Welcome back, Folks!
Today is Patch Tuesday for May, 2021. There have been a couple dozen major hacking incidents and critical security issues, and every browser has now continued their weekly security update cadence through the third month.
This Month in Technology
Apple (Quanta Computer), Apple’s AirDrop, Apple’s iOS 14.5, Apple’s macOS Big Sur 11.3, Cellebrite, Celsius Network, Colonial Pipeline, Dell dbutil, Dominion election hardware, various DNS implementations, mostly on IoT devices, various medical devices, Elliman Property Management, Facebook, Geico, enterprise password app Passwordstate, various Police Departments, Pulse Connect Secure, Tesla’s Model X, and Trend Micro’s Apex One were hacked this month.
Linux banned University of Minnesota from submitting code because they intentionally submitted patches that would have intentionally made Linux devices insecure.
The FBI is violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
It’s illogical to justify or mandate an experimental treatment that increases your risk for a disease and creates side-effects on its own that are equivalent to the disease. When you can’t win your arguments using actual science you have to ignore the inserts, the numbers, falsify the data, falsify the tests, censor, attack their education, ridicule and intimidate, hide the dead children, secretly destroy the unused ventilators, ignore the tens of thousands of barrels of DDT dumped in the ocean by the same companies making the experimental vaccines today, make sure nobody knows you have no idea what you’re doing, or just straight-up kill people. A Jedi mind trick or two goes a long way, too. By the way, the COVID-19 mortality rate for vaccinated test subjects dwarfs the rate for the “control group.” France is at least capable of putting two and two together. It’s sad that American doctors can’t.
In a surprise move, Apple & Google have actually stood by their privacy policies forbidding the UK from collecting additional location details through the NHS COVID-19 tracking app. That said, no matter how much they try to limit data exposure, if it’s collected, it can be compromised.
Piracy is bad and FLoC is worse. 10DLC is a step in the right direction, but will likely only result in increased text messaging forgery.
USPS is violating the first amendment but that pales in comparison to what state and federal governments are doing, and what the Speaker has done to keep her seat. Christianity isn’t illegal, yet. Violence is, but it has proven to be effective anyway, so will continue unabated.
There are still some wins coming in, so I guess we haven’t quite devolved into communism, but it doesn’t look good when censorship is so pervasive and ambiguous, and officials openly engage in fraud during an audit, and blame the victims for being assaulted.
The Epic vs Apple suit is currently underway and has proven to be what you’d expect from a conflict between a monopoly and a video game company. Meanwhile, Apple is now being sued for terminating accounts for customers that have “bought” apps and services through them, and the EU has declared Apple’s App Store a monopoly. Seeing the writing on the wall, Microsoft has lowered it’s Windows Store cut.
Google, which dropped Fortnite last year for violating the terms of a contract, just sidestepped Roku’s removal of the YouTube TV app by inserting the functionality of YouTube TV app into the YouTube app. Demonstrating the flaws in their app compatibility argument Google broke YouTube TV on their own Chromecast platform during this circus.
Now for the good news:
Dogecoin for the win. Just make sure you are the only one with the keys to your wallet!
Oh, and Samsung is planning to provide a way so you can still make use of some of your archaic hardware.
Let’s Get Busy
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Patch Tuesday this month is huge – with well over a hundred common applications and operating systems releasing fixes. The typical computer should see roughly 3.2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.
Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.
Apple released updates for iCloud for Windows 12.3, iTunes 12.11.3 for Windows, Safari 14.1, Security Update 2021-002 Catalina, Security Update 2021-003 Mojave, Xcode 12.5, iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1, iOS 12.5.3, macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, tvOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.
iOS 14.5.1 and 12.5.3 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.
iPadOS 14.5.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.
watchOS 7.4.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.
Google Chrome OS 90.0.4430.100 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.
Fedora 34-1.2 has a lot of changes under the hood, such as UEFI improvements, driver and updated libraries. This is a security update.
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/
Don’t forget to check your mobile devices, too! Many updates will also apply to your tablet, phone, kindle or television – so check your device-appropriate App Store and install updates.
Important Notes
Everything above this section should be checked by everyone on every computer. Chances are good that close to every single computer you touch will be affected by those updates. This is not the case with the items below, though you should still check each line item below to see if it applies to software you have installed.
The release of macOS Big Sur (11.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.
The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v2009) is huge (about 18% larger than v2004, which was 25% larger than any prior build) so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.
Please remember that while I list many different applications within these updates, most people should ONLY install updates for a program if they already have a previous version of that program installed.
It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.
Also note that using the applications own “check for updates” function, when available, will best preserve your current settings, and often avoid any crapware that might come with a fresh installer. Use this option if it’s available to you.
Finally, if you’re sick of doing this all yourself, let me! Call or email me any time, and we can set you up with subscription SaferPC updates which will be installed each month whenever necessary. Click, call or email for more details:
https://saferpc.info/updates/
209-565-12PD
shawn@12pointdesign.com
Driver Updates
If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.
Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.3.9 improves diagnostics and removal. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu
Logitech Options 8.54.106 resolves several bugs. This version does not provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options
Nvidia 466.27 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
Engine 3.20.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://steelseries.com/engine
Browser Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Brave 1.24.84 is a security update.
https://brave.com/
Google Chrome 90.0.4430.212 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/
Microsoft Edge 90.0.818.56 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download
Firefox 88.0.1 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Firefox ESR 78.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/
SeaMonkey 2.53.7.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/
Vivaldi 3.8.2259.42 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/
Email Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Mailspring 1.9.1 is a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/
Thunderbird 78.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/
Internet Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
BrowsingHistoryView 2.48 adds a QR code toolbar button and resolves a bug in the SaveDirect command-line switch. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html
curl 7.76.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/
Dropbox 121.4.4267 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/
FreeFileSync 11.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php
Java 8u291 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
Npcap 1.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/
Omada Software Controller 4.3.5 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/
PuTTY 0.75 is a security update.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
Technitium DNS Server 6.2.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/
Telegram 2.7.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/
Zoom 5.6.5.823 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/
Media Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
iTunes 12.11.3 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Picard 2.6.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/
Plex Media Server 1.22.3.4392 resolves several bugs with collections. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server
VLC Media Player 3.0.14 is a security update.
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Game Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
PlayStation PS4 8.03 improves notification controls and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/
PlayStation PS5 21.01-03.10.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/
Office Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.
Artweaver 7.0.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/
Atom 1.57.0 updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/
LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.3 resolves over a hundred bugs. This is a security update. Be aware that LibreOffice Fresh is a beta version and should be avoided in favor of the Still (stable) version.
https://www.libreoffice.org/
Lightworks NLE 2021.2 resolves dozens of bugs and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.lwks.com/
Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/
OpenOffice 4.1.10 is a security update.
https://www.openoffice.org/download/
Paint.net 4.2.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/
Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application 5.4.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-31.html
Adobe Genuine Service 7.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/integrity_service/apsb21-27.html
Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.001.20155, 2020.001.30025, and 2017.011.30196 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-29.html
Adobe After Effects 18.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-33.html
Adobe Animate 21.0.6 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-35.html
Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.8.0 and 6.4.8.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-15.html
Adobe InDesign 16.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb21-22.html
Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb21-24.html
Adobe InCopy 16.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb21-25.html
Magento 2.4.2-p1 and 2.3.7 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-30.html
Adobe Media Encoder 15.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/media-encoder/apsb21-32.html
Adobe Medium 2.4.5.332 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/medium/apsb21-34.html
Security Software Updates
One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.
HTTP Toolkit 1.3.0 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://httptoolkit.tech/
KeePass 2.48.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/
uBlock Origin 1.35.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest
VT-CLI 0.9.6 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest
Tails 4.18 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html
Capture Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
ScreenToGif 2.30 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest
SnagIt 2021.3.1 resolves two minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe
Education updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.
Zotero 5.0.96.2 optimizes online storage and resolves a hang in generating citations. This is not a security update.
https://www.zotero.org/
Utility Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
1Password for Mac 7.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/
1Password for Windows 7.6.801 is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/
Autoruns 13.100 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns
CCleaner 5.79.8704 adds cleaning of Slack cache, adds ability to wipe free space, and improves debug logging. This is a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/
CPU-Z Installer 1.96 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
CurrPorts 2.65 resolves a kernel tracing bug and improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
Etcher 1.5.120 is a documentation change. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/
Fing 2.6.0 adds Deep Scan and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows
GoodSync 11.6.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/
HWMonitor 1.44 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
NTLite 2.1.0.7862 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/
Aomei Partition Assistant 9.2 adds ability to free up space on Windows partitions by moving apps to another partition. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/
PowerToys 0.37.2 updates all components, settings app and configuration, and improves silent installation behavior. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest
Process Monitor 3.70 allows constraining the number of events and fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon
ProduKey 1.97 adds command-line configuration processing. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html
RoboForm 9.1.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/
SearchMyFiles 3.11 adds high-DPI support and adds a sorting as a menu option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html
TCPView 4.01 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/
WinRAR 6.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.rarlab.com/
WinScan2PDF 7.07 improves compatibility with Windows. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF
WizTree 3.41 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wiztreefree.com/
Developer Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
AutoHotkey 1.1.33.09 resolved several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/
Godot 3.3 improves reliability and adds several new features. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/
MySQL ConnectorNet 8.0.25 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/
Node.js 16.1.0 resolves dozens of bugs and compatibility issues with the new major v16 update to Node.js, which removes support for Python 2 and updates system requirements. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/
Node.js 14.17.0 updates libraries, resolves dozens of bugs, improves diagnostic capabilities, and backports several features from stable. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/
SQLite 3.35.5 is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html
Visual Studio Code 1.56 improves hover feedback, terminal profile, debugger, and more. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/
WinMerge 2.16.12 adds ARM64 support and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/
Virtual Machine Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
VirtualBox 6.1.22-144080 is a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Web Package Updates
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.
Coppermine Gallery 1.6.12 updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/
Dada Mail 11.13.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/
Docker Desktop 3.3.3 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop
Drupal 9.0.13 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://drupal.org/download
HumHub 1.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download
OpenPetra 2021.04 improves contact and import, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.openpetra.org/
ScreenConnect 21.6.3280.7796 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download
WordPress 5.7.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/
Autoptimize 2.8.4 is a security update.
BuddyPress 7.3.0 is a security update.
Contact Form 7 5.4.1 resolves several bugs and compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
WooCommerce 5.3.0 resolves dozens of bugs and introduces several new features. This is not a security update.
WP Mail SMTP 2.8.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
WPtouch 4.3.41 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
That’s all for now folks. Keep it clean out there. 😉
Regards,
Shawn K. Hall
https://SaferPC.info/
https://12PointDesign.com/