Updates 2023-04-11

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Shawn K. Hall

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for April, 2023.

This month brings over 160 significant hacks, and over 170 application updates. This is pretty normal these days, and the updates will weigh in at a little over 2.5 GB of updates for most users.

This Month in Technology

3CX, 51,000 websites, Ace Nursing, Activision, Adobe ColdFusion, Alivia Health, AllCare Plus Pharmacy, Inc, Allied Benefit, American Pain and Wellness, PLLC, an “East Asian company that develops data-loss prevention software for government and military,” Apple Safari, Aspire Public Schools, Associates in Dermatology, Atlantic Dialysis Management Services, Atlantic General Hospital, Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, Bing.com search (via Azure AD), BitGo, BitKeep, Bitzlato, Black & McDonald, Blue Shield of California, Breached, Brooks Rehabilitation, Capita, ChatGPT, Chippewa County, CHU University hospitals, City of Oakland, City of Toronto, CloudPanel, Community Health Systems, Crown Resorts, Dole Food Company, a Dutch maritime logistics company, eFile-com, El Camino Health, El Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero, Elementor Pro WordPress plugin, Elmbrook School District, Essendant, Eye4Fraud, Fabrega Molino, Federal Law Enforcement Database, Ferrari, Florida-based community healthcare system, Frideres Dental LLC, Gala Games, General Bytes, 130+ organizations using GoAnywhere MFT, Guam Memorial Hospital, Hatch Bank, Hawaiian death registry, HDB Financial Services, Health Plan of San Mateo, Hitachi Energy, Homewood Health, HP LaserJet printers, Independent Living Systems, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, Indian health system, Instituto De Educación Secundaria Ies Emilio Canalejo Olmeda, Integrated Supports for Living, Inc, Killer Instinct, Latitude Financial Services, Leaked Reality, LinusTechTips, Lionsgate, Long Son Petrochemicals, Lumen, Majestic Care Middletown Assisted Living LLC, McDonald’s, Medellin government, MedEx, Medminder, Merritt Healthcare Advisors, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Mozilla Firefox, MSI, National Basketball Association, NCB Management Services, Nebu, Netgear Orbi, New Medical Healthcare, New York City public school special education students, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, NewBridge Services, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Nexx smart devices, NHS Highland, Nonstop Administration and Insurance Services, Inc, NorthStar Emergency Medical Services, NS, Open University of Cyprus, Oracle VirtualBox, ParaSpace, Pension Protection Fund, PetroVietnam, Poolz Finance, POSCO Engineering & Construction, Postal Prescription Services – Kroger, Procter & Gamble, Proskauer Rose, QNAP, Rio Tinto, Rochester Public Schools, Rubrik, SafeMoon, Saks Fifth Avenue, Samsung, SD Worx, Shopper+, South Texas Health System, Sundry Files, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Inc, Tasmanian Education Department, Telegram, Tesla Model 3, the WiFi protocol (this is big), TheGradCafe, Throne, TMX Finance (TitleMax, TitleBucks, InstaLoan), Top of the World Ranch Treatment Center, Toyota Italy, Tusla, Twitter, Uber, Ubuntu Desktop, UC San Diego Health, UHS of Delaware, Inc, UK’s Criminal Records Office, UK’s Virgin Red, Ukrainian utility company, US Congress, US Department of Defense, US Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Marshals Service, US Special Operations Command, US Wellness Inc, US Wellness, Vazquez Nava Consultores y Abogados, Veeam’s Backup & Replication, Veritas Backup Exec, VM2, VMware Workstation, WellBe, Wells Fargo, West Virginia hospital, Western Digital, Wilkes-Barre Career and Technical Center, WinRAR SFX, WooCommerce, Yardley Dermatology Associates, PC, Yucatan government, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut), Z2U, ZenGo, Zimbra Collaboration Suite, and Zoll have reportedly been hacked or compromised this month.

Amazon has pulled the plug on their most successful charitable endeavor, AmazonSmile.

According to the FBI, 860 “critical” infrastructure organizations were hit with ransomware in 2022. Shouldn’t they just stop if they’re so concerned, since they’re usually the ones behind most terrorists?

It should come as no surprise that the recent spate of train derailments comes not long after a manager at one of the largest rail companies told inspectors to stop marking rail cars that needed repairs.

Apple Weather, Microsoft Defender, Reddit, and WD My Cloud suffered from outages this month.

