Updates 2022-03-08

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for March, 2022. It’s a big one. This month is ugly – and not just in the tech world. It seems that in the same breath that the elite acknowledged and swept the COVID hysteria under the rug, admitting their intervention was entirely propaganda, every government, financial system, media outlet, and software vendor has chosen to simultaneously swallowed a new collection of (quickly disproven) propaganda without the slightest hint of irony. Sigh. We can only do what we can do, but do not be afraid to talk about it. Censorship is how you make enemies, not friends.

This Month in Technology

A1 Hrvatska, Adafruit, Aetna ACE, Allen ISD, Alliance Physical Therapy Group, LLC, Amazon Alexa, AON, Ascension Michigan (single affiliated covered entity) ACE, Asterisk, Asustor NAS devices, Axeda agent, Axis Communications, Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, Beetle Eye, Belarus online services, Bible Fellowship Church Homes, Bronx Addiction Services Integrated Concepts Systems, Inc., CA State Bar, CareOregon Advantage, Caritas Internationalis, CBORD’s GET Mobile security platform, Charlotte Radiology, Cisco’s Email Security Appliance, Coinbase, Community Medical Center, Comprehensive Health Services LLC, Conti ransomware gang, Credit Suisse, Crossroads Health, CVS Pharmacy, dozens of COVID passport apps, Dr. Morrow, Element Vape, Englewood Health, EPIC Pharmacy Network, Inc., Expeditors International, Extend Fertility, Family Christian Health Center, Family Fare LLC, Fleetwood Area School District, FlexBooker, Gems Education, GiveSendGo/Canadian Freedom Convoy, Google Android, Harbour Plaza Hotel, Hays USD 489, Highland Hospital, Houston Health Department, Intel CPU vulnerabilities can expose your cryptographic keys, International Committee of the Red Cross, Internet Society (ISOC), Ireland’s Health Service, Jackson County Hospital District, JAX Spine and Pain Centers, Jersey City Medical Center, KLAYswap, La Posada at Park Centre, Inc., LAPSUS$, LendUs, Liberty of Oklahoma Corporation, Logan Health Medical Center, MacGeneration, Memorial Hermann Health System, Meyer, Microsoft, Microsoft App Store, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Servers, Mizuno, Monongalia Health System, more than 500 Magento 1-based online stores, Morley Companies, Moscow Stock Exchange, Motorola Solutions Inc, new form of distributed denial of service attack, New York State’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Nvidia (and it’s BAD), Ohlone College, Oklahoma City Police Department Rape Kit information, Okta Advanced Server Access, PressReader, Priority Health, PROMESA, Puma, Reality Winner’s Twitter account, Rompetrol, Russian TV stations, Samsung Electronics (including source code), San Francisco 49ers, SAP Internet Communication Manager, Sberbank, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Seneca Nation Health System, South Shore Hospital, Swissport, T-Mobile, Taylor, Ganson & Perrin LLP, TfNSW, the Russian Military, Town Home Care, LLC, Toyota Motor Corp., UK’s Foreign Office, UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, Ukraine local government websites, Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, UMass Memorial Health, Inc., 52 organizations from multiple US critical infrastructure sectors, US defense contractors, US Radiology Specialists, Inc., Viasat, Visual Voice Mail, Vodafone Portugal, VxWorks-based Smart Infusion Pumps, Washington Department of Licensing, WatchGuard firewalls, Williamsville Central School District, Zabbix servers, Zenly, and Zoe Therapy Services have been hacked.

Slack and Twitter both had large outages.

AB Volvo, Activision Blizzard, Adobe, Airbnb, Apple, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, Aston Martin, BMW, Cisco, Coinbase, Daimler Truck, Dell, Epic Games, Ford Motor Company, Google, Google AdWords, Google Maps, Harley-Davidson, Intel, Jaguar Land Rover, Jolla, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Motors, Namecheap, Netflix, Nintendo, PayPal, Reddit, Readdle, Samsung Electronics, Snapchat, Spotify, SWIFT, Telegram, The EU, TikTok, Toyota Motor Corporation, Twitter, Ubisoft, Visa, Volkswagen, and YouTube have imposed their own private sanctions on Russia and sometimes Belarus.

In response to software vendors (Apple, Microsoft, Readdle and others) imposing their own form of sanctions on Russia, Russia has passed new a licensing law, effectively greenlighting piracy. After ceasing reporting from Russia, the BBC has launched Tor access in several languages. Meanwhile Russia blocks sites that violate their new propaganda law and even rocket sales to the US.

Elon Musk, never a stranger to controversy, has declared that his Starlink service will not bow to censorship demands.

It was disheartening when Canada stole the bank accounts of anyone who dared to donate to a legal protest and dispatched Antifa and the UN to put down protestors

it was worse when they simply locked down all the banks (or at least realized the damage they were doing to themselves), even if they did quickly reverse their insanity. The Mercury account lockouts affected “a large set of accounts” throughout Africa. Worse yet, the entire world banking system has locked out Russia. By the way, do Google and Apple think that disabling their pay platforms in Russia will be the move that will encourage adoption by the rest of the world?

On the topic of social credit systems, I’d like to address the theory that cryptocurrency can be used in spite of bank interventions and government lockdowns. That’s not always the case, as Coinbase demonstrated this week.

As if spurned to action by the recent release of vaccine information and bribery, Twitch is now banning streamers that share “misinformation,” such as the actual medical fraud vaccine information and research by the vaccine manufacturers themselveswill now be banned.

That’s ok, you can go back to “real life” now that cities are opening back up. Did the science change, is it all part of some greater agenda, or are people just bored?

With such a war on truth and science, how can anyone fall for the Battle of Snake Island, Ghost of Kiev, Ukrainian ransomware, or any of the dozen other examples of legacy media propaganda right now?

The CIA has been conducting bulk surveillance on US citizens and the Supreme Court is okay with police planting hidden cameras throughout your property. Telegram isn’t as secure as you might think it is.

Oh – Let’s talk about Apple AirTags…one lady tracked her shipped goods with them and caught the mover lying about it. I’m more skeptical of this story about exposing a secret intelligence service, but the reality is that stalking and tracking for vehicle/home theft are part of the downside.

Microsoft is testing a new build of Windows 11 Pro that will now require a Microsoft account in order to be able to use Windows. This directly violates their previous statements about not forcing Windows Professional and Enterprise versions to use Microsoft accounts. While this will increase deployment and maintenance costs, the real trouble is going to be with transient users that are forced to login with “a” Microsoft account on a business machine and will no longer be able to easily untie that machine or role account from the deeply embedded Microsoft “features.”

Meris Botnet was used to target a single website with over 21 million requests per second. Google Drive is flagging native macOS files as violating copyright. Another new rootable vulnerability has been discovered for Linux. The EU is trying to mandate weakened security so they can better enforce the GDPR, digital identity and social credit systems.

Now for the good news:

The problem with cryptocurrency is that it necessarily depends on a public ledger (the blockchain). Espresso intends to fix that.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is a big one. The typical computer should see roughly 2.2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for .NET and Visual Studio, HEIF Image Extension, HEVC Video Extension, Microsoft 365, Raw Image Extension, Remote Desktop client, VP9 Video Extension, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows RT, Windows Server, Azure Site Recovery, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for IoT, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Office Visio, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Windows ALPC, Microsoft Windows Codecs Library, Paint 3D, Role: Windows Hyper-V, Skype Extension for Chrome, Tablet Windows User Interface, Visual Studio Code, Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, Windows CD-ROM Driver, Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, Windows COM, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows DWM Core Library, Windows Event Tracing, Windows Fastfat Driver, Windows Fax and Scan Service, Windows HTML Platform, Windows Installer, Windows Kernel, Windows Media, Windows PDEV, Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Windows Print Spooler Components, Windows Remote Desktop, Windows Security Support Provider Interface, Windows SMB Server, Windows Update Stack, XBox, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1, macOS Monterey 12.2.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.4, Security Update 2022-002 Catalina, Safari 15.3, and watchOS 8.4.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.3.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.3.1 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8.4.2 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 98.0.4758.107 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 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 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.

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.4.9 improves cleanup. This is not a security update.

HP M281cdw Firmware 20211221 resolves the network stability issue from the previous firmware that effectively disabled the device.

Logitech Options 9.60.87 is a security update.

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.36.111 is a security update.

Firefox 98.0 is a security update.

Firefox ESR 91.7.0 is a security update.

Google Chrome 99.0.4844.51 is a security update.

Microsoft Edge 99.0.1150.36 is a security update.

SeaMonkey 2.53.11 is a security update.

Vivaldi 5.1.2567.57 is a security update.

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.10.0 is a major update to the underlying code, adding ARM support, improved spellcheck, performance, and port improvements. This is not a security update.

Thunderbird 91.6.2 is a security update.

Internet Updates

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

AnyDesk 7.0.6 improves password management and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.

curl 7.82.0 resolves dozens of bugs and adds several new automations. This is not a security update.

Dropbox 143.4.4161 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.

FileZilla Client 3.58.0 updates libraries, log details and prepares for 2FA support. This is not a security update.

FileZilla Server 1.3.0 is a security update.

FreeFileSync 11.18 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Omada Software Controller 5.1.7 resolves several bugs, adds new services and features, increases hard limits, and adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.

Skype 8.81.0.268 resolves several bugs and adds ability to revoke and recreate profile. This is not a security update.

Syncthing 1.19.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WinSCP 5.19.6 is a security update.

Zoom 5.9.7.3931 is a security update.

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.8.1 improves performance and stability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

iTunes 12.12.2.2 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.

Plex Desktop 1.41.0.2876 resolves DVR and LiveTV bugs, and improves search. This is not a security update.

Plex Home Theater 1.12.0.2884 resolves several bugs, resolution and MPV improvements, and improves stability. This is not a security update.

Plex Media Server 1.25.6.5577 resolves several bugs, improves collection, smart filtering, and reliability during media changes and replacement. This is not a security update.

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.6 and 23.2 are security updates.

Adobe Illustrator 26.1.0 is a security update.

Adobe After Effects 22.2.1 and 18.4.5 are security updates.

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Epic Games 13.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

GameMaker Studio 2022.2.0.614 adds Text-In-Sequence, Track-In-Sequence, changes array behavior, updates libraries, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Steam 2022.03.04 resolves over 20 bugs. This is not a security update.

PlayStation PS5 21.02-04.51.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.

Office Updates

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

Atom 1.60.0 improves usability and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

IcoFX 3.7 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

LibreOffice Fresh 7.3.1 resolves over a hundred bugs, including crash and freeze issues. This is not a security update. Remember that the Fresh line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the Still (stable) version by most users.

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Notepad++ 8.3.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Paint.net 4.3.8 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.

Calibre 5.38.0 resolves several bugs and adds new news sources. This is not a security update.

Adobe Reader DC 22.001.20085 is a security update.

Security Software Updates

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

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.4 resolves a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.

RogueKiller 15.4.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

uBlock Origin 1.41.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Velociraptor 0.6.3 adds several new features and improves performance. This is not a security update.

Wireless Network Watcher 2.30 adds custom context menu items option. This is not a security update.

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD 3.70.56 updates Twitch API. This is not a security update.

Open Broadcaster Software 27.2.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

ScreenToGif 2.36 resolves several bugs and adds new installation packages and package types. This is not a security update.

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.6.3 adds support for new encodings and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

IsoBuster 4.9.1 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.

MakeMKV 1.16.7 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Agent Ransack 2022.3307 resolves several bugs and adds new columns for Folder Depth, Product Version, File Version, and filtering for Owner and Product Version. This is not a security update.

Autoruns 14.09 resolves a reliability bug. This is not a security update.

Bitwarden 1.31.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Carbonite 6.4.1 resolves two bugs. This is not a security update.

CPU-Z 2.00 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.

DesktopOK 9.71 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

DMDE 4.0.0.800 adds Btrfs support, improves ReFS, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

dnGrep 3.0.29.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Etcher 1.7.7 updates libraries, improves updater, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

FileLocator Pro 2022.3307 resolves several bugs and adds new columns for Folder Depth, Product Version, File Version, and filtering for Owner and Product Version. This is not a security update.

GoodSync 11.10.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

grepWin 2.0.10 improves cosmetics. This is not a security update.

Nextcloud Server 23.0.2 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

NTLite 2.3.4.8643 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

osquery 5.2.2 updates libraries, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

AOMEI Partition Assistant 9.6.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

PowerToys 0.56.2 adds new features and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

ProcessMonitor 3.89 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.

Recuva 1.53.2065 adds telemetry. This is not a security update.

Macrium Reflect 8.0.6636 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

ScreenConnect 22.2.7029.8094 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

SimpleWMIView 1.48 adds quick-filter option “begins with.”

Sysmon 13.33 resolves a crash bug and improves memory handling. This is not a security update.

TaskSchedulerView 1.70 adds option to open task folder and enable or disable header line in exports. This is not a security update.

Unity 2021.2.14 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Wazuh Agent 4.2.5 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.

WifiInfoView 2.75 adds MAC Group column, MAC Group filtering and 64-bit build. This is not a security update.

WinGet 1.1.12653 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WinRAR 6.11 improves reliability and compatibility. This is not a security update.

WinScan2PDF 7.55 improves reliability. This is not a security update.

WizTree 4.08 adds custom filtering for full scan results. This is not a security update.

ZoomText 2022.2202.36.400 adds new voices and languages, improves compatibility, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 33.0.0 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.

Docker Desktop 4.5.1 is a security update.

GitHub Desktop 2.9.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Godot 3.4.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Node.js 16.14.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Node.js 17.6.0 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

SQLite 3.38.0 resolves several bugs and updates syntax and compatibility. This is not a security update.

Visual Studio Code 1.65.1 is a security update.

Web Package Updates

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

Dada Mail 11.18.0 adds LWP support and resolves an invalid mailbox bug. This is not a security update.

Drupal 9.2.13 is a security update.

Drupal 9.3.7 is a security update.

Joomla 4.1.0 is a major update adding task scheduling, child template overrides, accessibility improvements and syntax highlighting. This is not a security update.

MailArchiva 8.7.4 improves performance. This is not a security update.

MailEnable 10.38 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

phpList 3.6.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

phpMyAdmin 5.1.3 is a security update.

SMF 2.1.1 is a major update release with several new features, and improves compatibility and reliability. This update will disable any mods and custom themes and some older mods and themes will need changes to be compatible. This is not a security update.

WordPress 5.9.1 resolves over 80 bugs. This is not a security update.

Antispam Bee 2.11.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 10.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.18 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Social Post Feed 4.1.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.5.8 resolves a couple bugs and adds cosmetic and layout features. This is not a security update.

Widgets on Pages 1.6.0 is a security update.

WooCommerce 6.3.0 is a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.3.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.15 is a security and woke-ness update. Since they’re now injecting content of their own choice into your website, they can no longer be trusted and you should remove this plugin from your websites.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2022-01-11

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for January, 2022.

It’s a big one. This month has been insane. There’s always a surge in hacking events near holidays, but this month had almost double the *known* hacking events from previous months. What’s worse is that many of the vulnerabilities used were known weeks and sometimes years in advance, though the patches were not yet installed or the specific applications and services were simply not being maintained or secured. Grrrr.

