Hi, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for May 2019.

This month was eventful.

Mozilla resolved the catastrophic end-of-extensions bug in Firefox that disabled all extensions worldwide for all Firefox users. From the rage and fear, you’d have thought the entire Internet was broken. While this event was disastrous for everyone who relies upon browser extensions for their daily lives (such as AdBlock), it was likely the single-most effective cleanup of malware in history.

Antivirus isn’t enough. According to reputable sources, a Russian hacking collective (Fxmsp) claims to have secured access to three leading antivirus companies.

According to the hacking collective, they worked tirelessly for the first quarter of 2019 to breach these companies and finally succeeded and obtained access to the companies’ internal networks.

The collective extracted sensitive source code from antivirus software, AI, and security plugins belonging to the three companies. Fxmsp also commented on the capabilities of the different companies’ software and assessed their efficiency.

Dell SupportAssist is probably the lowest-hanging fruit on your computer. An independent researcher was able to unwrap the Dell SupportAssist service and force install arbitrary software on networked devices using no more than a single DNS hijack and publicly-available “codes” that Dell uses to authenticate actions. Their design is roughly akin to taping the keys to your house on the front door. While you should, of course, remove SupportAssist, you should also treat this as a stark reminder of why you should never use untrusted networks.

Microsoft Office changed the EULA to their software, which triggered several different issues, including previously purchased software no longer working, new data sharing prompts and an unceasing series of popups for some users. Logging out of your Microsoft Account and back in resolves the issue for many, but others required registry hacks. Smooth move, MS.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

The typical computer should see roughly 1.3 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, .NET, Edge, Internet Explorer, Flash, and MSRT (~850 MB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Mojave 10.14.5, Security Update 2019-003 High Sierra, Security Update 2019-003 Sierra, Safari 12.1.1, and Apple TV Software 7.3. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install the most current versions.

iOS 12.3 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 5.2.1 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 12.3 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Adobe AIR 32.0.0.125 is a security update.
Win: https://12pd.com/click?air
Mac: https://12pd.com/click?airmac

Adobe Flash Player 32.0.0.192 is a security update.
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flash
Win: https://12pd.com/click?flashie
Mac: https://12pd.com/click?flashmac

Fedora 30-1.2 is a major update improving compatibility, performance, and more. This build adds the optional Pantheon Desktop which will ease the transition of those coming from a macOS environment. Coupled with Darling it should now be much easier to leave Apple for Linux.
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/

Google Chrome OS 74.0.3729.125 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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

Important Notes

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

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (1903) will cause your computer to feel unusually slow until it is installed. This is a side-effect of the Windows 10 upgrade cycle, which pushes out 3-6gb through Windows update to get you to the latest Windows 10 release every 6 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, it will kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

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.

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 18.0.1.3 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Intel Driver & Support Assistant 19.4.18 improves detection of updates, adds support for Windows 10 LTSB, and adds notifications. This is a security update.
https://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect

nVidia 430.64 adds support for newer hardware, removes support for Kepler hardware, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Logitech SetPoint 6.69.126 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logitech.com/en_us/software/setpoint

Browser Updates

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

Google Chrome 74.0.3729.157 is a security update (and adds dark mode). Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.

Firefox 66.0.5 resolves the catastrophic end-of-extensions bug. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.

Firefox ESR 60.6.3 resolves the catastrophic end-of-extensions bug. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.

Iridium 2019.04.73.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.

Vivaldi 2.5.1525.41 resolves several bugs, adds new features, improves reliability and performance. This is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 3.16 adds a combobox to select folders to scan or skip. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Internet Updates

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

Skype 8.44.0.41 adds message forwarding, provides additional view options, adds optional background blur, and adds event notifications. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?skype

DynDNS Updater 5.5.0 removes backend service reporting. This should be considered a security update.
https://www.dyndns.com/

Evernote 6.18.4.8489 adds several new shortcuts, resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.evernote.com/

FileZilla Client 3.42.1 resolves several bugs, updates libraries, improves compatibility with macOS. This is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

MaxMind GeoIP 201905 is a data refresh.
https://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/

Npcap 0.995 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

WinSCP 5.15.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

EA Origin 10.5.38.25027 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.origin.com/en-us/download

Steam 2019.05.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

SteamOS 2.190 is a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download/?ver=custom

Office Updates

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

Adobe Acrobat 19.012.20034 is a security update. Use Help, Check for Updates to get the most current version.

LibreOffice Still 6.1.6 is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 6.2.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Adobe DNG Converter 11.3 adds support for newer hardware. This is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/digital-negative.html

Atom 1.37.0 improves security and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://atom.io/

Security Software Updates

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

Java 8u211 is a security update. If you are not sure you need Java (or don’t know the difference between Java and JavaScript), you’re better off removing Java than installing an update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

RogueKiller 13.2.0 updates engine, resolves several bugs, adds signature automatic update to free version. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/softwares/roguekiller/

Stinger 12.1.0.3168 adds support for new detections. This is a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?stinger

TDSSKiller 3.1.0.28 adds support for new detections. This is a security update.
https://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/utility#TDSSKiller

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

CDex 2.17 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://cdex.mu/?q=download

DVDFab 11.0.2.9 adds support for new encodings and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

FFmpeg 4.1.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Windows 7.3.684 resolves several bugs, adds cleanup, improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitcoin Core 0.18.0 resolves dozens of bugs, improves performance, reliability, and privacy, updates many features, and reduces dependency on OpenSSL. This should be treated as a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

BulkFileChanger 1.61 adds new command-line option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bulk_file_changer.html

ControlMyMonitor 1.15 adds an option to prevent changing a value if it is current. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

CurrPorts 2.55 adds ability to capture for an extended duration instead of capturing only a snapshot. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

Cygwin 3.0.7 adds support for a new locale and resolves a winsock bug. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 6.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

FolderChangesView 2.27 adds option to include header in output. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html

GoodSync 10.9.32 resolves several bugs, updates libraries, and adds support for RealDisk. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?goodsync

ImageUSB 1.4.1003 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html

IsMyHdOK 1.66 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NetworkTrafficView 2.25 improves reliability and adds support for UDP. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_traffic_view.html

NirCmd 2.83 adds runinteractive options. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html

NTLite 1.7.6.6912 adds support for Windows 10 v1903, resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

OSFMount 3.0.1003 improves performance, resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/tools/mount-disk-images.html

PointerStick 3.52 resolves a startup bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

RegFileExport 1.11 resolves a large-value bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/registry_file_offline_export.html

SimpleWMIView 1.36 adds an option to attempt elevation. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

Synergy 1.10.2 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://symless.com/blog/synergy-1-10-2-finally-released

DebugView 4.90 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

RAMMap 1.52 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

TaskSchedulerView 1.50 adds options to control tasks from the command line. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

WifiChannelMonitor 1.59 resolves a displaymode bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_channel_monitor.html

WifiInfoView 2.46 adds always on top and scanning options, and updates the MAC database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinScan2PDF 4.78 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WSUS Offline 11.7 disables autorecall, updates libraries, improves detection. This is not a security update.
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Godot 3.1.1 is a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

MySQL 8.0.16 updates libraries, grant/revoke behavior, and resolves many bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

Node.js 12.2.0 resolves dozens of bugs, updates libraries, and adds and improves features. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.28.0 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility, and offers new language constructs. This is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

StrawberryPerl 5.28.2.1 updates core, modules, and libraries. This is a security update.
http://strawberryperl.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.0.6-130049 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

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

Joomla 3.9.6 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

Drupal 8.7.1 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Nextcloud Server 16.0.0 adds ACL support, Talk commands, and machine learning for security and productivity. This is a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ScreenConnect 19.0.23665.7058 adds several new features, cosmetics, dark mode, network information, improves auditing and more. This is not a security update.
https://www.screenconnect.com/Download

phpList 3.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.com/download

WordPress 5.2 improves self-diagnostics, accessibility, and more. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.1.2 resolves bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.5.0 adds lazyloading, and redesigns image optimization. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 4.3.0 is a security update.

Custom Facebook Feed 2.9.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Email Log 2.3.1 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Postie 1.9.33 now assigns an author to all media items. This is not a security update.

Raw HTML 1.6 improves handling of raw objects. This is not a security update.

Redirection 4.2.3 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.

Register IPs 1.8.1 is a security update.

NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 4.3.6 resolves several bugs, adds location and twitter handle support. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.21 adds several new diagnostic features and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.0.14 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 0.9.7.4 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

WooCommerce 3.6.2 resolves many bugs. This is a security update.

WPtouch 4.3.37 adds SMS sharing option. 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/