Last months updates broke Red Dead Redemption 2, and caused problems for many printers by replacing the vendor print drivers with Microsoft’s incompatible drivers. But at least Microsoft is now inserting ads in the Start menu, right? Grrr.

Here’s yet another demonstration of how your “smart device” can be exploited without your knowledge. GM’s Cruise robotaxis have been recalled after they caused an accident in San Francisco.

Now for the good news:

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

Windows 10 and Windows 11 22H2 should now be installed. Sadly, the new “Moments” features on Windows 11 will insert advertisements in the Start menu and Control Panel. Just another sign of the continuing decline of Windows.

Microsoft released updates to address 93 vulnerabilities in .NET Core, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Service Connector, Microsoft Bluetooth Driver, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft Message Queuing, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver, Microsoft Printer Drivers, Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL, Microsoft Windows DNS, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Windows Active Directory, Windows ALPC, Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, Windows Boot Manager, Windows Clip Service, Windows CNG Key Isolation Service, Windows Common Log File System Driver, Windows DHCP Server, Windows Enroll Engine, Windows Error Reporting, Windows Group Policy, Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol, Windows Kerberos, Windows Kernel, Windows Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, Windows Lock Screen, Windows Netlogon, Windows Network Address Translation (NAT), Windows Network File System, Windows Network Load Balancing, Windows NTLM, Windows PGM, Windows Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, Windows Raw Image Extension, Windows RDP Client, Windows Registry, Windows RPC API, Windows Secure Boot, Windows Secure Channel, Windows Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP), Windows Transport Security Layer (TLS), Windows Win32K and MSRT (~
GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for iOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, iPadOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.6, macOS Monterey 12.6.5, macOS Ventura 13.3.1, Safari 16.4.1, Studio Display Firmware Update 16.4, tvOS 16.4, and watchOS 9.4. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 16.4.1 and 15.7.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 16.4.1 and 15.7.5 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 9.4 is a security update. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 16.4 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 112.0.5615.62 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 Ventura (13.x) means that macOS Catalina (10.15) and older are no longer supported. If you can not install at least macOS Big Sur (11) 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 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 10 pushes you to get the latest Windows 10 release every 12 months and only supports any consumer builds for 18 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

The now-current release of the Windows 11 (v22H2) is very large so will take a long time to download on slower connections. Windows 11 pushes you to get the latest Windows 11 release every 12 months and only supports any consumer builds for 24 months. If you don’t let it finish and you’re on a slow connection, this process will kill your Internet performance forever. If you don’t have the bandwidth to download the bits, I’m happy to provide loaner USB drives to our local clients, or, if you prefer to have me mail it to you please contact me for information.

Windows 11 is still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months before you consider switching to it.

Please remember that while I list many different applications within these updates, most people should ONLY install updates for a program if they already have a previous version of that program installed.

It is essential to maintain all the applications you have installed on your computer, but often you can minimize the time investment and the potential for exploitation simply by uninstalling software you do not need or use, reducing the attack surface. This includes “free” applications like Avast, OpenOffice, and games you do not actually play.

Also note that using the applications own “check for updates” function, when available, will best preserve your current settings, and often avoid any crapware that might come with a fresh installer. Use this option if it’s available to you.

Finally, if you’re sick of doing this all yourself, let me! Call or email me any time, and we can set you up with subscription SaferPC updates which will be installed each month whenever necessary. Click, call or email for more details:
https://saferpc.info/updates/
209-565-12PD
shawn@12pointdesign.com

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

AMD Adrenalin 23.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.amd.com/en/support

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.6.2 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

Nvidia Driver 474.30 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 1.50.114 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 112.0.5615.49 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 112.0.1722.34 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Microsoft Edge 109.0.1518.78 is a security update. This version should be used only on devices where the current stable release is not available.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 112.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

SeaMonkey 2.53.16 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.7.2921.65 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

OutlookAttachView 3.48 adds sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_attachment.html

Spark 3.3.6.46134 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Spark (macOS) 3.3.6.46132 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://sparkmailapp.com/

Thunderbird 102.9.1 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.