This Month in Technology

A New Leaf, Inc., Advocate Aurora HealthAlabama Department of Rehabilitation ServicesAll in One SEOAmediaAndrew Sauchelli, DMDApache httpdApple Blossom Family PracticeAzure App ServiceBansley and Kiener (B&K), Belgium’s MilitaryBernalillo CountyBioPlus Specialty Pharmacy Services LLCBrazil’s Health MinistryBroward HealthC.E. Niehoff & CompanyChaddockCiox HealthCommission on ElectionsCOVID-19 Home TestsCrawford County Assessors OfficeDaniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc., DatPiff, The De Montfort SchoolDouglas C Morrow ODPCDuneland School CorporationEvanston Township High SchoolExpresso and SICFertility Centers of Illinois, PLLC, FinalSiteFlexBookerFlorida Digestive Health Specialists LLP, Forensic Science IrelandFresenius Kabi infusion pump systemsGarrett metal detectorsGeorgia Bone & Joint Surgeons, P.C., Google Docs Comment PlatformGrass Valley, CAGumtreeH2 DatabaseHellmann Worldwide LogisticsImpresaInetum GroupiPhone 13James Kagan, MDJefferson Surgical ClinicKearsarge Regional School DistrictLastPassLog4j (several times)Loyola University Medical CenterLuxemburg-Casco School DistrictmacOS powerdirMcMenaminsMedQuest Pharmacy, Inc., Microsoft Active DirectoryMicrosoft TeamsMonkey Kingdom (via Grape), Monongalia Health System Inc., Monroe Public SchoolsMonterey Peninsula Unified School DistrictNetgear NighthawkNorthwest Broward Orthopaedics AssociatesNorth Shore Hebrew Academy High SchoolOG department storeONUSOregon Eye SpecialistsPeck & Associates, PC, Pithadia Medical Professional Services, Inc., ProtempsPulseTVQNAPRavkooRedLine StealerRhode Island Public Transit AuthorityR.R. Donnelley & SonsRunning Warehouse LLC, Sainsbury’sSaltzer HealthSaskatchewan Liquor and Gaming AuthoritySEGAShelley School DistrictShutterflySkate Warehouse LLC, Skin Care Specialty PhysiciansSotheby’s Realty’s BrightcoveSouthern Orthopaedic AssociatesSpar StoresStandard BankSuperior PlusSurgery Group SCT-MobileTackle Warehouse LLC, Tennis Warehouse LCC, Tiyuli and LametayelUAW Retiree Medical Benefits TrustUberUbisoftUK Defence AcademyUltimate Kronos GroupUS Commission on International Religious FreedomUScellular, Utah Department of Health, Virginia Division of Capitol PoliceVirginia General AssemblyVolvoWalgreen Co., WD MyCloudWelfare, Pension and Annuity Funds of Local No. ONE, I.A.T.S.E., and Zoho UEM have been hacked.

Norton 360 is now opting you in for their CPU cryptomining if you have their software installed. The very same software designed to protect you from evildoers that would take advantage of your computer to do this kind of thing…is now doing it. Apple has released an Android app under the auspice of helping users discover Tracker devices that might be tracking them…by enabling your device to allow them to communicate with the Apple Tracker network. Firefox still doesn’t properly support OCSP stapling. Dell BIOS updates are crashing devices. Microsoft has integrated their own financing platform into Edge.

Microsoft rang in the new year by breaking Microsoft Exchange (on-prem) for every server that had filtering enabled (almost all of them). Microsoft acknowledged the problem about 20 hours after it began and released resolution steps by deleting and rebuilding the scanning engine about 31 hours after it began. Sonicwall, too.

CloudflareAWS, Twitch, Zoom, PSN, Slack, Hulu, Imgur have had extended outages this month.

Please, for all that is holy, check your backups!

Phishing is an ever-growing problem. Sophos reminds us how to check for scams like this.

Now for the good news:

Mozilla has added Secure DNS to Firefox, now enabled by default. Unfortunately, this bypasses DNS filtering options you may have assigned yourself – so if you use Firefox you’ll need to enable your own DoH URLs within the settings.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

Microsoft released updates for.NET Framework, Microsoft Dynamics, Edge, Exchange Server, Microsoft Office, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Active Directory, CLFS, Windows Cryptographic Services, Windows Defender, DirectX, Windows Installer, Windows RDP, Windows Remote Desktop, ReFS, Windows Security Center, Windows Storage Spaces, Windows Tile Data Repository, Windows UEFI, Windows User Profile Service, and MSRT (~2 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for Safari 15.2. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

Google Chrome OS 96.0.4664.111 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 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 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.

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.4.7 removes support for Vista, updates libraries, and improves cleanup. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.34.80 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 97.0.4692.71 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 97.0.1072.55 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 96.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.5.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Iridium 2021.12.96 is a security update.
https://iridiumbrowser.de/

SeaMonkey 2.53.10.2 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.0.2497.35 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 91.5.0 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.

AnyDesk (macOS) 6.4.0 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.81.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 139.4.4896 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Server 1.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.16 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Omada Software Controller 5.0.29 is a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Prosody 0.11.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Syncthing 1.18.6 improves usability. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 3.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Zoom 5.9.1.2581 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.8.0 makes nearly 4,000 changes including performance, bug fixes, new hardware support and more. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Picard 2.7.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

TuneIn 1.25.0 does not provide a changelog 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.

Steam 2022.12.16 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://store.steampowered.com/about/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Reader DC 21.011.20039 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 21.011.20039, 20.004.30020, and 17.011.30207 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb22-01.html

Adobe Illustrator 26.0.2 and 25.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb22-02.html

Adobe Bridge 12.0.1 and 11.1.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb22-03.html

Adobe InCopy 16.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb22-04.html

Adobe InDesign 16.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb22-05.html

Audacity 3.1.3 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Krita 5.0.2 is a major update. This version adds several features, resolves bugs and improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.5 resolves almost 100 bugs. This is not a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided in favor of the stable version (“Still”) by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 4.3.7 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

Security Software Updates

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

elementary OS 6.1
https://elementary.io/

Gpg4win 4.0.0 is a major update adding several new features and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

KeePass 2.50 improves performance and generator, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

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

OpenSSL 3.0.1 is a security update.
https://curl.se/windows/

OpenSSL 3.0.1 is a security update.
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

ReactOS 0.4.13 provides over 250 bug fixes and improvements. This is not a security update.
https://reactos.org/

RogueKiller 15.1.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Tails 4.26 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

TinyWall 3.2.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://tinywall.pados.hu/

uBlock Origin 1.40.6 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.35.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

HandBrake 1.5.1 updates libraries, resolves several bugs and improves stability and reliability. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

IsoBuster 4.9 adds support for new hardware, new formats, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.isobuster.com/download.php

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

7-Zip 21.07 adds VHDX support, improved parameter handling and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.7-zip.org/

Agent Ransack 2022.3283 improves performance and reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.6.0 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

Autoruns 14.07 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Active Directory Explorer 1.51 fixes a Windows Store packaging crash. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/adexplorer

CacheSet 1.02 fixes a 64 bit OS regression. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/cacheset

Beyond Compare 4.4.1.26165 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl4

ControlMyMonitor 1.31 adds a new parameter for Secondary displays. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

CPU-Z 1.99 adds support for new hardware and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

DesktopOK 9.51 adds dark mode. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 2.9.482.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Etcher 1.7.3 is a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1015 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Everything CLI 1.1.0.21 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

FileLocator Pro 2022.3283 provides performance and reliability improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

GoodSync 11.10.0 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 2.02 improves colors. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

Macrium Reflect 8.0.6495 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

NTLite 2.3.2.8526 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.1.0 adds resource limiting, new objects, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.53.1 adds several new features and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.87 fixes resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Samsung Magician 7.0.1 is a major update, but doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

SearchMyFiles 3.16 is a cosmetic update. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

Sysmon 13.31 improves reliability. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TeamViewer 15.25.8 fixes a VOIP bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

TraceRouteOK 2.71 updates language files. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WifiInfoView 2.72 updates the internal MAC database and resolves a high-DPI bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

ZoomText 2022.2112.10.400 resolves several bugs and improves display. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Maraura 3.9.7 updates Java support and libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
http://arianne.sourceforge.net/engine/marauroa.html

Docker Desktop 4.3.2 updates the scan engine to detect log4j vulnerabilities. This is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Godot 3.4.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js 12.22.9 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.18.3 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 16.13.2 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 17.3.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.37.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Web Package Updates

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

Drupal 9.3.2 resolves a major stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.10.3 is a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

MailArchiva 8.5.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

ownCloud Server 10.9 is a security update.
https://owncloud.org/install/

Piwigo 12.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.14.5924.8013 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SMF 2.0.19 is a security update.
https://www.simplemachines.org/

WordPress 5.8.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Slider Revolution 6.5.14 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

WPBakery 6.8.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wpbakery.com/

Autoptimize 2.9.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

BuddyPress 9.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Social Post Feed 4.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/custom-facebook-feed/

Postie 1.9.59 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postie/

NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster 4.3.25 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/social-networks-auto-poster-facebook-twitter-g/

Visual Composer 41.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

WooCommerce 6.1.0 is a major update, resolving several bugs and adding features. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/zero-spam/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-09-14

Welcome back, Folks!

This is for Patch Tuesday for September, 2021.

I’m running late with the newsletter this month. I needed to focus on our clients since there was simply so much to do. In the typical month we usually see 85-90 updated applications (some several times). This month there have been over 160. An increase in application release frequency is typical when other major software releases are impending, and the next month will bring Windows 11, iOS 15, a new build of Windows 10, a new version of Microsoft Office, iPhone 13, and Windows Server 2022.

This Month in Technology

AccentureApple devices, and Apple iCloudAT&T (more than once), various airline and IAB staffBangkok AirwaysBanksyBeaumont HealthBlackbaud (more information about a previous hack), Boston Public LibraryBrooklyn Technical High SchoolCampbell Conroy & O’Neil, P.C., Chase Bank, thousands of Coinbase accountsComcast/Xfinity remotes29% increase in attacks targeting the education sector, Cream FinanceDallas Police DepartmentDallas School DistrictDesert Wells Family MedicineDuPage Medical GroupEpikEskyFunFordForHousing and Liberty, over 80,000 Fortinet FortiGate VPN devices, Fortinet FortiWebFortress Home Security, the French Visa ProgramGuntrader (including data of over 100,000 UK gunowners), Howard UniversityHP Omen HubIndiana Department of Health (Contact Tracing System), ImavexEvin (Iranian Prison), JenkinsJohn Deere, JP Morgan Chase, over 1,200 K-12 schoolsKaseya UnitrendsLithuanian Ministry of Foreign AffairsMarketron60,000 domains with MarkMonitorMcDonald’sMemorial Health SystemMicrosoft Power Apps (38 million records!), MikroTik routersMyRepublicNEW Cooperative, a NY Credit UnionOlympusParallels DesktopPeterborough, New HampshireRazer mouse driver (and pretty much all other drivers), Republican Governors AssociationRevere HealthSAC WirelessSonic, various NAS drivesPayPal is sharing user data and transactions with the ADL, pNetworkRazorPayvarious routers from over a dozen vendors, various Russian phonesSouth Africa’s Department of JusticeSpotify data leak, Syracuse UniversityT-MobileTexas GOPTokio Marine, the United NationsUPS, the US Census, the US State Department, hundreds of US financial systems, almost half of all US hospitals, dozens of US government websites, the US Terrorist Screening CenterValveWalgreens, the WordPress Gutenberg Template Library Plugin, and Zoho ManageEngine have been hacked this month.

I separated the Microsoft-specific hacks this month mostly to shame them. The month they claim that “the cloud” is more secure they should absolutely have their noses rubbed in it. Microsoft suffered from yet another nasty, epic, world-wide Exchange attack, but defended their own hosted product by claiming “Microsoft’s Office 365 wasn’t swept up in the breach because it runs in the cloud, which offers more protection,” even though only hours later a critical vulnerability in Microsoft’s Azure Cosmos DB service was confirmed — one of the largest cloud hacks of all time, affecting thousands of service providers. The vulnerability existed for months, so there’s simply no way to know if your accounts were compromised or if permanent access to any victim’s Microsoft Azure services occurred months prior, and Microsoft patched it only two weeks before making the claim above that “the cloud…offers more protection.” As if hammering the point home, yet another series of vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure cloud services were discovered this week which expose millions more endpoints, with thousands already infected. Microsoft’s 365 Cloud PCIIS, Microsoft Teams event data, WSL, and MSHTML used by Microsoft Office have all been hacked this month. Microsoft’s PrintNightmare still isn’t over. In fact, the “fix” breaks printing and printer installation on at least 5% of computers. To top it all off, with all of these incidents they are removing features and they still feel their software is worth a 20% price increase based on the improved security and reliability of their products. Sigh.

The Ragnarok ransomware gang has released a master decryption key. So has REvil (accidentally).

The US Senate is working to make encryption meaningless. Facebook is, too. And Facebook just got slapped by the German Supreme Court for violating free speech rights in Germany. Hypocrisy is their codeword. Facebook actually hid their transparency report. That kinda says it all, doesn’t it? If not, then Apple “considering” removing Facebook for their ties to human trafficking should at least raise an eyebrow. Really, the question should be, why didn’t they? Google geofence warrants are up 1,167%.

Anyone can post a job for any company on LinkedIn. A new fake Captcha tricks the user into keeping malware. ProtonMail, once a beacon of hope for privacy advocates, has shared IP addresses and device information of a user in violation of their own privacy assertions.

Dogfooding is usually a good thing. Not always.

On hardware – GPU-level malware is a thing. Hacking strict hardware security through a silly design flaw. ASUS has made a few serious mistakes with their $2,000 GeForce RTX graphics cards. If you ever wondered why you shouldn’t borrow someone’s charging cable or wall wart, wonder no more. Samsung has acknowledged that they can disable any Samsung TV using a “feature” (read: backdoor) installed on all their televisions. Do you think they limited this “feature” to their TVs?

Apple is still pushing their Jedi Mind Tricks. They want you to use your phone as your ID, but a recent iOS update even broke the “phone” part of iPhones. Why would anyone trust their identity to their phones?

The Epic v Apple case finally has a ruling. One of the two most significant issues, that Apple forbade any payments not through the App Store, was (rightly) ruled illegal. All other counts were dismissed. It’s being appealed, of course. This could cost Apple a huge chunk of a $20+ billion pie. There are some great reads from discovery. South Korea has passed a new law with similar implicationsEpic v Google is really shaping up.

Be careful how you treat your employees – they might turn out to be the “evil insider” for a ransomware gang.

If you’re a government employee and the scope of your abuse was just to use your boss’s computer then you’re really thinking small potatoes.

Oh, and don’t photograph the moon. You might get sued by UMG.

All technology carries risk, but Wi-Fi is probably the most significant risk to your privacy.

Microsoft broke OneDrive for Business, has some major issues with Outlook 365 right now, and VoIP.ms has been extorted by a DDoS attack.

Apple has dropped it’s lawsuit against Corellium over virtual iPhones, lost their Optis trial, and settled with small developers who publish on the App Store, but it still in bed with Big Brother. The US is pushing a bill right now to prevent App Stores from being the sole source of apps and content for their platforms and the EU is pushing for a minimum of seven years of hardware support.

There is no Section 230 in Australia…and it shows. Until social media companies are slapped by the Supreme Court, they will continue to get away with acting on behalf of government while claiming to be independent.

Since nobody is working “full time” anyway, they’re planning to force employers to cut their hours even more.

A federal court has ruled that the HHS can not force doctors to perform transgender surgeries or abortions. If you were concerned about the damage someone might do to your wedding cake, why would you want them holding a scalpel between your legs?

When the MSM has to resort to blatant lies to support their position and the people eat it up you have to acknowledge that they’re the enemy of honesty. The only real pandemic is a curious series of deaths only affecting those leaders opposed to mandates and ignoring the blatantly obvious data. This isn’t the first time. Sadly, absolute fraud passes for science today. There really are proven treatments available.

The science behind face masks demonstrates that this has never been an honest conversation. Instead, politicized (and ineffective) tests and treatments are more lethal
than the disease. Those required to do so are failing or simply refusing to report injuries (does this mean they lose protection under NVICP?) and the events that are reported still resemble a certain climate change “hockey stick.” They’re maliciously and negligently ignoring the dataactual health and safety concernscommitting fraud, and cherry-picking sources so they can make tiktok videos. They’re intentionally falsifying data to coerce and terrorize the publicGeorge Orwell would be proud. The spews media, and by extension, their loyal vidiots, aren’t interested in the truth. They mindlessly supportJab Crow,” racism, rape, tyranny, dehumanizing people, and sweep the scandals under the rug with their massive propaganda machine.

If they were honest and their goals were actually in line with reality, then isolation and replication would be required *before* the creation of a cure, but they’re still pushing tests that can’t distinguish Coronavirus from Influenza. The “vaccines” intentionally, permanently alter your DNA. Claims of effectiveness have repeatedly been disproven, as have their false claims of FDA licenseapproval.” So they push illegal mandates that aren’t intended to protect your health, even going so far as to ban students from online classesPoliticians ignoring mathematics isn’t really anything new. Especially when there’s animportantagendaIt’s time for a human rights commission for war crimes over this bio weapon. After all, more servicemembers have died from the vaccines than the disease.

The anti-privacy passports are not designed to prove you’re immune. They’re not designed to prove you’re not a carrier.

Whether there’s sufficient evidence to determine the cause of any deaths over the last 18 months, one thing is sure: Science no longer has any validity.

At least some regions are waking up to the insanity of a group of super-governmental multi-national corporations with total immunity from any and all liability. Or elseIt’s time to opt out.

The FBI admits no one (else!) orchestrated the Jan 6 protest. Nevertheless, it was, according to “experts,” the darkest day in American history. (And they don’t mean the subsequent human rights violations.) Odd that the same agenda is unfolding through Big Pharma.

A real President doesn’t abandon their people, or commit war crimes when they’re embarrassed, the Speaker shouldn’t be silencing the names of those who died on their watch, and the FCC, the FDA, OSHA, and other government agencies should actually study what they approve. Companies that only answer to consumers do.

Only after the last year of humans treating other humans as trash, and validating it by dumbing down the rest, could a flight attendant say, matter-of-factly, that “we don’t follow federal law” and expect her victim to just roll over and comply.

It makes perfect sense, then, that the Constitution and Declaration of Independence would be labeled “harmful content” by the National Archives. Not to be outdone, the UK – once the standard to measure an open press – will now punish reporters who “embarrass” the government with up to 14 years in prison.

Now for the good news:

Inexpensive batteries are on the horizon and Starlink satellites are being fitted with lasers.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 3.5 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~2.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15 and 14.8, iPadOS 15 and 14.8, tvOS 15, macOS Big Sur 11.6, watchOS 8 and 7.6.2, Safari 15, Safari 14.1.2, Xcode 13, iTunes 12.12 for Windows and Security Update 2021-005 Catalina. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15 and 14.8 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15 and 14.8 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 8 and 7.6.2 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 15 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 93.0.4577.63 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.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v21H1) is very large, for the first time it’s actually smaller than the previous release, but it 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.

Citizen Driver 2021.1 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/citizen/download/

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.4.3 improves removal. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

HP Laserjet Stub 13.3.3 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://123.hp.com/us/en/devices/LASERJET

Nvidia 472.12 adds support for Windows 11, CUDA 11.4, and resolves several bugs. This is 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 1.29.81 adds more advertising, improves IPFS support, resolves several crashes and other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 94.0.4606.54 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 93.0.961.52 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 92.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.14.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Vivaldi 4.2.2406.48 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Mailspring 1.9.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://getmailspring.com/

Thunderbird 91.1.1 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

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

Skype 8.75.0.140 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.skype.com/

Telegram 3.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian 6.5.0.17 updates libraries and resolves upload bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

AnyDesk 6.3.3 improves connection reliability. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk (macOS) 6.3.2 adds a URL handler and adds a warning for permissions. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

aria2 1.36.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://aria2.github.io/

BrowsingHistoryView 2.50 improves menu sorting behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.79.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

DNSDataView 1.61 resolves an international compatibility bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/dns_records_viewer.html

Dropbox 130.4.4978 doesn’t provide a changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Server 1.0.1 (wow! I honestly thought they’d never release a major version) adds ACME Let’s Encrypt support, logging improvements, library updates and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.14 adds OpenSSL 3.0 support, resolves several bugs, adds ability to manage filter settings, and improves cross-platform compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 51.0 improves reliability and stability. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Npcap 1.55 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 4.4.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Rclone 1.56.1 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Technitium DNS Server 6.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Zoom 5.7.8.1247 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

darktable 3.6.1 improves hardware support and resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Flickr Downloadr 3.4.3.1 updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

iTunes 12.12.0.6 is a security update. Use Apple Software Update to install the most current version.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

MediaMonkey 5.0.3 resolves a duplication bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.mediamonkey.com/windows#download

Plex Home Theater 1.5.1.2629 updates libraries, improves hardware support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.24.3.5033 adds support for new hardware, updates libraries, resolves stability and reliability 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.

Steam 2021.09.20 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Nintendo Switch 13.0.0 adds Bluetooth Audio, the ability to install Dock updates, and preserve the Internet connection in sleep mode. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PlayStation PS5 21.02-04.00.00 adds M.2 SSD expansion support, 3D audio, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Office Updates

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

Audacity 3.0.4 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 2.93.4 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

Gimp 2.10.28 is a major update ported to GEGL, adds multithreading, GPU-side processing, hi-DPI support, and improved user interface, selection tools and more. This is not a security update.
https://www.gimp.org/

IcoFX 3.6.1 resolves a startup bug. This is not a security update.
https://icofx.ro/

Krita 4.4.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.1 resolves over 400 bugs. This is a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software, and should be avoided in favor of the “Still” version for most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.1.6 resolves 44 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Adobe XMP Toolkit SDK 2021.08 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/xmpcore/apsb21-85.html

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.12 and 22.5.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-84.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.10.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-82.html

Adobe Genuine Service 7.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/integrity_service/apsb21-81.html

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187658 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/Digital-Editions/apsb21-80.html

Adobe Premiere Elements 20210809.daily.2242976 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-78.html

Adobe Photoshop Elements 20210811.m.158081 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop_elements/apsb21-77.html

AdobeCreative Cloud Desktop Application 5.5 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-76.html

Adobe ColdFusion 2018.12 and 2021.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb21-75.html

Adobe Framemaker 2019.8 and 2020.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/framemaker/apsb21-74.html

Adobe InDesign 16.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb21-73.html

Adobe SVG-Native-Viewer 20210914 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/svg-native-viewer/apsb21-72.html

Adobe InCopy 16.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb21-71.html

Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb21-67.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.007.20091, 2020.004.30015, and 2017.011.30202 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-55.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.22 resolves several stability bugs with Tor. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

BelArc Advisor 11.1 adds support for new software and operating systems. This is not a security update.
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

Hashcat 6.2.4 improves performance, adds hash modes, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://hashcat.net/hashcat/#downloadlatest

KeePass 2.49 improves accessibility, reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

OnionShare 2.3.3 adds dark mode, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

OpenSSL 1.1.1l and 3.0.0 are security updates.
https://curl.se/windows/
https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

RogueKiller 15.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.38.0 adds Node.js support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

WebBrowserPassView 2.11 adds a new export/import option, Firefox CSV. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/web_browser_password.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Elgato Game Capture HD 3.70.55 adds Facecam support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.elgato.com/en/game-capture-software

SnagIt 2021.4.4 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

HandBrake 1.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://handbrake.fr/

PDF Creator 4.4 resolves several bugs, adds CS Script action, page numbers, and a couple more actions. 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 5.0.96.3 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.

1Password for Mac 7.8.7 resolves dozens of bugs and compatibility issues. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

Autoruns 14.01 resolves a bug with VirusTotal and adds a dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

Beyond Compare 4.4.0.25886 adds support for TLS 1.3, improves SFTP and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php?zz=dl4

Bitwarden 1.28.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CPU-Z Installer 1.97 adds support for new hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

DesktopOK 9.21 improves support for Windows 11 and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dnGrep 2.9.378.0 adds several new features and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dngrep.github.io/

Drive Snapshot 1.49 adds support for new operating systems and improves encryption. This should be treated as a security update.
http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/

Etcher 1.5.122 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything Toolbar 0.7.2 resolves a display bug. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

Fido 1.24 adds UEFI Shell downloads and command line support. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

LessMSI 1.8.2 resolves a CAB parsing bug. This is not a security update.
https://lessmsi.activescott.com/

NTLite 2.3.0.8330 adds support for Windows 11 and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.0.1 adds several new tables and queries, updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.45.0 improves stability and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Monitor 3.84 adds dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Process Explorer 16.43 resolves a memory leak and other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Synergy 1.14.1 resolves several bugs, improves reliability and adds new operating system support. This is not a security update.
https://symless.com/synergy/

Sysmon 13.24 improves stability and event handling. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TCPView 4.14 adds dark theme. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TeamViewer 15.21.8 resolves a license warning bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

WhyNotWin11 2.4.1 improves compatibility detection. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

WifiChannelMonitor 1.70 adds 802.11ac monitoring mode. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_channel_monitor.html

WifiInfoView 2.71 improves internationalization. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

Windows 11 RCT 1.1.0 improves compatibility detection. This is not a security update.
https://bytejams.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.03 is a massive update. This version adds zoom, improved search controls and organization, Explorer interaction and improved cosmetic controls. This is not a security update.
https://wiztreefree.com/

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Godot 3.3.3 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Node.js v12 12.22.6 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v14 14.17.6 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v16 16.9.1 updates libraries, resolves several bugs, and improves error handling. This is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Unreal Engine 4.27 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unrealengine.com/en-US/

Visual Studio Code 1.60 adds debug watch values, improves cosmetics, 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.

OpenCart 3.0.3.8 resolves an RTL bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.opencart.com/

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.13 is a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Dada Mail 11.15.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dadamailproject.com/

Docker Desktop 4.0.1 introduces the new licensing scheme, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.13 is a security update (the second in a week).
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.2.5 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

MailArchiva 8.2.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

MailEnable 10.36 resolves several bugs, including a certificate assignment bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 22.1.1 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Client 2.9.0.5150 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

ScreenConnect 21.12.4575.7914 adds several controls for compatibility and reporting, improves stability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

YOURLS 1.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://yourls.org/

WordPress 5.8.1 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.1.12 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.9.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 9.1.1 is a security update.

Duplicator 1.4.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Postie 1.9.57 improves attachment handling. This is not a security update.

Show IDs 1.1.8 adds support for the latest WordPress. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://revolution.themepunch.com/

Social Post Feed 4.0 is a major update adding several new features. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.28 removes a warning. This is not a security update.

Visual Composer 38.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.1.8 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.7.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-06-08

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for June, 2021. There have been another couple dozen major security incidents, as well as some significant revelations impacting health, security and privacy. The latest Windows 10 release, v21H1, is out and it doesn’t change that much. Google has finally stopped their weekly security update cadence, though other vendors (including Microsoft Edge and Brave) have continued.

This Month in Technology

ABC affiliatesApple AirTagsAXA, Biden’s Venmo accountBrenntagCNA FinancialColonial Pipeline (again), DigitalOcean, European biomolecular research instituteFirst Horizon Bank, U.S. Agency for Global MediaGuard.meHerff Jones, Ireland’s Department of Health (HSE), JBSMonday.com, Microsoft PatchGuardNY MTAOGUsersOne Treasure IslandRapid7Scripps Health and Whistler have been hacked.

A Qualcomm hardware vulnerability affects almost 40% of all mobile phones. Additionally, a dozen security vulnerabilities (called FragAttacks) have been discovered that apply to all Wi-Fi devices. (I’ll bet you miss that cable now, don’t you?)

Google released a “trial” feature to many Chrome users that effectively broke Chrome on their devices. Disabling the trial allowed Chrome to operate again. This is a perfect example of why you should never be forced into being in a beta program. iOS 14.6 is chewing through batteries. Microsoft released an update that broke compatibility with their own Office 365 services – Teams, Outlook and OneDrive. Google’s Nest thermostats are giving people the cold shoulder. Spectre is back again.

The antivirus that can’t protect you from crypto mining malware will now mine crypto on your device so they can use you to generate even more revenue for them. Better hope Norton 360 doesn’t get your home raided.

Amazon, the UK government, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, The Guardian, NYT, and and many other major sites were taken offline today in a huge outage.

When your paranoid friend says the security app you’re using might be a government trojan, believe them.

Google & Apple are still making it impossible for users to keep their location privateTor is being used to spy on “secure” user traffic. Again. A new privacy-compromising mechanism via cross-browser tracking installed apps can effectively identify your device. The TikTok App is collecting biometric data. The UK Test & Trace app does far worse.

GitHub has disabled FLoC. This is a good thing. Despite federal law, Chinese surveillance equipment is gaining US government customers. Taproot isn’t the privacy panacea it is perceived to be. On the topic of Snowden, he’s been vindicated (again).

Apple shares iCloud keys with CCP, Apple’s Find My can be used to leak secrets, has a “few” issues with notification reliability, and their techs regularly violate their users’ privacy. Due to so many arbitration cases Amazon is now allowing you to sue them…just in time, as they are now sharing your Wi-Fi with passersbyDell lied about their Alienware laptop upgradeability. There’s a reason why so many people treat Microsoft Edge as malicious.

The Epic vs Apple lawsuit testimony is over, but Apple’s AppStore is still allowing malicious and fraudulent apps, while they pat themselves on the back for not taking even more money from their users.

Dr. Fauci lied about sponsoring gain of function research for biological warfare. He dismissed what he knew to be true, the lab-leak theory, and the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. He perjured himself. The MSM helped.

Biden shut down the last Wuhan lab investigation. What are the chances there will be a real investigation? Intelligence agencies claim otherwise and you know they have never lied. As is typical of the political elite, instead of broadcasting this everywhere, they’re targeting those that exposed it with death threats.

Governments and the MSM are concealing any true risk/benefit analysis, the miscarriages, Freudian slips, and VAERS spikes behind missing data, bad science, vastly overcounted cases, and propaganda. They’ve been caught red-handed manipulating the data.

The truth is the COVID death numbers are still dropping while post-vaccination infectionand death – are not rare. 5-10% suffer from severe adverse reactions in the hundreds of thousands. The CDC’s new rules acknowledge what many have known all along, vindicating those who opposed masks and vaccines and the vaccines are far from safe or effective.

The worst part is that there are still unsubstantiated and illegal mandates (that are supported by the low-information crowdforever), and insane dogma that violates all reason. Such as yellow stars for the unvaxxed, forbidding the unvaccinated from  church, employmentUniversity (sometimes even the vaccinated) and even West Point. The Red Cross won’t even accept blood from the vaccinated.

The UK government knows what’s coming, and most will be called “unrelated illnesses.” When life insurance companies see this as a non-event and politicians ignore their own agencies to fine the science it’s hard to take it seriously. There have been decades of vaccine research, and we know they’re designing vaccines that spread themselves – isn’t that the premise of most zombie films? mRNA rewrites the genetic code and enhances the illness. This is what it is designed to do. By the way, did you know that during mRNA trials all the mammals kept dying? They proceeded with the emergency use authorization anyway. The only immunity provided by vaccines is to the manufacturer. A second Nuremburg Tribunal is on the horizon.

The Supreme Court says the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is overbroad. Amazon is being sued over Antitrust law. The Ohio AG is trying to declare Google a public utility.

The government has repeatedly operated in concert with Big Tech to silence dissent, science, and discussion, in effect, laundering their censorship through third-parties. Governors and others are now going on the offense.

Now for the good news:

Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai is doing more to take down Big Tech than anyone else – by himself. Please help.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 3.0 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, Internet Explorer, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update Mojave 2021-004, Security Update Catalina 2021-003, Safari 14.1.1, watchOS 7.5, tvOS 14.6, and Boot Camp 6.1.14. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.5 is a security update. Use your updated iPhone to install the most current version through the Watch app.

tvOS 14.6 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Updates to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 91.0.4472.81 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.x) means that macOS High Sierra (10.13) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Mojave (10.14) on your Mac then you should immediately remove it from the Internet and use it offline only. It will no longer receive patches or updates and can now no longer be secured.

