like IntelliPoint, I expect this to be a security update related to the DLL hijacking issues. Treat as a security update.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/download/download.aspx?category=MK

Email Updates

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

Redemption 5.0.0.2174 adds 64-bit support, and a dozen other nifty developer capabilities, such as an onProgress event and account ordering. This is not a security update.
http://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

Internet Updates

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

uTorrent 2.0.4 fixes a DLL hijack exploit, peer exchange exploit, WebUI security issues, adds grouping, and other cosmetic changes. This is a security update.
http://www.utorrent.com/downloads

Google Earth 5.2 improves embeddable functionality, adds track, multitrack functions, elevation profiles and improves file import capabilities. This is not a security update.
http://earth.google.com/

Codec Updates

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

Win x64 Codec Support 2.6.6 updates included codecs and corrects several bugs. This is likely a fix related to the popular DLL injection security issues going on, so should be treated as a security update. This applies only to 64-bit computers, and requires either the Win7 Codec Package or the Windows Vista Codec package.
http://shark007.net/x64components.html

Win7 Codec Package 2.6.2 updates included codecs and corrects several bugs. This is likely a fix related to the popular DLL injection security issues going on, so should be treated as a security update. To install the update, you must uninstall and reinstall the application.
http://shark007.net/win7codecs.html

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

iTunes 10.0 is a major version release, and adds several long-awaited features, including Win7 taskbar support (about time!), album grouping, and native media key support. Finally, these features offered in competing products for the last decade grace the “cosmetically” superior iTunes interface. This is a security update. Use the Apple Updater to obtain and install the most recent version.

ImgBurn 2.5.2.0 adds dozens of new features, performance, reliability and cosmetic improvements, including the removal of the ‘forced’ Uniblue marketing, and a couple potential security vulnerabilities. This is a security update.
http://imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

VLC Media Player 1.1.4 fixes the DLL security issue facing many applications today. This is a security update.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

Google Sketchup 8.0 adds geo-location modeling, color terrain maps, photo-matching, and a Building Maker plugin that helps speed the process of modeling buildings. This is not a security update.
http://www.sketchup.com/

Security Software Updates

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

SuperAntiSpyware 4.42.1000 resolves a compatibility issue with McAfee, updates detection libraries. This is not a security update.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

CCleaner 2.35.1223 adds session cleaning, additional browser variants and newer applications, improves include/exclude, startup functionality, and accuracy, as well as other minor changes. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Speccy 1.04.173 adds 64-bit support, multiple-user installation option, improved version detection and better stability on Win7. This is not a security update.
http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Goodsync & Goodsync2Go 8.3.3.3 adds several options to facilitate cleanup of the archive data, corrects multiple crash bugs, improves performance and adds several additional tracking options. This is not a security update.
http://www.goodsync.com/download/affs/goodsync-x12pd.exe

GPU-Z 0.4.6 corrects temperature detection, broken BIOS parsing and improves support for various hardware. This is not a security update.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

Web Package Updates

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

phpMyAdmin 3.3.6 corrects several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/news.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 October 13, 2009 by Shawn K. Hall

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/