Updates 2024-05-14

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for May, 2024.

There were 580+ major hacks, and over 460 application updates this month. It’s an insanely big month, with about 5 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

First, let me apologize for this list. It’s 3x longer than it was only a couple months ago and that’s not really my fault. I really want to keep sharing the hacked lists but at the rate it’s going 3/4 of the newletter will just be the list by the end of Summer. I’m going to need to rework this next month when I have more time.

1+1 Media, 4LEAF, Inc, A123 Systems, Access Intelligence, Accor, ACFIN SA, Active PCB Solutions, Acurrate Lock & Hardware, ADCOM911, Advanced Business Networks, Advarra, Inc., Aero Tec Laboratories Inc, Aetna ACE, Affordable Payroll & Bookkeeping Services, Agate Construction, Agency for the Sustainable Development of the Saint Nazaire Region, France, AirAsia Group, Airsoft, Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Company, Alltruck Bodies, Alrajhi Bank, Altipal S.A.S, Amazon, Amberstone Security, AMD Radeon DirectX 11 Driver, American Builders Outlet, American Renal Associates, American Renal Management, Andovers Federal Credit Union, APS – Automotive Parts Solutions, Arbitrum, Argentina’s national registry, Army Welfare Trust, Array Networks, Asantee Games, Asbury Automotive Group, Ascension healthcare, Ashley Home Stores, Aspire Health Alliance, Astra Daihatsu Motor (ID), AT&T, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), Aussizz Group, Autodesk Drive, Axip Energy Services, Ayesa, B&G Foods, Badger Tag & Label, Banco Santander, Banten Regional Development Bank Tbk, Barclays Bank, Base Network, Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center, Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital, Bega Valley Council, Belarusian KGB, Belvedere Vodka UK, BenefitsCal, Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, Best Reward Federal Credit Union, BetterHelp, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), BHF Couriers, Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc., Bira 91, Bitfinex, Blackstone Valley Community Health Care, Blooms Today, Bluebonnet Trails, Bluegrass Care Navigators, BMW BANK, Bodyartforms LLC, Boeing, Bradford-Scott, Brandywine Realty Trust, BreachForums, Bridgeway Center, Inc., British Columbia, Canada, Brocade SANnav SAN Management Software, Brovedani Group, Bundeswehr, Byron council, Café Soluble, California library system, Calumet Civil Contractors, Inc, Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, Canatal Industries, Canberra club, Cannes hospital, Cariboo library system, Carpetright, Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Catholic Medical Center (CMC), CCM Health, Central Bank Argentina, Central Carolina Insurance Agency Inc, Central Florida Equipment, Central Power Systems & Services, Central Virginia Federal Credit Union, Change Healthcare, Channel Logistics LLC, Chemring Group, Cherry Health, Chicony Electronics, Chirp Systems, Christie’s Auction House, Cisco Duo, Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC), City of Buckeye, AZ, City of Donges, France, City of El Cerrito, California, City of London, UK, City of Pensacola, Florida, City of Wichita, Kansas, Cleveland Catholic Diocese, Community First Credit Union, Confins Transport, Consensus Medical Group, Consol Energy, Continuum Health, Coppel, Coradix-Magnescan, CorporateStack, Costa Edutainment SPA, Council for Relationships, County of Coffee, Georgia, County of Hernando, FLCounty of Jackson, MOCounty of Los Angeles, CA, Department of Health Services, County of Robeson, NC, County of San Bernardino, CA, CrushFTP, Cushman Contracting Corporation, CyberPower UPS, D-Link Devices, Daoust, Dawson Creek, Deeside Timberframe, Delinea Secret Server, Dell, Dental Group of Amarillo, Dental Health Services, DES Architects and Engineers,
Designed Receivable Solutions, Deutsche Telekom, Digi Yatra Foundation, Dijk, Discord, District of Columbia’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB), DocGo, Dominican Republic vaccination data, Donco Air, Doyon Drilling, Drive Sally LLC, DRM Arby’s, Dropbox Sign, Duvel Moortgat, D’amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, E-ZPass, East Central University, OK, Eden Project, Edlong and Holstein Association USA, Educational Computer Systems, EduMarket, Efrat Airlines, Egypt Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, El Salvador, El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet, Electric Mirror, Empath Health, Engineered Automation of Maine, Enstar, Epilepsy Foundation of Metro NY, EqualizeRCM and 1st Credentialing, Ernest Health, Eucatex, European Parliament, Europol, EvoBanco, F5 Central Manager, Feldstein & Stewart, Fic Expertise, Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), Firstmac, FiXBET, Floirac, Footdistrict, Fort Worth, Texas, Foxit Reader, French Ministry of Agriculture, Frontier Communications, FrotCom, GBI Genios, Gerber Life Insurance Company, Giant Tiger, GitHub Search, GitLab, Glendale Unified School District, Glints, Global Tel Link, Google Chrome, Google, Graphic Solutions Group Inc, Grassroot DICOM, Great Firewall of China, Green Diamond Resource Company, Greylock McKinnon, Grindr, Grodno Azot, Group Health Cooperative of South-Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW), Guadeloupe, Canada, Guardant Health, Inc., Guardian Analytics, Hapy Bear Surgery Center, Hardeman County Community Health Center, Hedgey Finance, Helapet Ltd, Helsinki Education Division, Heritage Cooperative, High Performance Services, Hillsong Church, Hirsh Industries, Hit Promotional Products, Home Depot, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong College of Technology, Hong Kong Fire Department, Hong Kong Union Hospital, Hooker Furniture, Hosocongty, Hospital Simone Veil, 100 hotels in Japan, Houser LLP, Hoya Optics, HP, HPE ArubaOS Devices, HSBC Bank, HTW, Hub International Limited, Human Events, IBM’s Enterprise Terminal, iCabbi, ICICI Bank, IDS Michigan, Illinois State Credit Union, Illinois Tollway, In The Know, India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India’s HRYLabour, India’s ICICI Bank, Ingo Money Inc, Inland Physicians Billing Services, Intel CPUs (Spectre v2), Intel Hardware Firmware, Interim Healthcare of Lubbock, International Baccalaureate Exam, Inventum Øst, Iranian Pipeline Company, Iress Ltd, Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), Israeli Real Estate Companies, ISTA International GmbH, It4 Solutions Robras Corp, Italian Red Cross Network, Ivanti Avalanche, J.P. Morgan Chase, JE Owens, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Kameymall, Kansas City Scout System, Keenan & Associates, Kintetsu World Express, Kisco Senior Living, KISTI SMART K2C, Kowloon Shangri-La, La Chapelle-des-marais, France, Ladakh Social Welfare Department, Lamont Hanley & Associates, Latvian TV Channels, LDLC, Le Slip Français, Leicester City Council, Lenovo Hardware Firmware, Lewis & Clark College, LG TVs, Lieberman LLP, Lilly Drogerie, Lincoln Project, LiteSpeed Cache, LivaNova, LiveHelpNow, LocalPlace JP, London Drugs, London Stock Exchange Group, Lopesan Hotels, Lotz Trucking, Lpdb Kumkm, LRB Info Tech, Lukfook Jewellery, Lumina Americas, Luxor, LYON TERMINAL, M2E Consulting Engineers, Macedonian Joint Stock Company, Madata, Magnet+, Malone & Co, Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center, Marpai Health, Mauritzon, McKinley Packing, Medequip Assistive Technology, Medical Home Network, MediExcel, Medios de Prevención Externos Sur SL, MedStar Health, Meduza, Mellitah Company, Mercedes, Merchants Benefit Administration, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure Entra ID, Microsoft Outlook, Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Moldova Government, MoldTech, Molen & Associates, Monash Health, Monday.com, MongoDB, Monocon, Montoir-de-Bretagne, France, Moscow Moskollector, MovieBoxPro, MRA – The Management Association, Mt Hira College, Myers Automotive Group, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), Nespresso, Nestle, New Boston Dental Care, New Hudson Facades, New Mexico Administrative Office of the District Attorneys, New Mexico Highlands University, New York’s state legislature, Nexperia, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NK Parts Industries, NorthBay Health, Nota by M&T Bank and TTEC Databases, Nothing, Nova Scotia Health, NRS Healthcare, Numotion, NVIDIA, OakBend Medical, Octopharma Plasma, OE Federal Credit Union, Ogero, Ohio Lottery, Okta, Olson Steel, Olympus Group, OracleCMS, OraSure, Original Herkimer Cheese, OrthoConnecticut, Outabox, Pacific Guardian, Pak Suzuki, Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS, Panda Restaurant Group, Pandemonium Rocks, Panoramic Health, Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Parklane Group, Patricia AI, Paychex, Inc., Paytm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Peplink Smart Reader, Persyn, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philips Respironics, Phoenix Business Consulting, PHP, Pifer’s Auction & Realty, Pilot, Pinnacle Engineering, Pinnacle Orthopaedics, Pioneer Oil Company, Inc, Piping Rock, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Porniche, France, Pratham, Precision Fluid Controls, Premier Dermatology, Prisma Finance, Pro Metals LLC, Process Solutions, Procuraduría General de la República, Profile Products, Progress Flowmon, Promarka Peru, Pub And Club, Public service of Wallonia, PWS – The Laundry Company, Qantas, QNAP, Quebec CEGEPs, RAF El Salvador, Randolph Health, RaySharp, RB Woodcraft, Reading Electric, Rebound Orthopedics & Neurosurgery, Recology, Redwood Coast Regional Center, Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern New Mexico, Reliable Networks, Rocky Mountain Sales, Roku, Romeo Pitaro Injury and Litigation Lawyers, Rushd Bookstore, Rutgers University, Räddningstjänsten Vä stra Blekinge, Sachkhere, Sahara Bank, Saint-Nazaire, France, Sanok Rubber Company, Saudi Water Facilities, Scanda Group, Scigames, Scottish health board, Seaman’s Mechanical, SEK Studio, Seneca Nation Health System, Sentry Data Management, Servicio Móvil, Shadow, Siemens Manufacturing, Sigmund Espeland, Signature Healthcare Services LLC, SigningHub, Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC, Singapore’s Ministry of Education, Singapore’s Mobile Guardian, SinglePoint Outsourcing, Inc., SIS Automatisering, Sisense, Skanlog, Sleep Data Holdings, LLC, Sleep Management Institute, Smoke Alarm Solutions, SOA Architecture, Softura, Somerset Dental Las Vegas, Somerville, Sonadev, France, South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), South Korean courts, South Korean cable & satellite, South Korean Defense Companies, South Texas Oncology and Hematology, Space X, Space-Eyes, Speedy France, Sri Lanka’s visa system, SSCL, SSS Australia, St-Jerome Company, St. Helena Public Library, Stainless Foundry & Engineering, StarWallets, States of Guernsey, Sterling Holidays, Sterling Plumbing Inc., Studio LAMBDA, Swisspro, SynLab Italia, Sysmex America, Inc, T2 Tea Australia, Tamil Nadu Police, Tappware, Targus, Tatarstan, Russia, Taxi Software, Ted Brown Music, Telecom Argentina, Telit Cinterion modems, Texas Retina Associates, The Epilepsy Institute, The Georgia Institute for Plastic Surgery, The Heritage Foundation, The Kennedy Collective, The Lagunitas Brewing Company, The Line Up, Inc, The May Institute, Inc., The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBC, The Post and Courier, The Post Millennial, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, The State of Kansas Office of Judicial Administration, The Tech Interactive, Theatrixx Technologies, Therapeutic Health Services, 50,000 Tinyproxy servers, Tipton Municipal Utilities, IN, Toolmarts, Toronto Transit Commission, Transamerica Life Insurance Company, Trib Total Media, True Homes, LLC, TRUE Solicitors, Trylon Srl, Tyler Technologies, UAE Government, UK Government’s System Database, UK Ministry of Defence, UK Royal Mail, 20 Ukrainian Energy and Water Sites, Ukrainian TV, United Nations Development Programme, University of Alabama, University of Alberta, University System of Georgia (USG), US Air Force Academy (USAFA), US Atlantic Fisheries, US Coast Guard Reserve, US Consumer Database, US Health and Human Services (HHS), US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Medicare, US Patent and Trademark Office, US Space Forces (USSF) Military Bases, USA Health Providence Hospital, Utica Mack, Valley Mountain Regional Center, Valley Veterinary Clinic, LLC, Van Gogh Museum, Varo Bank, N.A., Veeam, Velvet Capital, Verizon, Victorian Ambulance Union, Virginia Union University, VirtualBox, Visionary Integration Professionals, VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware ESXi, VMware Fusion Pro/Fusion, VMware Workstation Pro/Player, Void Interactive, Volkswagen, VPN traffic (TunnelVision), VTRP, W.I.S. Sicherheit-Service GmbH & Co. KG, Washington State’s Swinomish Casino and Lodge, WebTPA Employer Services, LLC, WEL Partners, Wells Fargo, Welsh Government, Wescom Central Credit Union, West Idaho Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Westboro Baptist Church, WhatsApp, Windows, Windows Apps, Windows Print Spooler, WOM, World Architects, World-Check, WP Forminator plugin, WP-Automatic Plugin, Xiaomi, Yale Mortgage, YRW Limited – Chartered Accountants, ZA Government Employees Pension Fund’s (GEPF), ZircoDATA, and Zscaler Inc have reported hacking or compromises this month.

Central Power Systems & Services, Final Fantasy, Frontier Communications, Kansas City’s official website, Ogero, Reddit, and Telegram have suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke Outlook, Windows (thanks ManageEngine), and VPN connections.

An update to ManageEngine has caused thousands of Windows machines to fail to boot. I guess that’s one way to make sure that they can’t be hacked through ManageEngine vulnerabilities?

Windows has officially added advertisements to the Windows 11 Start Menu.

The PuTTY Pageant key generation weakness will require millions upon millions of certificates to be rekeyed.

The Windows Boot Manager update released in January still has no automated fix from Microsoft. Third parties have created several methods of installing the update, and the closest-to-perfect automation yet requires seven (7!) restarts.

Microsoft has announced plans to implement fully locked down DNS via a pairing of DNS and the firewall, branded Zero Trust DNS – ZTDNS.

A recent technical paper described the process of using LLM (GPT-4) to automate the process of building exploits for newly discovered vulnerabilities. Reviews of the paper tend to acknowledge that it can be used in this fashion but focus instead on the use of the word “autonomously” which they treat as sentience. No guys, the paper isn’t saying that Skynet is here, just that LLMs are getting to the point where they can build functional exploit code based on brief descriptions of vulnerabilities.

I first saw the description of “Kobold Letters” a couple months ago. While a very creative use of CSS and an interesting idea, what are the chances that this kind of thing would actually be used in real life? 100%. I’ve now seen this behavior on three different client mail accounts in Microsoft Online and Gmail.

The founder of Telegram has publicly reported that the FBI pressured an employee to build a backdoor into the system. They refused.

Thunderbird has added Microsoft Exchange support. This means you won’t be forced to use the “New Outlook” crapp to access your Microsoft Exchange accounts. 🙂

Now for the good news:

We won. Sony caved on the Helldivers 2 privacy-violating “account linking” change. 🙂

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday is insane this month. The typical computer should see roughly 5 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates to address 67 vulnerabilities in .NET and Visual Studio, Azure Migrate, Microsoft Bing, Microsoft Brokering File System, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, Microsoft Windows SCSI Class System File, Microsoft Windows Search Component, Power BI, Visual Studio, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows CNG Key Isolation Service, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Deployment Services, Windows DHCP Server, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Kernel, Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW), Windows Mobile Broadband, Windows MSHTML Platform, Windows NTFS, Windows Remote Access Connection Manager, Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), Windows Task Scheduler, Windows Win32K – GRFX, Windows Win32K – ICOMP, and MSRT. This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Oracle released 441 security updates this quarter to address vulnerabilities in 119 applications.
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2024.html

Apple released updates for iOS 16.7.8, iOS 17.5, iPadOS 16.7.8, iPadOS 17.5, iTunes 12.13.2 for Windows, macOS Monterey 12.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.5, macOS Ventura 13.6.7, Safari 17.5, tvOS 17.5, and watchOS 10.5. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 16.7.8 and 17.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 6.7.8 and 17.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 10.5 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 17.5 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 124.0.6367.154 and 120.0.6099.310 are security updates. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

Fedora 40-1.14 is a major update, replacing BerkeleyDB with alternatives, updating libraries, and including adding new features and defaults. This should be treated as 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 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.

AMD Adrenalin 24.4.1 adds support for new software, performance improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Daemon Tools Lite 12.1.0 improves tooltips, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.daemon-tools.cc/products/dtLite

Dymo Connect for Desktop 1.3.2.18 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dymo.com/label-makers-printers/labelwriter-label-printers/dymo-labelwriter-450-duo-thermal-label-printer/SAP_1752267.html

TP-Link Archer AX55 v1 240325 adds almost a dozen new features, improves stability and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-ax55/v1/#Firmware

TP-Link Archer AX73 v2.0 240323 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-ax73/v2.0/#Firmware

UniFi Network Server 8.1.127 enhances firewall rules visibility, adds tunnel IP addresses, OSPF dynamic routing support, and resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ui.com/download/releases/network-server

VIISAN OfficeCam 7.1.19.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.viisan.com/en/download/type1.html

Wacom Driver 6.4.6-1 adds support for newer hardware, resolves several bugs and improves stability.
https://www.wacom.com/en-us/support/product-support/drivers

Xerox Smart Start 2.0.34.0 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.support.xerox.com/en-us/content/143617

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.65.133 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Firefox 126 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 115.11.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Google Chrome 124.0.6367.207 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 124.0.2478.97 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Vivaldi 6.7.3329.29 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Spark 3.15.5.72973 resolves several AI-related bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark (macOS) 3.15.5.72972 resolves several AI-related bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 115.10.2 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.

AnyDesk 8.0.10 is a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk (macOS) 8.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

Dropbox 199.4.6287 removes a cosmetic defect. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

Facebook Messenger 211.0.0.18.236 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download

FileZilla Client 3.67.0 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FileZilla Server 1.8.2 is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 13.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 90.0 resolves several bugs. This is the last version to support macOS 10.15 – if your hardware can not support macOS 11 you should have already removed it from the Internet, but if not, please take this as one more signal that it’s time to replace it.
https://drive.google.com/start

Microsoft Teams 1.7.00.10152 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Nextcloud Server 29.0.0 is a major update, resolving dozens of bugs, updating libraries, and improving workflow and design. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Nmap 7.95 adds over 6,500 more fingerprints, new scripts and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://nmap.org/

PuTTY 0.81 is a security update.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

Signal 7.8.0 adds emoji call responses and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Signal (Android) 7.6.2 adds emoji call responses, adds sent message editing, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Skype 8.116.0.213 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Syncthing 1.27.7 resolves a potential security bug.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 5.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

USB Drive Log 1.13 adds black background support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_drive_log.html

Z-Library 1.02 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://z-library.se/z-access#desktop_app_tab

Zoom 6.0.4.38135 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 4.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Bitwig Studio 5.1.9 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

Grayjay 240 adds several new features, sources, improvements, and resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://grayjay.app/index.html

iTunes 12.13.2.3 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Plex Desktop 1.92.1.140 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.60.1.134 updates libraries. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.40.2.8395 resolves several bugs, including an installation path issue. If you used a custom path you will need to uninstall and reinstall in order for future automatic updates to work correctly. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

GameMaker Studio 2024.4.0.137 changes homepage. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

GDevelop 5.3.201 resolves several bugs and improves interface. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Minecraft Server (Bedrock) 1.20.81.01 does not provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock

Minecraft Server (Java) 1.20.6 does not provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server

Nintendo Switch 18.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PS5 2024.430 resolves several bugs and improves hardware support. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2024-05-13 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110
By the way, we won. Sony caved on the Helldivers 2 privacy-violating “account linking” change. 🙂

SteamOS SteamDeck Update 2024-05-03 is 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 Acrobat and Reader 24.002.20759 and 20.005.30636 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb24-29.html

Adobe Aero 0.24.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/aero/apsb24-33.html

Adobe Animate 23.0.6 and 24.0.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb24-36.html

Adobe Dreamweaver 21.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/dreamweaver/apsb24-39.html

Adobe FrameMaker 2020.6 and 2022.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/framemaker/apsb24-37.html

Adobe Illustrator 28.5 and 27.9.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb24-30.html

Adobe Substance 3D Designer 13.1.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/substance3d_designer/apsb24-35.html

Adobe Substance 3D Painter 10.0.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/substance3d_painter/apsb24-31.html

Aronium 1.43.0.2 adds dual currency and night theme, improves refund behavior, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://aronium.com/

Audacity 3.5.1 adds a bunch of new features and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Calibre 7.10.0 adds export support, spell check, color inversion and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

Columns++ 1.0.6 improves wrapped line caompatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/Coises/ColumnsPlusPlus

Formatta Filler 8.19.0.4 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://formatta.com/formatta-products/complete-submit/

GIMP 2.10.38 doesn’t provide a detailed change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.gimp.org/

Java 8u411 is a security update.
https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

JShelter 0.18 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://jshelter.org/install/

Kdenlive 24.02.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://kdenlive.org/

Kindle for PC 2.3.70840 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc

LibreOffice 7.6.7 resolves over 40 bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 24.2.3 resolves over 75 bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Manager 24.5.13.1531 adds several new features and improves email integration and display. This is not a security update.
https://www.manager.io/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.13.0 resolves dozens of bugs and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.6.7 improves multiedit and language support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

PDF-XChange Editor 10.3.0.386 adds page extraction, label modification, improves sort and group behavior and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

QuickBooks Pro 2022 20240509-R15_25 updates to backend processes. This is not a security update.
https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products

QuickBooks Pro 2023 20240509-R12_15 updates to backend processes. This is not 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.

Chainsaw 2.9.0 adds native rules, timezone improvements, and adds ability to change default conditional when searching. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

Microsoft Edge Policy 2024.05.07 updates policies. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Edge-Enterprise/blob/public/edgeenterprise/microsoft-edge-policies.md

OpenSSL 3.3.0 is a security update.
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

ProtonVPN (macOS) 4.2.2 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

RogueKiller 15.16.1 updates engine and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Stinger 13.0.0.118 adds support for more detections. This is not a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx

SuperAntiSpyware 10.0.1266 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Tails 6.2 is a security update.
https://tails.net/install/download/index.en.html

Velociraptor 0.72 adds EWF support 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.

SnagIt 24.1.3 improves OCR, performances, updates libraries and resovles several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 13.0.1.7 resolves several couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

StreamFab 6.1.7.7 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 2.0.2.0 resolves several bugs. 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 8.10.32 improves compatibility, adds support to import from more third-party platforms, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/

Agent Ransack 2022.3434 adds support for OneNote and resovles several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

AOMEI Partition Assistant 10.4.0 improves the user interface. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

Bitwarden 2024.4.2 improves passkeys support and secrets manager, and adds a new Authenticator app. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

BulkFileChanger 1.73 resolves a timezone-related bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bulk_file_changer.html

CCleaner 6.23.11010 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

DesktopOK 11.21 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 4.1.92.0 resolves a .git/.gitignore bug, updates .NET library and translations. This is a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

ExplorerPatcher 22621.3527.65.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/

FileLocator Pro 2022.3434 adds support for OneNote and resovles several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

FoneTool 2.6.1 adds iOS Data Recovery and resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.fonetool.com/download.html

Git SCM 2.45.0 adds dozens of new features and behaviors, and resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://git-scm.com/

Go 1.22.3 is a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.6.5 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

HWiNFO 8.02 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

InstalledAppView 1.08 resolves a CLI bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/installed_app_view.html

IsMyHdOK 3.96 improves performance and testing accuracy. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

LessMSI 2.0.1 updates dependencies and build environment, and resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://lessmsi.activescott.com/

NirCmd 2.87 adds and resolves ~$ variables. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html

NTLite 2024.5.9931 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.12.1 is a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PingInfoView 3.05 adds option to map source IPv4 Address. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/multiple_ping_tool.html

PowerToys 0.80.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

PSAppDeploy 3.10.1 adds a dozen features and parameters, improves stability and reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://psappdeploytoolkit.com/

RoboForm 9.5.8 improves GUI. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

ScreenConnect 24.1.7.8892 resolves dozens of bugs and improves compatibility. This should be treated as a security update.
https://screenconnect.connectwise.com/download

Starwind V2V Converter 9.444 adds support for new conversions. This is not a security update.
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-v2v-converter

WinGet 1.7.11261 fixes elevation issues, updates dependencies and libraries. This is a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest

WinScan2PDF 8.81 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WUMT 04.22.2022 improves Windows 11 compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/file.php?id=1366

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

.NET Runtime 8.0.5 is a security update.
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet

Android Studio 2023.3.1 adds device streaming for testing, integrates crashlytics, improves App Quality Insights, and adds audio redirection. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

AutoHotkey 2.0.14 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

cx_Freeze 7.0 updates dependencies and libraries and resolves hundreds of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://cx-freeze.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

GitHub Desktop 3.3.17 removes support for older macOS versions, resolves a dozen bugs and improves user interface. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Godot 4.2.2 improves CLI support, resolves the audio bug, and more than 200 other issues. This is a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.4.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

MySQL Server 8.0.37 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

NASM 2.16.03 improves the build process. This is not a security update.
https://www.nasm.us/index.php

Node.js 18.20.2 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 20.13.1 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 21.7.3 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 22.1.0 is a major update. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 6.5.0.6294 improves integration and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

Rustup 1.27.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.rust-lang.org/

SQLite 3.45.3 adds new JSON handling behaviors and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

TortoiseGit 2.16.0 resolves a dozen bugs and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://tortoisegit.org/

TortoiseSVN 1.14.7 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html

Visual Studio Code 1.89.1 adds support to exclude content from Copilot and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

WinMerge 2.16.40 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://winmerge.org/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 7.0.18 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

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

HumHub 1.15.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en

Joomla 5.1.0 adds more than a dozen features and code and performance improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MAMP 5.0.6 updates dependencies. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.mamp.info/en/mamp/windows/

phpList 3.6.15 is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 14.4.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

WordPress 6.5.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

BuddyPress 12.4.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Contact Form 7 5.9.4 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

Duplicator 1.5.9 improves compatibility and resolves a bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/#developers

My Sticky Bar 2.7 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mystickymenu/

Postie 1.9.69 should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postie/

Slider Revolution 6.7 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

Social Post Feed 4.2.4 improves integration. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/

Sucuri Security 1.8.44 improves API key controls. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sucuri-scanner/

W3 Total Cache 2.7.2 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 8.9.0 improves compatibility and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WPBakery 7.6 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://wpbakery.com/

WPtouch 4.3.59 adds support for Reddit, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wptouch/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2024-01-09

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, loanDepotLone 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/

Updates 2022-10-11

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for October, 2022. This month brings a new major version of Windows 11, and impending new version of Windows 10. That’s on top of the 120 major hacks, and another 150+ application updates this month. This is actually the lightest month we’ve had in a while, with less than 3 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

2K Games, a high-profile Hawaiian financial company, Airplane WiFi networks, Albanian State Police, American Airlines, Anesthesia Associates of El Paso PA, Anesthesia Associates of Maryland LLC, Anesthesia Services of San Joaquin PC, Argentina’s Ministry of Economy, Ask.FM, Bell Technical Solutions, Bhinneka, Binance, Bitbucket Server, Bonita Springs Retirement Village, Inc., Bronx Anesthesia Services PC, Centerstone of Tennessee, Inc., Centre Hospitalier Sud Francilien, Chase UK, Chilean Judiciary, Chilean Ministry of Defense, City of Tucson, Columbia River Mental Health Services, Comision Nacional de Acreditación in Chile, Comm100 Live Chat, CommonSpirit Health, Consorci Sanitari Integral, Costa Group, Country Doctor Community Clinic, CSI Laboratories (again!), The Coeur Group, Dialog, Digital Network System, DLS Motors, Easterseals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain, Inc., Elbit Systems of America, Empress EMS, Extended MLTC, an F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft components supplier, Fast Company, FishPig, FMC Services, LLC, FortiOS, FortiProxy, Fredericksburg Anesthesia Services LLC, Guatemala’s foreign ministry, Hampton Public Library, Hazleton Anesthesia Services PC, Independence, Intel, Jaime Câmara, Johnson Fitness and Wellness, Kaye-Smith Enterprises, Inc., Kiwi Farms, Landmark Management Services, Latam government, Lloyd’s of London, Lynbrook Anesthesia Services PC, Magellan Rx Management, Magento, Makler, Mexican Military, Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, Microsoft Exchange, hundreds of Microsoft SQL servers, Monroe Ear Nose and Throat Associates, PC, National Institute for Drug and Food Surveillance, Neurology Center of Nevada, New York Racing Association, Northern California Fertility Medical Center, Okta Auth0, Optus, Oracle Cloud, Orange Southwest Supervisory District, Palm Springs Anesthesia Services PC, Peru’s Instituto De Desarrollo Profesional, Physician’s Business Office, Inc., Providence WA Anesthesia Services PC, Puigcerda Hospital, Quintal, redONE Network Sdn Bhd, REDTONE Digital BHD Network, Reelfoot Family Walk-In Clinic, Reid and Riege, P.C., Reidville Fire Department, Resource Anesthesiology Associates of CA A Medical Corporation, Resource Anesthesiology Associates of IL PC, Resource Anesthesiology Associates PC, Revolut, Rockstar Games, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seesaw, Shangri-La Group, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, South Redford School District, Starbucks, State Bar of Georgia, State of Colorado, Swachhata, TAP Air Portugal, Telstra, Tessie Cleveland Community Services Corp, The Icon Group, Toyota, Transit Finance, Trend Micro Apex One, Trillium Health Inc., U.S. Dept of Defense, Uber (more), Universidad Internacional Del Ecuador, Upstate Anesthesia Services PC, UW Medicine, Wakanim, WhatsApp, Wintermute, Zimbra, and Zoho ManageEngine have reportedly been hacked or compromised this month.

MEC has shared with us why Microsoft Exchange has proven to be such a large target. 350+ million email accounts spread across over 300,000 physical servers, where (demonstrably) security lapses are commonplace. Even with that, it has nothing to do with the recent spate of outlook crashes or certificate issues on MS products.

There’s more evidence demonstrating the risk of pirated software. Twitter neglected to log out devices after password resets. And Dell drivers are being used to hijack computers.

The newest version of Windows 11 was released less than 3 weeks ago. It has problems. Among the many issues with the latest release of Windows 11 include
file copy performance, Windows Hello failure, provisioning, Remote Desktop, printer issues, Intel audio, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, and NVIDIA gaming performance, and those are just the ones that have made the news so far. If you’re planning to upgrade to the latest build of Windows 11, wait another month or two.

Now for the good news:

It turns out the theoretial protection of tinfoil hats may have actually been a government conspiracy. Really. How is this good news? You don’t have to worry about making sure you have tinfoil available anymore! 🙂

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday is huge this month. The typical computer should see roughly
GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Windows 11 22H2 (22621) is a major update for Windows 11, but it has been plagued with issues over the last couple weeks. Give it time before you willingly update.

Microsoft released updates to address 90 vulnerabilities in Active Directory Domain Services, Azure, Azure Arc, Client Server Run-time Subsystem, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office 365 2209 (15629.20156), Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, NuGet Client, Remote Access Service Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Role: Windows Hyper-V, Service Fabric, Visual Studio Code, Windows Active Directory Certificate Services, Windows ALPC, Windows CD-ROM Driver, Windows COM+ Event System Service, Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry, Windows CryptoAPI, Windows Defender, Windows DHCP Client, Windows Distributed File System, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Event Logging Service, Windows Group Policy, Windows Group Policy Preference Client, Windows Internet Key Exchange Protocol, Windows Kernel, Windows Local Security Authority, Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service, Windows Local Session Manager, Windows NTFS, Windows NTLM, Windows ODBC Driver, Windows Perception Simulation Service, Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Windows Portable Device Enumerator Service, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows Resilient File System, Windows Secure Channel, Windows Security Support Provider Interface, Windows Server Remotely Accessible Registry Keys, Windows Server Service, Windows Storage, Windows TCP/IP, Windows USB Serial Driver, Windows Web Account Manager, Windows Win32K, Windows WLAN Service, Windows Workstation Service, and MSRT (~2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 16.0.3 and watchOS 9.0.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS iOS 16.0.3 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 9.0.2 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 105.0.5195.134 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 release of macOS Monterey (12.x) means that macOS Mojave (10.14) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Catalina (10.15) 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 (v21H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 12 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 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 (v22H2) 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 still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months 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.

AMD Adrenalin 22.10.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Crucial Storage Executive 8.03 does not provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.5.5 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

DS4Windows 3.1.6 resolves dozens of issues. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/Ryochan7/DS4Windows/releases/latest

Epson ET-4800 3.01 adds support for newer Remote Print Driver and Epson Photo+ Software. This is not a security update.
https://epson.com/Support/Printers/All-In-Ones/ET-Series/Epson-ET-4800/s/SPT_C11CJ65201

Garmin Express 7.14.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/software/express/

Intel Driver and Support Assistant 22.6.39 resolves several bugs and improves feedback. This is not a security update.
https://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect

Netgear Nighthawk R7960P 1.4.4.94 is a security update.
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/R7960P.aspx#download

Wacom Driver 6.4.0-8 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.wacom.com/en-us/support/product-support/drivers

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.44.108 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 106.0.5249.103 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 106.0.1370.34 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 105.0.3 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

SeaMonkey 2.53.14 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.5.2805.35 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

NK2Edit 3.45 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_nk2_edit.html

OutlookAttachView 3.46 improves visual feedback. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Thunderbird 102.3.2 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 2.52 improves visual feedback. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

Dropbox 158.4.4564 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

Facebook Messenger 164.0.0.8.109 is a security update.
https://www.messenger.com/download

FileZilla Client 3.61.0 should be treated as a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.26 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 64.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Microsoft Teams 1.5.00.21668 adds support for Apple Silicon, group chat reply suggestions, and improves management features. This is not a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Mumble 1.4.287 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.mumble.info/

Nextcloud Server 24.0.6 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Rclone 1.59.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal 5.62.0 resolves several bugs and improves contact property view. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Skype 8.88.0.401 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Syncthing 1.22.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Technitium DNS Server 9.1 adds certbot support, dashboard improvements, and several other features. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 4.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WinSCP 5.21.5 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.12.2.9281 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Bitwig Studio 4.4 improves stability, adds new audio FX packages, and new “spectral devices.” This is not a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

darktable 4.0.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/

MediaMonkey 5.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mediamonkey.com/windows#download

Plex Desktop 1.55.0.3278 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.26.1.3276 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6244 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Epic Games 14.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.epicgames.com/

GameMaker Studio 2022.9.0.49 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

Lego Studio 2.22.9.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/ldd

Nintendo Switch 15.0.0 improves stability, changes a menu, and adds ability to take screenshots in NSO. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PS4 10.01 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/

PS5 22.02-06.00.01 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2022.10.06 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Office Updates

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

Adobe Animate 21.0.12 and 22.0.8 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb22-54.html

Adobe Bridge 12.0.3 and 11.1.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb22-49.html

Adobe Experience Manager CS and 6.5.14.0 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb22-40.html

Adobe Illustrator 26.5 and 25.4.8 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb22-55.html

Adobe InCopy 17.4 and 16.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb22-53.html

Adobe InDesign 17.4 and 16.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb22-50.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.9 and 23.5 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb22-52.html

Adobe Reader DC 22.003.20258 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Audacity 3.2.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 3.3.1 adds hair geometry, improves deforming tools, and several other features. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Krita 5.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.4.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Notepad++ 8.4.6 adds change history markers and tab context menu improvements. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.4.364.0 is a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Calibre 6.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

Kindle for PC 1.39.65306 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc

Security Software Updates

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

Chainsaw 2.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

HTTP Toolkit 1.11.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://httptoolkit.tech/

OnionShare 2.6 adds several new features. This is a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

OpenSSL 3.0.6 is a security update.
https://www.openssl.org/source/

OpenSSL 1.1.1r is a security update.
https://www.openssl.org/source/

OSFClone 1.4.1000 updates libraries and core OS. This is a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/tools/create-disk-images.html

ProtonVPN 2.1.1 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

ProtonVPN for macOS 3.0.3 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

ReactOS 0.4.14.24 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://reactos.org/

uBlock Origin 1.44.4 resolves the broken :not() operator. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.10.3 adds directory scanning and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Open Broadcaster Software 28.0.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://obsproject.com/

ScreenToGif 2.37.1 resolves several bugs to improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 22.1.2 resolves an activation bug. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/releases/snagit.msi

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.8.9 adds support for new encodings and improved hardware support. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

iMazing HEIC Converter 2.0.2 doesn’t provide a changelog. This is not a security update.
https://imazing.com/heic

PDF Creator 5.0 is a major update adding new features and organizational tools. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

StreamFab 5.0.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

Education updates

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

Zotero 6.0.15 adds split view improvements, adds math support, PDF improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.zotero.org/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

BgInfo 4.32 now reports Windows Insider builds. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/bginfo

Bitwarden 2022.9.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 6.04.10044 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Coreinfo 3.6 adds and option to measure inter-CPU latency. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/coreinfo

DesktopOK 10.34 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Etcher 1.7.9 adds update notification and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1022 is a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Everything CLI 1.1.0.26 adds -exit, -reindex, and -utf8bom options, and resolves a Unicode write bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.35 is the fourth compatibility release for Windows 11 22H2. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

Git SCM 2.38.0 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://git-scm.com/

Go 1.19.2 is a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.0.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

grepWin 2.0.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stefankueng/grepWin/releases/latest

Kingston SSD Manager 1.5.2.4 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/ssdmanager

NTLite 2.3.8.8945 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

OSForensics 10.0.1004 improves documentation and reports, and updates several features. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/download.html

PowerToys 0.63.0 resolves several bugs and updates dependencies. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

ScreenConnect 22.8.9612.8308 adds key rotation, improved session management, improved compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

Sysmon 14.1 adds monitoring for FileBlockShredding events. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TaskSchedulerView 1.72 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TeamViewer 15.34.4 improves multi-tab display. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

Unity 2022.1.19 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

WinGet 1.3.2691 updates dependencies. 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.

Android Studio 2021.3.1.16 improves wear OS compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

AutoIt 3.3.16.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/history.htm

GitHub Desktop 3.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

MySQL Server 8.0.31 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

MySQL ConnectorNet 8.0.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/

Node.js 14.20.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.17.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 18.10.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.39.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

TortoiseSVN 1.14.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html

Visual Studio Code 1.72.1 is a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 7.0.0 is a major update adding full encryption support, cloud interop connectivity, new hardware virtualization features and resolves several bugs. This is not 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 1.6.20 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.4.8 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 4.2.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MailEnable 10.42 and 9.85 are security updates.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Piwigo 13.0.0 adds several new features and updates compatibility options. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

Akismet 5.0.1 resolves several bugs.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

Autoptimize 3.1.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

myStickymenu 2.6.1 removes the contact form character limit. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mystickymenu/

Postie 1.9.62 resolves a timezone bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postie/

Redirection 5.3.4 resolves a “not” bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/

Simple Lightbox 2.9.2 should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-lightbox/

Slider Revolution 6.6.3 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.2.6 resolves a Cloudfront compatibility bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WP Mail SMTP 3.6.1 resolves several bugs and improves debug controls. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/

WooCommerce 6.9.4 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WordPress Importer 0.8 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-importer/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2022-04-12

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for April, 2022.

It’s another big one. Sprinkle a little disaster and angst on a world war, give script kiddies a megaphone and encourage them to hack strangers and you end up with the perfect storm of malice.

This Month in Technology

2FA/MFA implementations, Advanced Medical Practice Management, Alacrity Solutions Group, LLC, Alberta vaccine passport system, American Express, ASUS routers, Atlassian, Ballad Health, a large banking platform, Bank of Ireland, Bernards Township School District, Bet9ja, Black River Falls School District, Bradley Airport, Bridgestone Americas, CafePress, Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie, Cancer and Hematology Centers of Western Michigan, Capital Region Medical Center, Cash App, CDEK, Central Indiana Orthopedics, Central Minnesota Mental Health Center, Central Vermont Eye Care, Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc., Chelan Douglas Health District, Christie Clinic, Clinic of North Texas, LLP, Colorado Physician Partners, PLLC, Creative Services Inc, Cytometry Specialists, Denso, Dialyze Direct, LLC, Doctors Me, Duncan Regional Hospital, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, East Windsor Township, Electoral Services Department of Wandsworth Council, EMC National Life Insurance, Emma Sleep Company, Englewood Health, Ermenegildo Zegna, Finland Department of Defense, Fox, Gainwell Technologies, LLC, GitLab, Globant, hundreds of GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress sites, Google Chrome (over 40 security vulnerabilities fixed in the last month), Grand Coloane Resort, H.P. Hood Dairy, Harris County Jail, Hellenic Post, Highmark Inc, Honda and Acura cars, Horizon Actuarial Services LLC, hundreds of HP printer models, HubSpot, Iberdrola, Isle of Wight EV chargers, Israeli government, Jefferson Dental and Orthodontics, l’Assurance, Labette Health, Law Enforcement Health Benefits, Inc., Local 295 IBT Employer Group Welfare Fund, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, MailChimp, Major League Baseball Players Benefit Plan, Mansfield company, Medical Surgical Eye Care, Mercado Libre, Microsoft, MikroTik routers, Miratorg Agribusiness HoldingMN District 518, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, National Rifle Association, New Jersey Brain and Spine, New York City public schools, Nordex, Northern Ireland TrustFord, Norwood Clinic, Okta (though they initially claimed otherwise, then backtracked), Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto Networks hardware, Parker Hannifin Corp, Partnership HealthPlan of California, PhySynergy, LLC, PressReader, QNAP, Ronin, Rosaviatsia, Roskomnadzor, Rostec, Royal Enfield, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Russian Lipetsk Mechanical Plant, Russian Orthodox Church, Samsung Electronics, Scottish Association for Mental Health, Scottish Power, Sea Mar Community Health Center, Shutterfly, Snap-On, Sophos Security, South Denver Cardiology Associates, Spokane Regional Health District, Spring Framework for Java, SummaCare, SuperCare, Taylor Regional Hospital, Tennessee Pediatric Hospital, Texas Department of Insurance, The Works, Thomas Allen, Inc., Toei, Toyota, Transneft, TransUnion, Travelio, Trend Micro Apex Central, Trezor, Trinity Home Care, Inc., Ubisoft, Ukrainian IT Army, Ukrtelecom, Valley View Hospital Association, Veeam products, Viasat modems, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Vodafone, WatchGuard, Western Digital My Cloud, Wheeling Health Right Inc, Wynn Palace, Wyze Cam, ZAP-Hosting, and Zyxel hardware were hacked or compromised this month.

Now for the good news:

Internet Explorer is finally going to be going away in only two months. While this will eliminate a program that nobody should be using, it will have some side-effects  for businesses that rely on Active-X objects. Still, net win.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is smaller than it has been in months. The typical computer should see roughly 2.7 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for .NET Framework, Active Directory Domain Services, Azure SDK, Azure Site Recovery, LDAP, Microsoft Bluetooth Driver, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft Local Security Authority Server, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Windows ALPC, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Microsoft Windows Media Foundation, Power BI, Role: DNS Server, Role: Windows Hyper-V, Skype for Business, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, Windows App Store, Windows AppX Package Manager, Windows Cluster Client Failover, Windows Cluster Shared Volume, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows Defender, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Endpoint Configuration Manager, Windows Fax Compose Form, Windows Feedback Hub, Windows File Explorer, Windows File Server, Windows Installer, Windows iSCSI Target Service, Windows Kerberos, Windows Kernel, Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service, Windows Media, Windows Network File System, Windows PowerShell, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows RDP, Windows Remote Procedure Call Runtime, Windows schannel, Windows SMB, Windows Telephony Server, Windows Upgrade Assistant, Windows User Profile Service, Windows Win32K, Windows Work Folder Service, YARP reverse proxy and MSRT (~2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.4.1, iPadOS 15.4.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3.1, Security Update 2022-003 Catalina, GarageBand 10.4.6, iTunes 12.12.3 for Windows, Logic Pro X 10.7.3, tvOS 15.4, watchOS 8.5.1, Xcode 13.3. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.4.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.4.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

tvOS 15.4 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

watchOS 8.5.1 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 100.0.4896.82 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 release of macOS Monterey (12.x) means that macOS Mojave (10.14) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Catalina (10.15) 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 (v21H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every year 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 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 (v21H2) 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 6 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 still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months 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.

Hundreds of HP printer models have new firmware security updates or advise disabling the LLMNR protocol. While you’re there consider disabling IPv6, WSD, DHCPv6, as well as SLP unless you’re in a corporate environment, and Bonjour unless you need to print from Apple mobile devices.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_5948778-5949142-16/hpsbpi03780

Drivers by Seagull 2022.1 adds support for over 190 new printer models, improves GUI for Driver Wizard and resolves a bug with the GS1 Datamatrix AI 11. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.37.113 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 100.0.4896.88 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 100.0.1185.39 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 99.0.1 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.8.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.11.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.2.2623.33 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.10.2 is a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Thunderbird 91.8.0 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

NK2Edit 3.43 adds an option to copy the contents of the selected cell. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_nk2_edit.html

Internet Updates

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

AnyDesk 7.0.7 resolves several bugs, and improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk for macOS 6.5.0 adds permission profiles and resolves a layout bug. This is the last version to support EOL macOS versions. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

Dropbox 145.4.4921 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.59.0 updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Google Drive 56.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Nextcloud Server 23.0.3 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Client 2.10.1.7187 resolves many bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

Prosody 0.12.0 resolves several bugs and improves security defaults. This should be treated as a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Rclone 1.58.0 adds several new backends and resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Skype 8.82.0.403 resolves several bugs and makes cosmetic improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Syncthing 1.19.2 updates error messaging. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Technitium DNS Server 8.0.2 is a major update adding several new features, updates libraries and apps, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 3.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian Mac 6.5.0.11 adds native support for M1, new emoji and history features, and resolves many bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

WGet 1.21.3 updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

Zoom 5.10.1.4420 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

FastStone Viewer 7.6 adds several new display controls and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Plex Desktop 1.43.3.2951 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.14.0.2935 adds a couple new features and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.25.9.5721 updates scanning behavior, adds support for plexmatch files, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Epic Games 14.0.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.epicgames.com/

GameMaker Studio 2022.3.0.625 makes cosmetic and localization changes, adds several new features, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

Nintendo Switch 14.1.0 adds PPN. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PS5 22.01-05.00.00 provides many changes to the user interface and nomenclature. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

RetroPie 4.8 updates libraries and apps. This is not a security update.
https://retropie.org.uk/

Steam 2022.03.16 resolves cosmetic issues. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Office Updates

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

Adobe Commerce 2.3.7-p3, 2.4.3-p2, and 2.4.4 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb22-13.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 22.001.20117, 22.001.20112, 20.005.30334, 20.005.30331, 17.012.30229, and 17.012.30227 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb22-16.html

Adobe After Effects 22.3 and 18.4.6 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb22-19.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.7 and 23.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb22-20.html

Blender 3.1 vastly improves performance and adds several new features and controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Calibre 5.40.0 adds new features, news sources, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

IcoFX 3.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://icofx.ro/

Kindle for PC 1.35.64251 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.amazon.com/kindleforpc

LibreOffice Still 7.2.6 resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.3.2 resolves over 70 bugs, including stability and crash bugs. This should be treated as a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software so should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.4 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.3.3 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 4.3.10 resolves a resize bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.3.360.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Security Software Updates