The now-current release of the Windows 10 (v21H1) is very large, for the first time it’s actually smaller than the previous release, but it 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.

Logitech Options for macOS 8.54.147 adds support for newer hardware. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

Nvidia 466.63 adds support for newer hardware, libraries and components, and resolves stability and performance bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Engine 3.22.0 now defaults to having Moments off, and resolves a crash bog. This is not a security update.
https://steelseries.com/engine

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.25.70 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 91.0.4472.77 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 91.0.864.41 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 89.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.11.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 78.11.0 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.

AnyDesk 6.3.1 resolves several bugs and adds an adaptive resolution option. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk for macOS 6.2.0 resolves stability and display issues, adds tab, cursor follow, and window focus controls. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.77.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 123.4.4832 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog, so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.54.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

Minds 4.13.0 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.minds.com/mobile

Prosody 0.11.9 is a security update.
https://prosody.im/download/start

Technitium DNS Server 6.3 resolves several bugs and adds more than a half dozen new features, including failover and recursion ACLs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

WGet 1.21.1-1 updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

Zoom 5.6.7.1016 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Picard 2.6.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Plex Media Server 1.23.2.4656 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.

Steam 2021.06.07 resolves several bugs and improves cosmetics. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

PlayStation PS3 4.88 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/

Office Updates

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

Audacity 3.0.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

LibreOffice Still 7.0.6 is the final release for the 7.0 branch. This version resolves 50 reliability, stability, and compatibility bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.2 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This should be treated as a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Adobe Connect 11.2.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-36.html

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2021.005.20148, 2020.004.30005 and 2017.011.30197 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-37.html

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.9 and 22.4.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-38.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.9.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-39.html

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application 2.5 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/creative-cloud/apsb21-41.html

Adobe RoboHelp Server 2020.0.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/robohelp-server/apsb21-44.html

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop_elements/apsb21-46.html

Adobe Premiere Elements 5.3 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-47.html

Adobe After Effects 18.2.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-49.html

Adobe Animate 21.0.7 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-50.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.19 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

NSudo 8.2 removes ARM32 support, updates libraries, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/M2Team/NSudo/releases/latest

OnionShare 2.3.2 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is a security update.
https://onionshare.org/

VT-CLI 0.9.7 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ScreenToGif 2.31 provides cosmetic improvements, improves the updater and imgur compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases/latest

SnagIt 2021.4.1 is a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.8.5 adds archive support, sharing indicators, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 7.7.807 resolves several bugs, adds Windows Hello support, and adds archive support. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitcoin 0.21.1 improves performance and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Bitwarden 1.26.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 5.81.8895 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Dell Command Update 4.2 improves download and logging. This is not a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 8.88 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Everything 1.4.1.1009 improves NTFS detection. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

Fido 1.19 adds support for Windows 10 21H1 and eliminate requirement for Internet Explorer. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

GoodSync 11.7.3 resolves several bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

IsMyHdOK 3.21 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NetworkTrafficView 2.40 adds several protocol controls and filters. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/network_traffic_view.html

NTLite 2.1.1.7917 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.2.1 improves selection interface, resolves several bugs with third-party apps and integrated elevation when required. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PointerStick 5.15 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

Process Monitor 3.82 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Process Explorer 16.42 switches default search behavior from find to filter and reports CET, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

PsExec 2.34 changes stderr output behavior. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec

RoboForm 9.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Samsung Data Migration 4.0 does not provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

Sigcheck 2.81 resolves a signature validation bug. This should be treated as a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sigcheck

SimpleWMIView 1.45 improves sorting controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

Sysmon 13.21 adds new filter conditions and resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

TaskSchedulerView 1.68 resolves a pagination bug and improves sorting controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TCPView 4.12 adds new filter conditions and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TraceRouteOK 2.52 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WifiInfoView 2.70 improves sorting options. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinGet 1.0.11451 is the first release version of WinGet. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/releases/latest

WinObj 3.10 extends search to include symbolic link targets.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/winobj

WinScan2PDF 7.11 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Android Studio 4.2.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

DB Browser for SQLite 3.12.2 updates the certificate for DBHub.io. This is not a security update.
https://sqlitebrowser.org/

Godot 3.3.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://godotengine.org/

Inno Setup 6.2.0 updates graphics and cosmetics, adds dark mode, improves logging, and adds several new scripting options and flags. This is not a security update.
https://www.jrsoftware.org/isdl.php

Node.js 16.3.0 upgrades libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.35.5 resolves several bugs and improves reliability and performance. This is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Web Package Updates

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

Adminer 4.8.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://www.adminer.org/en/

Dada Mail 11.14.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://dadamailproject.com/

Drupal 9.1.10 resolves over a dozen bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 3.9.27 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

Nextcloud Server 21.0.2 updates libraries and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.6.3 is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 11.5.0 is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.8.3558.7823 adds deep-linking support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.7.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

BuddyPress 8.0.0 improves the registration experience, xProfile fields, simplifies administration, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

Duplicator 1.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/#developers

Visual Composer 36.0 resolves dozens of bugs and improves consistency. This is not a security update.
https://visualcomposer.com/

W3 Total Cache 2.1.3 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 5.4.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

Show IDs 1.1.7 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wpsite-show-ids/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-04-13

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for April, 2021. There have been over 50 major hacking incidents, many hardware devices with critical security issues (often these are responsible for the major hacking incidents), and over a hundred updates this month. Almost every browser has released weekly security updates for the last two months. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting kind of sick of it. Finally, there’s an OpenSSL security update this week, so expect many more updates throughout the next month from every vendor that rolls their own encryption.

This Month in Technology

Acer, Apperta FoundationAzureBIG-IP, the Blender websiteBoggi Milano MenswearBooking.comBroward County (FL) Public SchoolsBrown UniversityBuffalo SchoolsCalifornia State Controller’s OfficeClubhouseCNA FinancialCrash 4 (within a day of release!), Facebook (which had the audacity to blame it’s users), Gigaset Android Update Server (preinstalled, too), Harvard Business SchoolHaverhill Public SchoolsIdaho Central Credit Union, the Indian governmentiOS, iPhones, iPads and Apple WatchesKentucky unemployment insurance systemMaricopa (AZ) Community Colleges, Michigan-based Flagstar BankMillersville UniversityMobiKwikMultiCareNetgear switches, the Netmask libraryParkMobilePeakTPA/Carolina SeniorCarePHPRollSAPSchneider Electric Smart MetersShellShopifySierra WirelessStanford MedicineSwarmShopUbiquiti (even if they won’t admit it), Union Bank of NigeriaUniversity Of CaliforniaUniversity Of ColoradoUniversity of MiamiUniversity of WisconsinUPMCVerkada, various VPN devices, Wake Forest Baptist-Lexington Medical CenterWeLeakInfo (ironic), Yeshiva University, and Zoom (more than once) have each been hacked.

There’s still fallout from the Exchange vulnerabilities for which Microsoft released patches in March, but with today’s release there are newly discovered vulnerabilities and patches, too. Even so, about 8% of Exchange servers still aren’t patched with the March fixes.

Newly discovered vulnerabilities allow bypass of Spectre mitigations on Linux, and on other platforms via JavaScriptAMD Zen 3 CPUs, Cisco SOHO Routers, and QNAP NAS devices are just a small sampling of hardware devices with serious security problems this month. 80% of global enterprises report firmware cyberattacks, while the other 20% probably just don’t have sufficient training or equipment to be able to detect them.

Major Google Android WebView problems have been notable this month and banking malware have been found in ten apps on the Google Play store. And Apple’s macOS Mail App can be hacked simply by receiving an email (again).

Azure AD/Microsoft 365, Azure DNS, Facebook, and Google have suffered recent outages.

T-Mobile is the latest to convert their customers into products. TikTok and Facebook tracking is worse than you imagine.

From the “I’m glad it didn’t happen to me” file we have an example of an aggressive space saving measure gone horribly wrong. There’s a growing trend of targeting the customers of ransomware victims to convince them to pay and another new cross-platform cryptomining worm.