AnyDesk 7.1.11 is a bug fix for a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

BrowsingHistoryView 2.55 adds sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html

curl 8.0.1 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 171.4.6182 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FreeFileSync 12.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 73.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Microsoft Teams 1.6.00.6754 is a security update.
https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

Nextcloud Server 26.0.0 is a major update with improvements across a dozens features and many bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Npcap 1.73 is a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Omada Software Controller 5.9.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/

Rclone 1.62.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rclone.org/

Signal (Android) 6.16.2 doesn’t provide a detailed changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://signal.org/android/apk/

Signal 6.13.0 improves dark mode and cosmetics. This is not a security update.
https://signal.org/download/windows/

Syncthing 1.23.4 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 4.7.1 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

Trillian 6.5.0.28 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

WinSCP 5.21.8 is a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.14.2.14578 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Bitwig Studio 4.4.10 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.bitwig.com/download/

iTunes 12.12.8.1 is a security update.
https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Plex Desktop 1.67.1.3665 fixes the subtitle render/crash issue. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.37.2.3674 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.32.0.6918 resolves a font bug and a certificate installation bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

GameMaker Studio 2023.2.1.75 adds a new particle editor to the IDE and reworks some of the interface. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

GDevelop 5.1.160 resolves several bugs and adds more than a dozen new assets and feature improvements. This is not a security update.
https://gdevelop.io/download

Lego Studio 2.23.3.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/ldd

Nintendo Switch 16.0.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PS5 23.01-07.01.01 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2023.03.15 resolves dozens of bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

Office Updates

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

Adobe Reader DC 23.001.20143 is a security update.
https://get.adobe.com/reader

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11.187658 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html

Adobe InCopy 18.2 and 17.4.1 are security updates. Use Creative Cloud to install the update.

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 23.001.20143 and 20.005.30467 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb23-24.html

Adobe Substance 3D Stager 2.0.2 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-stager.html

Adobe Dimension 3.4.9 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/dimension.html

Adobe Substance 3D Designer 12.4.1 is a security update.
https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-designer.html

Artweaver 7.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.artweaver.de/

Calibre 6.15.1 resolves several bugs and improves document compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://calibre-ebook.com/

ImageMagick 7.1.1-6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://imagemagick.org/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.5.2 resolves over 90 bugs. This is a security update. The “Fresh” line is beta software and should be avoided by most users.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.8.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 8.5.2 resolves several context menu and cosmetic bugs. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 5.0.3 adds center-point shape drawing and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.5.368.0 is a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Security Software Updates

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

Caine 13.0 is a security update.
https://www.caine-live.net/

Chainsaw 2.6.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

FSS 2023.3.19 updates service list. This is not a security update.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/farbar-service-scanner/dl/62/

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware 4.5.26 improves reporting and resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

ProtonVPN 2.4.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

ProtonVPN (macOS) 3.0.15 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://protonvpn.com/download

QubesOS 4.1.2 is a security update.
https://www.qubes-os.org/downloads/

RogueKiller 15.8.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

Stinger 12.2.0.570 improves detections. This should be treated as a security update.
https://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/stinger.aspx

SuperAntiSpyware 10.0.1250 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Tails 5.11 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd/index.en.html

uBlock Origin 1.48.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Velociraptor 0.6.8 integrates several net
https://github.com/Velocidex/velociraptor/releases/latest

Wireless Network Watcher 2.31 adds a dark mode option and updates internal MAC address database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

YARA 4.3.0 resolves several bugs and adds new functions and behaviors. This should be treated as a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/yara/

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Camtasia 22.5.3 resolves several crash bugs, installation issues and improves the UI. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

SnagIt 23.1.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.1.0.3 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

StreamFab 6.1.1.6 improves compatibility and provides new output options. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/downloader-new.htm

UniFab 1.0.1.7 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/unifab.htm

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 8.10.4 fixes of a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

1Password for Windows 8.10.4 fixes over a dozen bugs. This is a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/windows/

AstroGrep 4.4.9 updates libraries, adds dark theme, improves filters and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
http://astrogrep.sourceforge.net/

Bitwarden 2023.3.3 adds domain verification, improved browser security, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://bitwarden.com/

CalyxOS Device Flasher 1.0.7 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://calyxos.org/install/

Carbonite 6.4.6 is a security update.
https://account.carbonite.com/

CCleaner 6.10.10347 improves cleaning and adds to the their driver update solution. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

CrucialScan 20230308 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/store/systemscanner

CurrPorts 2.71 adds full screen display option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