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

Chainsaw 1.1.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.7 is a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

OpenSSL 3.0.2 is a security update.
https://curl.se/windows/

OSFClone 1.3.1001 updates operating system. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/tools/create-disk-images.html

Tails 4.29 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.42.4 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.10.1 improves organization. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

YARA 4.2.0 updates syntax and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

Zorin OS 16.1 updates libraries, apps, improves hardware support, and performance. This is not a security update.
https://zorin.com/os/mirrors/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD (macOS) 2.11.14 improves Twitch API support. This is not a security update.
https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027963512

Open Broadcaster Software 27.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://obsproject.com/

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.6.9 adds support for new encodings.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

PDF Creator 4.4.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

Education updates

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

Zotero 6.0.4 is a major update that adds several new features and resolves two dozen bugs. 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 7.9.4 resolves several bugs and improves performance. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

Agent Ransack 2022.3314 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Beyond Compare 4.4.2.26348 improves command line support. This is not a security update.
https://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl4

Bitwarden 1.32.1 updates Safari extension and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

Dell Command Update 4.5 improves startup and SRP performance and adds deferral, session management, and WER handling. This is not a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 9.81 improves dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

DevManView 1.76 adds new quick filter option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html

dnGrep 3.0.42.0 improves regular expressions and boolean testing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

dupeGuru 4.2.1 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This should be treated as a security update.
https://dupeguru.voltaicideas.net/

Etcher 1.7.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

FileLocator Pro 2022.3314 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

GoodSync 11.10.8 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

NTLite 2.3.4.8658 adds YubiKey compatibility, upgrades components and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

PowerToys 0.57.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Recuva 1.53.2078 improves licensing controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva

RoboForm 9.2.5 is a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Rufus 3.18 is a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_US/

ScreenConnect 22.3.7487.8130 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SearchMyFiles 3.17 adds folder background context option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

SimpleWMIView 1.51 updates the /columns command line switch behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

Ookla Speedtest CLI 1.1.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.speedtest.net/apps/cli

TeamViewer 15.28.9 resolves a reliability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

Unity 2021.3.0 resolves many bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

USBDeview 3.03 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

Wazuh Agent 4.2.6 updates Kibana plugin and Splunk app and resolves a bug. This is a security update.
https://wazuh.com/start/

WifiInfoView 2.76 resolves a marking bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 33.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

Docker Desktop 4.7.0 is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

GitHub Desktop 2.9.12 adds support for Brackets Editor, JetBrains RubyMine, JetBrains GoLand, and Android Studio, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Godot 3.4.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js 12.22.12 is a security update. This is the final release of the 12.x line.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.19.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.14.2 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 17.9.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.38.2 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility and CLI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

TortoiseSVN 1.14.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html

Visual Studio Code 1.66.1 updates libraries and 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.

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.18 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.3.9 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 4.1.2 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MailEnable 10.39 resolves several bugs and improves security defaults. This is a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

WordPress 5.9.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Autoptimize 3.0.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

BuddyPress 10.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Slider Revolution 6.5.19 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

WooCommerce 6.3.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WPBakery 6.9.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wpbakery.com/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-03-09

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for March, 2021.

This Month in Technology

Gab has been hacked at least a couple more times. (Would you trust the security of a Gab-owned bank?)

A new form of “supply-chain” attack demonstrating dependency vulnerabilities has been used against many major vendors, including Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, and dozens more.

32redAccellionAllergy PartnersAppleBombardierCA DMVClubhouse ChatsCovenant HealthCareCSXD-Link devices, Ecuador’s Ministry of Finance and Banco Pichincha, the European Banking AuthorityEXMOExperian (again), France’s Ministry of HealthGeorgetown County (SC), Hipcam (and other baby monitors), HumanaIBM, over a hundred Italian banksKeepChangeKiaKrogerLakehead UniversityMalaysia AirlinesNess Digital EngineeringNinja FormsNgrokNurseryCam, Oxford University, RealPage, RIPE NCC accountsRockwell Automation PLCsMaza, a Russian Cybercrime forum, SingtelSITA (an airline service provider), SolarCityPayPalQualysSendgrid accounts (to send spam – how could anyone tell the difference?!), Sequoia CapitalSignalT-Mobile, TMS, 15 UK schoolsUnderwriters LaboratoriesUniversal Health ServicesVMWare vCenter ServerWashington State Unemployment DepartmentWawa, Apple’s WebKit, and Yandex have been hacked.

According to a study by Bridewell Consulting, 86% of UK critical national infrastructure organizations have experienced cyber-attacks. I think it would be more accurate to present these numbers as, “14% of UKs critical national infrastructure doesn’t have the technology in place to know they were hacked.”

Even more malware related to the SolarWinds hack has been discovered. Since AWS was used for the SolarWinds hack, shouldn’t Amazon shut AWS down, too?

Microsoft is now admitting that Azure and Exchange source code has been compromised by the SolarWinds attackers.

The big news this month is that a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange (coincidence?) has resulted in over thirty thousand servers being hackedThis is huge. So what did Microsoft do? Microsoft has announced it has changed their policy to crack down on hosted email accounts that receive a lot of email. Sigh.

Another interesting new tactic, bitsquatting, has proved far more effective than one would think. The demonstration allowed them to hijack thousands of requests intended for Microsoft. Used maliciously, this method will cause serious damage.

Censorship has finally made it before the Supreme Court, but Dr. Suess is only the latest target, while Facebook allowed actual genocide, but forbade discussion about news articles, Google acknowledges their efforts to perform censorship “better,” and Firefox has released a new extension to aid in censorship, while Streamlabs waited for the payment to clear before censoring one paid user. The Beverly Hills Police Department is using the novel approach of playing copyrighted music to prevent their actions from being observed, and Congress is now violating federal law by demanding censorship of media.

It amazes me that people actually trust “fact checkers.” Censorship doesn’t work!

Poland isn’t taking it anymore. Italy is fining Facebook, too.

Tor was hacked years ago, but new implementations (like that in Brave) are still popping up with their own problems.

Another 21 million VPN users were taught the lesson about the difference between customers and products. If you’re not the customer, you’re the product.

Instagram (like parent Facebook) is sharing everything you do with law enforcement. So is Apple’s iCloud.

The Windows 10 implementation of web fonts can be used to hack you. Apple M1 chips (less than 6 months old) have been targeted with several pieces of malware, but we should trust the MORPHEUS chip, right? BTW, M1 Macs are eating their (soldered in) SSDs, too.

It’s not just Google. Apple can disable all of your accounts and services on a whim, too. Or for your name.

Amazon has been caught duplicating products, can they be trusted to sell your products or host your content?

Is half a billion dollars enough to get you to rethink a bad user interface?

The whole point of unified interfaces and consistent logins is to ensure a familiar experience so you know whether you’re visiting the real site. Attackers take advantage of this to build their own imagekits and forms, even using their own fake security measures to convince you you’re on the “real” site since they are forced to validate that *you* are really you.

The malicious Gootkit Trojan can help the SEO of your websites. Just not for you.

Never reuse passwords. Or hard-code them. And don’t use obvious passwords either. But if you do, don’t blame a fabricated intern.

Apple claims that a new (available since 2019, but only recently launched on iOS) application execution technique will make it more difficult for iPhones to be hacked,
while yet another iPhone bug has demonstrated to successfully jailbreak every active iOS/iPhone line.

North Dakota and Arizona may save the Internet by forbidding the ability for vendors to force the use of their own app stores.

While many treat Google’s lockdown of their data APIs in Chromium as a bad thing, I see it as getting Google further out of Chromium – which can only be a net positive.

AT&T and Frontier have consistently abandoned phone networks in California, but we knew that: AT&T said they were going to do this when Title II passed. Sometimes the only thing to make a company following through is enough bad press.

Deepfakes for everyone! While most focus on Deepfakes are about their potential for evil, they can be used for good.

On patents: Intel owes $2.2 billion for saving power, and Apple has violated several biometric patents.

Dr. Fauci has known all along that the PCR test was useless. The WHO has launched their own COVID-specific version of “we investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong.” The dystopian concept of vaccine passports has been struck down by the Council of Europe. Unfortunately their power is mostly cosmetic.

The CDC inflated “COVID deaths” over 1600% in violation of multiple federal laws. CDS is real though. COVID has been “really good for CNN ratings,” though. Thousands of people have died in the US from the experimental COVID “vaccines,” (and elsewhere) or suffered from other harm. Many more internationally. Quarantine internment camps are a real thing. People are being harmed from the tests (or forcefully vaccinated), too. You can do something about it. (They sure won’t.) BTW, the CDC has had to remove their claim that vaccines don’t cause Autism.

Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Texas have joined in on efforts to end lockdown insanity.

Don’t be selfishMasks still don’t work, but masks can kill you. (At least they won’t rape you.)

Keep the pedophile, but ban the words.

Green Energy killed Texas. It shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.

Governors Cuomo and Whitmer are finally being taken to task on their “accidental” murder of thousands of nursing home residents. Don’t expect the President to get involved. Genocide is just “different norms” to him. Instead of those in “National Security” investigating this, they’re convinced their time is better used calling half the population terrorists.

Facebook has had more than 20 million child sex abuse incidents, more than 20x greater than any other website, including Google. Nevertheless, the masses aren’t calling for cancelling Facebook. It’s tolerance when “they” do it.

Speaker Pelosi (who is responsible for security at the House) refused National Guard assistance, supposedly over “optics“, before the staged January 6riot“. Chris Wray lied to Congress about Antifa dressing as Trump supporters. So did former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. They’ve knowingly falsified FISA warrants. So is it really any surprise there are calls to shut down the FBI?

Some states are finally allowing election audits, with evidence of 6% discrepancies in every single race, others as much as 78%, and other serious math problems, while others refuse to release ballots for inspection, purge election data, or allow the FBI to shred ballots without oversight or inspection. Then they poison the people they are forcing to guard them.

Is it any surprise that their Section 230 “reforms” are designed to completely silence online discourse? After all, the President doesn’t understand what “clandestine” means. (Quick tip: If you announce your intentions on the MSM, it’s not clandestine!)

The Babylon Bee is probably the best news site on the Internet, not because they actually have any news, but because they shine a light on the fraud that passes for news today.

Now for the good news:

California has finally been allowed to implement their own brand of Net Neutrality. I strongly oppose Net Neutrality, as getting government involved in something (even under the auspices of protection) always results in unintended consequences. This is, fortunately, no exception. CA Net Neutrality can now be used by myself and others to target Big Tech to penalize them for their continuous acts of censorship.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 3 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Big Sur 11.2.3, watchOS 7.3.2, Safari 14.0.3, iOS 14.4.1 and iPadOS 14.4.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.4.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.4.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.3.2 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 88.0.4324.186 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 release of macOS Big Sur (11.0) 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.

BullZip PDF Printer 12.2.0.2902 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php#download

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.3.7 improves cleanup and adds network path support. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

DirectX 9.29.1974.1 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.

nVidia 461.72 adds support for newer hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.21.74 resolved several bugs. This is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 89.0.4389.82 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 89.0.774.48 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 86.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.8.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Vivaldi 3.6.2165.40 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 78.8.0 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.

Mumble 1.2.19 is a security update.
http://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Main_Page

Prosody 0.11.8 is a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Trillian 6.4.0.5 resolves a settings bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

Dropbox 117.4.378 does not provide a changelog so should be treated like a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 11.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Zoom 5.5.13142.0301 resolves several bugs, improves grid view, and better indicates when content is being shared. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.12 adds 3 new types of motion, show/hide shortcut, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Flickr Downloadr 3.3.4.1 updates the Docker image. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

Office Updates

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

Atom 1.55.0 allows git configuration without a repository. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

IcoFX 3.5.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://icofx.ro/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.1 resolves almost a hundred bugs. Remember that this is beta software, so should be avoided for the stable version whenever possible. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.1.3 is a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 7.9.3 adds new folder features that now prevent it working on Windows XP. If you are still running XP you should really consider switching to Linux, but if you must continue to use XP then use Notepad++ 7.9.2. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?npp32

VideoCleaner 5.8 improves Matrix, Sharpening and Mask features. This is not a security update.
https://videocleaner.com/download.html

Adobe Connect 11.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-19.html

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application 5.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-18.html

Adobe Framemaker 2020.0.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/framemaker/apsb21-14.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.16 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

OpenSSL 1.1.1j is a security update.
https://www.openssl.org/source/

RogueKiller 14.8.5 updates core and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Wireless Network Watcher 2.25 improved compatibility with high-DPI. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VideoCacheView 3.06 adds support for the new cache partitioning structure in chromium-based browsers. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

MakeMKV 1.16.1 resolves several bugs and adds ARM support. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?makemkv

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8 adds native M1 support and resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.6.793 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

CCleaner 5.77.8521 improves cleaning and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

ControlMyMonitor 1.28 improves compatibility with high DPI. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

Coreinfo 3.52 adds reporting for CET (shadow stack). This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/coreinfo

Cygwin 3.1.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

Dell Command Update 4.1 is a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 8.66 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Eraser 6.2.0.2992 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://eraser.heidi.ie/download/

Everything Toolbar 0.6.2 adds an installer, drag & drop support, elevation support, and more. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Homedale 1.93 adds an option to set the gps baud rate from the command line. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.01 resolves a bug in screenshot generation. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.0.0.7820 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

OSFMount 3.1.1000 updates drivers and improves CLI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.osforensics.com/tools/mount-disk-images.html

PointerStick 5.05 updates language files. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

QuickSetDNS 1.31 adds option to start hidden. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/quick_set_dns.html

TeamViewer 15.15.5 was released. The TeamViewer release notes have been unavailable for months now, so while it might be a security update, it would be safer to remove TeamViewer until these issues are resolved.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows/

TraceRouteOK 2.42 updates language files. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WinScan2PDF 6.91 adds support for multi-page TIF and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 3.37 improves compatibility, refresh behavior, and 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 1.1.33.05 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Node.js 12.21.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.16.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 15.11.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

TortoiseSVN 1.14.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html

Visual Studio Code 1.54 resolves an extension dependency bug. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PPSSPP 1.11.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://ppsspp.org/downloads.html

Web Package Updates

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

Adminer 4.8.0 adds several new features and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.adminer.org/en/

Docker Desktop 3.2.1 updates the Docker Engine. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.8.0 adds a bunch of new features, improves permissions, brute force delays, style and administration improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

Joomla 3.9.25 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MailEnable 10.32 resolves several bugs and adds LDAP support. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 21.0.0 improves performance (up to 10x!), collaboration, groupware and more. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

OpenPetra 2021.02 adds several new features, improvements, and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.openpetra.org/

phpList 3.6.1 improves short URLs, PHP8 support, and security improvements. This is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

phpMyAdmin 5.1.0 resolves several bugs, improves compatibility, and adds several new options. This is not a security update.
https://www.phpmyadmin.net/

ScreenConnect 21.3.2160.7699 resolves several bugs, renamed End to Delete, and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

YOURLS 1.8.1 improves IDN, UTF8, time zone, and PHP8 support, removes support for PHP 7.2, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://yourls.org/

WordPress 5.7 resolves several bugs and adds a few new features, improving accessibility, and (finally) adding a feature to update HTTP to HTTPS links throughout your site when you switch to HTTPS. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.1.9 improves handling of pingbacks in XML-RPC calls. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 7.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Conditional Widgets 3 improves translation support. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.4 adds Sendinblue support, updates libraries and improves reliability and compatibility. This is not a security update.

Social Post Feed 2.19 improves error handling and reporting, cleanup, resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.5.1 improves instructions and compatibility. This is not a security update.

Postie 1.9.55 improves compatibility and removes legacy image sizing feature. This is not a security update.

Really Simple CAPTCHA 2.1 improves hash comparison. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.1.1 resolves several bugs and adds information links and ogg caching support. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.1.0 is a major update. This version improves compatibility, localization, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.0.9 resolves several bugs and improves spam detection. 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/