Mobile privacy is a myth as both Google and Apple collect telemetry even when telemetry is disabled, but at least they’ve finally closed one of the more significant SIM-jacking holes.

Big Tech gets to make their own rules. They’re so aggressive about it that their own security staff sometimes can’t tell if they’ve been hacked. Google is being sued in France for violation of privacy. Apple has banned an accessibility keyboard from their AppStore in an effort to force them to into a buyout. Hopefully Epic will be able to use this and Apple’s hypocritical statements in Australia in their antitrust suit.

As with all disasters and government programs (but I repeat myself), the “American Rescue Act” is being trolled by malware authors to infect unsuspecting users. LinkedIn users are also being targeted thanks to the LinkedIn hack.

Not all of those Norton Antivirus renewal messages are scams (just most of them), and the UK is now suing Norton for failing to comply with their investigation into their “Dark Pattern” subscription model.

If Big Tech, Big Government, and the MSM didn’t censor Presidents (even Venezuela’s),
representatives, doctors, Christians, students, and even knitters, push false narratives, and tolerate terror, child abuse, racism, and sexism, while providing security only to one side of the aisle and targeting the other, I suspect there would be much more peace. Virginia Tech is being sued for banning the amorphously definedhate speech“, while once more college racism turns out to be a hoax. It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that victimhood itself is a disease.

A single death is a tragedy but killing small businesses was always part of the plan. The lockdowns were never about a virus. They were about pushing compliance with masks and experimental (lethal and anything butsafe and effective“) mRNA treatments onto an unwilling public, to “hack the software of life” preventing the ability to survive and dismantling every freedom unless you accept the jab. A surge is happening, not just at the border, but in post-jab death rates. All of this to ensure that their slush funds would be financed and elections could never be honest again.

There have been tens of thousands of fraudulent ballots in Michigan Georgia, and New Hampshire. In Georgia, one county ordered voter registration applications for 25 times the population. At least we can all agree on some common sense election reform. Or can we? The same businesses that require an ID to use their services are attacking new laws that require the same scrutiny for elections.

Now for the good news:

After more than a decade the US Supreme Court has finally ruled in favor of Google.
It’s about time. While I have no love for Google, the idea that you can’t develop code that uses the same parameters or names as Oracle code is sickening. How many of you have have written functions to format a date or number? It’s not like granular coding styles leave much to the imagination. This would be like an author suing another author because the chapters of their book were named “Chapter 1”, “Chapter 2” and so on. Good decision.

As long as I have my soapbox: Save Crypto!

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is huge. The typical computer should see roughly 2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Exchange, Edge, .NET, Servicing Stack, and MSRT (~ 1.5 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for GarageBand 10.4.3, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 12.5.2,, iPadOS 14.4.2, and watchOS 7.3.3. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.4.2 and 12.5.2 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.4.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.3.3 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 89.0.4389.95 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.

Drivers by Seagull 2021.1 adds hardware support, improves response time, and adds features to certain models. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/

Crucial Storage Executive 7.01 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.3.8 improves AMD removal and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Logitech Options (macOS) 8.50.210 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/options

NVidia 465.89 adds new profiles, improves compatibility with various games and newer hardware. 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 1.22.71 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 89.0.4389.128 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 89.0.774.76 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 87.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 78.9.0 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.7 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 3.7.2218.52 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.

Thunderbird 78.9.1 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.

BrowsingHistoryView 2.47 adds high-DPI support and an option to copy URL QR Code to the clipboard. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 7.76.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 119.4.1772 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.53.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

IPInfoOffline 1.60 adds CIDR and Duplicate Count columns, and updates internal IP database.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/ip_country_info_offline.html

Npcap 1.30 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Technitium DNS Server 6.2 is a major update. The 6.0 branch adds DNS Application support, more options, and improved compatibility. This is not a security update. Be aware that the current version chokes during updates because it stalls on removal of the previous version.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Telegram 2.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WGet 1.21.1 is a security update.
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

Zoom 5.6.1.617 is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.14 resolves several bugs and adds new positions and motions. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

FastStone Viewer 7.5 adds dark theme, support for audio formats, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Picard 2.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Office Updates

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

Adobe Photoshop 21.2.7 and 22.3.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-28.html

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187606 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/Digital-Editions/apsb21-26.html

Adobe Bridge 10.1.2 and 11.0.2 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb21-23.html

Atom 1.56.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://atom.io/

RoboHelp RH2020.0.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/robohelp/apsb21-20.html

Krita 4.4.3 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.1.2 resolves over 60 bugs. This is not a security update, but the “Fresh” line is beta, so should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.0.5 resolves over 100 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.2.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 7.9.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.17 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

ClamWin Portable 0.99.4.103 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://portableapps.com/apps/security/clamwin_portable

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

RogueKiller 14.8.6 is a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.34.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.9.2 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2021.3.0 resolves several bugs and improves toolset. This is not a security update.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/enu/snagit.exe

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

MakeMKV 1.16.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?makemkv

Education updates

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

e-Sword 13.0 adds Audio Bible support. This is not a security update.
https://www.e-sword.net/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Windows 7.6.797 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

Bitwarden 1.25.1 resolves installation issues, adds support for Safari 13 and updates electron. This is not a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CCleaner 5.78.8558 improves cleaning options and behavior. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

Cygwin 3.2.0 is a major update, improving threading and symlink support, and resolves more than a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 8.77 improves translations and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dupeGuru 4.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dupeguru.voltaicideas.net/

Etcher 1.5.117 resolves several bugs and updates libraries. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything Toolbar 0.6.3 resolves a user-mode compatibility problem, requiring uninstallation of previous versions before upgrade. All future builds will be machine-level only. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

GoodSync 11.6.2 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

Homedale 1.95 adds translation. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.13 improves SSD/SSHD detection and benchmark testing. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.1.0.7845 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 4.7.0 adds several new tables, concat* functions, and resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

ProduKey 1.96 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

PsExec 2.33 is a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

RoboForm 9.1.2 adds website problem reporting and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Samsung Magician 6.3.0 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

SimpleWMIView 1.43 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/simple_wmi_view.html

System Monitor 13.02 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

TaskSchedulerView 1.67 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TcpLogView 1.35 adds Process User column and improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/tcp_log_view.html

TCPView 4.0 adds flexible filtering, search, and display of the Windows service that owns an endpoint. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

WifiInfoView 2.68 improves high-DPI compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinObj 3.02 resolves a crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://sysinternals.com/

WinScan2PDF 7.01 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WirelessKeyView 2.22 adds an option to copy QR Code of the selected item. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_key.html

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.06 resolves a hotkey bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

Android Studio 4.1.3.0 resolves a stable/beta channel bug. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio

Node.js 12.22.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.16.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 15.14.0 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 5.27.0.5916 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

SQLite 3.35.4 is a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

TortoiseGit 2.12.0 updates libraries, resolves more than a dozen bugs, and improves consistency. This is not a security update.
https://tortoisegit.org/

Unreal Engine 4.26 adds many new features. This is not a security update.
https://unrealengine.com/en-US/

Visual Studio Code 1.55.2 is a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.11 adds a method to enable 2FA. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Docker Desktop 3.3.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.6 resolves over 50 bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.8.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

Joomla 3.9.26 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

MailEnable 10.34 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mailenable.com/

Nextcloud Server 21.0.1 resolves over 70 bugs, updates libraries, and improves reliability and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

phpList 3.6.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 11.4.0 is a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.4.2767.7752 makes several cosmetic changes and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

SpamAssassin 3.4.6 is a security update.
https://spamassassin.apache.org/downloads.cgi

Antispam Bee 2.9.4 adds support for ajax calls. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.8.3 resolves a bug. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 7.2.1 is a security update.

Social Post Feed 2.19.1 improves compatibility and reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Email Log 2.4.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Redirection 5.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Sucuri Security 1.8.26 is an SJW release. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.1.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.1.2 resolves several bugs and adds AWS regions, new MIME types and pagination links. This is not a security update.

WooCommerce 5.2.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 2.7.0 changes PHP requirements (5.5+) and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.0.12 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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