DesktopOK 10.77 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

DMDE 4.0.6.806 fixes several bugs. This is a security update.
https://dmde.com/

Everything Toolbar 1.0.5 improves stability and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stnkl/EverythingToolbar/

FolderChangesView 2.35 adds dark mode support and sort-by to the toolbar. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html

Go 1.20.3 is a security update.
https://go.dev/

GoodSync 12.2.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

IsMyHdOK 3.88 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2023.4.9191 adds components, new settings and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

osquery 5.8.2 is a security update.
https://osquery.io/downloads

PowerToys 0.69.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

Process Explorer 17.04 is a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

PsExec 2.42 adds support for long paths. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec

Regedix 2.0.0.0 adds registry scan and resolves paste bug. This is not a security update.
https://regedix.webrox.fr/

RoboForm 9.4.6 is a security update.
https://www.roboform.com/

Rufus 3.22 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://rufus.ie/en_US/

ScreenConnect 23.2.9.8466 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

TCPView 4.18 resolves a crash bug and improves dark mode. This is not a security update.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/tcpview

TeamViewer 15.40.8 resolves a LAN bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/download/windows/

Unity 2022.2.14 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

Ventoy 1.0.91 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

WifiInfoView 2.79 resolves a display bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinScan2PDF 8.55 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.13 adds regexp search, search history, command line options, virtual drives, sorting options, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

XnConvert 1.98 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.xnview.com/en/xnconvert/

ZoomText 2023 2023.2303.77.400 adds tethered view. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

ADB 34.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

GitHub Desktop 3.2.1 resolves a dozen bugs and provides several improvements. This is not a security update.
https://desktop.github.com/

Node.js 16.20.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 19.9.0 adds a new tracing feature, URL parser improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

SQLite 3.41.2 resolves several bugs and improves several features. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.77.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.24 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.4.12 is a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Drupal 9.5.7 resolves a bug in the editor. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

WordPress 6.2 adds several new native features – custom CSS, sticky positions, new site editor, block management, Openverse media access, and more. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 5.1 resolves several bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

Autoptimize 3.1.6 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/autoptimize/

Contact Form 7 5.7.5.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

Duplicator 1.5.3.1 doesn’t provide a change log so should be treated as a security update.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/

Limit Login Attempts 1.7.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/limit-login-attempts/

Redirection 5.3.10 resolves a save bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection/

W3 Total Cache 2.3.1 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

WooCommerce 7.5.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

WP Cerber Security 9.5.3 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://wpcerber.com/

WPtouch 4.3.52 resolves a cosmetic bug. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wptouch/

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2022-03-08

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Shawn K. Hall

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 themselves…will 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

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.

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 2021-12-14

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Shawn K. Hall

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for December, 2021. This month has been relatively mild, especially for the typical user. Businesses are facing some serious Christmas disasters including massive botnets targeting WordPress, Log4j, payment platforms, and state-run “passport” systems. Nevertheless, the grind continues.

This Month in Technology

ActMobile Networks (VPN), Alberta Health, Astoria Company LLC, thousands of AT&T Edgewater Networks devices, Atraf, Bay Village High School, Beaverhead County High School, BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy Services, LLC, Bitmart, Brazilian Ministry of Health, Broward Public Schools, Brussels Bru-Vax, Bureau Veritas, Central Depository Services Ltd, California Pizza Kitchen, Costco, Cox Communications, DeKalb County School District, Delta-Montrose Electric Association, DNA Diagnostics Center, Episcopal Retirement Services, Escambia County School District, Eskenazi Health, Evanston Township High School, Florida Heart Associates, French-Public School Board, Frontier Software, GoDaddy Inc (and 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, Host Europe, Media Temple, and tsoHost), Gravatar, Headwaters Health Care Centre, Health Service Executive, Hellman Worldwide Logistics, Hikvision surveillance systems, Hisar health department, HPE, dozens of HP printer models, Huntington Hospital, IDC Games, IKEA, Indonesian police, various Iranian gas stations, Johnson Memorial Health, Kisters AG, KMSPico, Kronos, Lakeside School, LINE Pay, Lewis and Clark Community College, Maryland Department of Health, Manhasset School District, Microsoft Exchange Servers, Medsurant Health, MNG Cargo, Newfoundland and Labrador Health-Care System, Nordic Choice Hotels, North Oklahoma County Mental Health Center, Northeastern University, Nowiny Commune Office, