Happy New Year, Folks!
Today is Patch Tuesday for January, 2024.
There were over 200 major hacks, but only about 130 application updates this month. It’s a very light month, with about 1.3 GB of updates for most users.
This Month in Technology
360 Physical Therapy, LLC, 3CX, 70% of Iran’s gas stations, Academy Mortgage Corporation, AccessDx Laboratory, LLC, AccessOne Medcard, Inc., AI Engine plugin for WordPress, Air Albania, Albanian Parliament, Albanian telecom, Americold, Amerigroup Iowa, Inc, Amwins Group, Inc., Apache OFBiz, Apache RocketMQ, Apache Struts, Asper Biogene, Ateam, Austal USA, Barracuda ESG, Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Beirut Airport, BELLIN HEALTH, Bezeq, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., Booking.com, Box.com, Brown & Streza LLP, Buckley King LPA, Bunker Hill Community College, California Northstate University, Capital Health, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons, P.A., CareTree, Inc., Cellcom, CertiK on X, Chilean Government, City of Hope, Clay County Social Services, Co-Founder of Nest Wallet, Coin Cloud, Comcast Cable Communications LLC, Comcast/Xfinity, ConsensioHealth, LLC, Cooper Aerobics Enterprises, Inc., Corewell Health, County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, Court Services Victoria, Australia, D.C. Board of Elections, defense contractors, Delta Dental of California, Downfall, Drug Emporium, Eagers Automotive, EasyPark, EMSI, Enstar (US) Inc, Erie Family Health Centers, ESO Solutions, ESSEMTEC, Estes Express Lines, Eye Physicians of Central Florida, PLLC, Eyefinity, Inc., Fallon Ambulance Services, Federal Tax Service of Russia, Fidelity National Financial, Fincantieri Marine Group, LLC, First American Financial Corporation, First Choice Dental, Flagstar Bank, N.A., Florida Water Products, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, French company, Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board, Fresno Surgical Hospital, Gallery Systems, German H-Hotels, Glendale Community College, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services, GTKWave, Healix Infusion Therapy, LLC, Health Diagnostic Management, LLC, Health Net Community Solutions, HealthEC LLP, Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino, HTC Global Service, Humana Inc, Hyundai on X, Idaho National Labs, Independent Vision Group, LTD, Insomniac Games, Insurance ACE/Humana Inc., Integris Health, Italian military gear shop, Ivanti Avalanche, Ivanti Endpoint Management, Jell-O, JetBrains TeamCity, Judiciary of Córdoba in Argentina, Katholische Hospitalvereinigung Ostwestfalen, Keenan & Associates, Kimco Staffing Services Inc., Knox Ricksen LLP, Kraft Heinz, Kyivstar, Ledger dApp, LegendasTV, LoanCare, loanDepot, Lone Peak Physical Therapy, Inc., Los Altos Food Products, LLC, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, ManageEngine OpManager, Mandiant, Maxco Supply, Inc., Maytronics, Mellow Massage Hollywood, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Merced City School District, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., Merrick Bank, Mexican banks, Microsoft Xamarin, Mint Mobile, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Inc., MongoDB, Mountain Dermatology Specialists, PC, Movistar, Mr. Cooper, Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP, National Amusements, National Student Clearinghouse, Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Navvis & Company, LLC, Netgear on X, Network180, North Face, North Kansas City Hospital, Norton Healthcare, NYC Health + Hospitals, Ohio Lottery, Orange Spain, Orbit Chain, Orcutt Union School District, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Oscar Mayer, Panasonic Avionics Corporation, Pandol Brothers, Inc., Perforce Helix Core Server, pfSense, Philippine credit services provider, Primary Health & Wellness Center, LLC, ProSmile Holdings, LLC, QNAP VioStor NVR, Recology Inc., Regional Family Medicine, Retina Group of Washington, PLLC, Riverside County Office Of Education, Riverside Unified School District, Rockstar Games (GTA5 + GTA6), Rush System for Health, Russian sushi restaurant, Senior Scripts, Shufersal, Sony, Southeastern Orthopaedic Specialists, PA, Supreme, Swedish fintech company, Talus Pay, TaxPlus, The Foleck Center, LTD, The Jacmar Companies, LLC, The Middlefield Banking Company, Thunder Terminal, Tigo Business, Timberland, Tipalti, Toronto Zoo, Toyota Financial Services, Transformative Healthcare, TRISTAR Insurance Group, TTM Technologies, Ubiquiti, Ubisoft, Ukrainian security cameras, University of Buenos Aires, Vans, Velveeta, VF Corp, Vi Living, Vietnamese fashion store, Viking Therapeutics, Wabtec Corporation, Wealth Network, Welltok, Inc. (and many more), WICR Waterproofing and Construction Inc., WordPress Backup Migration plugin, Xerox Business Solutions, Yakult Australia, Yorkshire Wellness Group, Corp., and ZOLL Medical Corporation have reported hacking or compromised this month.
Box.com, Kyivstar, loanDepot, and First American have suffered from outages this month.
Last months updates broke Avira Antivirus, NPS (Radius) servers, various Tesla functions, Windows Explorer & task bar, and Windows Wi-Fi.
Microsoft can’t convince Microsoft to use Microsoft services.
Central authentication services like OAuth and SSO still cause all sorts of problems. And ads are still very very bad for you.
23andMe is blaming their users for exposing the data of almost 7 million users.
LastPass now requires slightly less horrible passwords. (They’re still not good.)
You should assume that software setting-based security will always fail you. Hardware switches are the only reliable method.
Now for the good news:
The FTC has ordered X-Mode to stop selling and preserving cell phone location data, a surprising win for privacy. If this is obeyed, only government agencies, hardware vendors, and operating system vendors will be able to trade in your location information.
Let’s Get Busy
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Patch Tuesday is pretty small this month. The typical computer should see roughly 1.3 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.
Microsoft released updates to address 62 vulnerabilities in .NET, .NET Core, .NET Framework, Azure Storage Mover, Microsoft Bluetooth Driver, Microsoft Devices, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Identity Services, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Virtual Hard Drive, Remote Desktop Client, Servicing Stack Updates, SQL Server, SQLite, Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), Visual Studio, Windows Active Directory, Windows AllJoyn API, Windows Authentication Methods, Windows BitLocker, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows Collaborative Translation Framework, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Group Policy, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Kernel, Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers, Windows Libarchive, Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS), Windows Message Queuing, Windows Nearby Sharing, Windows ODBC Driver, Windows Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) SnapIn, Windows Scripting, Windows Server Key Distribution Service, Windows Subsystem for Linux, Windows TCP/IP, Windows Themes, Windows Win32 Kernel Subsystem, Windows Win32K, and MSRT (~1 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.
Apple released updates for iOS 16.7.4, iOS 17.2.1, iPadOS 16.7.4, Safari 17.2.1, and macOS Sonoma 14.2.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.
iOS 16.7.4 and 17.2.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.
iPadOS 16.7.4 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.
Google Chrome OS 119.0.6045.214 and 120.0.6099.203 are security updates. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.
Zorin OS 17.0 is a major update, with added hardware and software compatibility, improved design and reduced hardware requirements.
https://zorin.com/os/mirrors/
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 Sonoma (14.x) means that macOS Big Sur (11.x) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Monterey (12) 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 — and final — release of the Windows 10 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. All non-LTS versions of Windows 10 other than v22H2 are now out of support, upgrade to v22H2 now. If you aren’t sure whether you are using LTS, you aren’t. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process 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.
The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v23H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 12 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process 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.
Windows 11 is now stable and can be upgraded to if your hardware supports it, but I recommend you continue to use Windows 10 until early 2025 before you consider switching to it.
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.
DS4Windows 3.3.3 resolves several bugs. This is the final version so you should consider removing it instead of updating.
https://github.com/Ryochan7/DS4Windows/releases/latest
Epson ET-5880 3.04.00 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://epson.com/Support/Printers/All-In-Ones/ET-Series/Epson-ET-5880/s/SPT_C11CJ28201
Browser Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Brave 1.61.114 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/
Firefox 121.0.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Firefox ESR 115.6.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/
Google Chrome 120.0.6099.200 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/
Microsoft Edge 120.0.2210.121 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download
Vivaldi 6.5.3206.50 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://vivaldi.com/
Email Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Mailspring 1.13.3 resolves a couple bugs and adds a new security filter for HTML rendering. This is a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/
OutlookAttachView 3.51 improves warnings. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html
Spark 3.12.0.63910 adds Shared Drafts and Email Labels. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/
Spark (macOS) 3.12.0.63909 adds Shared Drafts and Email Labels. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/
Thunderbird 115.6.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/
Internet Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to everyone.
Dropbox 189.4.8427 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/
Facebook Messenger 202.0.0.15.225 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download
FileZilla Client 3.66.4 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/
FreeFileSync 13.3 resolves several compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php
jq 1.7.1 is a security update.
https://jqlang.github.io/jq/
Nextcloud Server 28.0.1 is a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/
Pocketnet-GUI 0.8.76 adds support for new video servers and a Christmas theme. This is not a security update.
https://pocketnet.app/
PuTTY 0.80 is a security update.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html
Rclone 1.65.1 is a security update.
https://rclone.org/
Signal 6.43.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/
Signal (Android) 6.42.3 updates buttons. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/
Syncthing 1.27.2 is a security update.
https://syncthing.net/
Telegram (Android) 10.5.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://telegram.org/apps
Telegram 4.14.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/
Trillian 6.5.0.34 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/
Zoom 5.17.2 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/
Media Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
3tene 4.0.0 adds several new tracking features. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/
darktable 4.6.0 improves performance and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/
Grayjay 227 improves stability and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://grayjay.app/index.html
iTunes 12.13.1.3 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Plex Desktop 1.84.1.4069 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app
Plex Home Theater 1.53.0.4063 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app
TuneIn 1.28.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://tunein.com/radio/home/
Game Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
GameMaker Studio 2023.11.1.129 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker
GDevelop 5.3.186 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download
Minecraft Server (Bedrock) 1.20.51.01 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock
PS5 2024.104 is a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/
Steam 2023-12-11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110
SteamOS SteamDeck Update 2024-01-03 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675200/
Office Updates
One or more of these are likely to be of interest to most people.
Adobe Experience Manager Forms 6.5.13.0+ and 6.5.19.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/aem-forms/apsb23-77.html
Adobe Reader DC Patch 23.008.20458 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader
Adobe Substance 3D Stager 2.1.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/substance3d_stager/apsb24-06.html
Calibre 7.3.0 adds a tag browser, OpenType improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/
GnuCash 5.5 resolves over two dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.gnucash.org/
ImageMagick 7.1.1-26 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/
Kindle for PC 2.3.70673 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc
Manager 24.1.9.1264 adds the ability to use codes and reference numbers in batch operations. This is not a security update.
https://www.manager.io/
Notepad++ 8.6.1 updates libraries, adds a couple features, and resolves over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
OpenOffice 4.1.15 is a security update.
http://www.openoffice.org/download/
PDF-XChange Editor 10.2.0.384 improves control for compression, comments and margins, and adds support to search within comments and open email messages in the editor. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor
QuickBooks Pro 2022 20231120-R13_53 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products
QuickBooks Pro 2023 20231107-R9_116 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products
Security Software Updates
One or more of these is likely to be of interest to most people.
ProtonVPN (macOS) 4.1.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download
QubesOS 4.2.0 updates libraries, updates default behaviors, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.qubes-os.org/downloads/
Stinger 12.2.0.709 updates detections. This is not a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx
Tails 5.21 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd/index.en.html
uBlock Origin 1.55.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest
Velociraptor 0.7.1 updates notebooks, improves plugins, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/Velocidex/velociraptor/releases/latest
Capture Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
ScreenToGif 2.40.1 resolves a couple minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest
SnagIt 24.0.4 resolves a couple crash bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html
Converter Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
DVDFab 13.0.0.9 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm
HandBrake 1.7.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/
PDF Creator 5.2.0 adds Outlook Web Access support and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator
StreamFab 6.1.5.8 resolves dozens of bugs and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm
UniFab 2.0.0.7 improves performance and stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/unifab.htm
Utility Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
1Password 8.10.23 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/
AOMEI Partition Assistant 10.2.2 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/
Bitwarden 2023.12.1 improves auto-fill. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/
CCleaner 6.19.10858 resolves several stability bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/
CurrPorts 2.77 improves IPv6 compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
DesktopOK 11.15 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK
dnGrep 4.0.189.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/
email-oauth2-proxy 2023-12-19 is a security update.
https://github.com/simonrob/email-oauth2-proxy
ExplorerPatcher 22621.2861.62.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/
Fido 1.54 adds support for Windows 11 23H2v2. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases
Fing 3.6.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.fing.com/products/fing-desktop-download-windows
GoodSync and GoodSync2Go 12.5.3 improves compatibility, stability and security. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/
Homedale 2.09 adds MAC grouping and improves oui.txt support. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/
HWiNFO 7.68 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
Kingston SSD Manager 1.5.3.4 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/ssdmanager
Memtest86+ 7.00 adds support for new hardware, improves debugging and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.memtest.org/
NTLite 2023.12.9552 improves controls and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/
PowerToys 0.77.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest
ripgrep 14.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/releases/latest
TcpLogView 1.41 adds support for setting CaptureInterval in cfg file. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/tcp_log_view.html
WifiInfoView 2.92 adds an option to start as hidden. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html
WinGet 1.6.3482 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest
Developer Updates
These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.
.NET Runtime 8.0.1 is a security update. Expect well-maintained applications that package .NET Runtime with them to release new versions in the near future.
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet
Android Studio 2023.1.1.27 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio
AutoHotkey 2.0.11 resovles several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/
Node.js 21.5.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/
TortoiseSVN 1.14.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html
Visual Studio Code 1.85.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/
Web Package Updates
These are likely to be of interest only to web developers.
HumHub 1.15.2 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en
Joomla 5.0.2 and 4.4.2 resolve several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/
Piwigo 14.1.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/
Contact Form 7 5.8.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/
My Sticky Bar 2.6.7 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mystickymenu/
Redirection 5.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/
Social Post Feed 4.2.1 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/
Sucuri Security 1.8.40 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sucuri-scanner/
WooCommerce 8.4.0 resolves dozens of bugs and provides almost 100 improvements. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/
WP Cerber Security 9.6.1 fixes a 2FA bug and a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://wpcerber.com/
WP Mail SMTP 3.11.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/
That’s all for now folks. Keep it clean out there. 😉
Regards,
Shawn K. Hall
https://SaferPC.info/
https://12PointDesign.com/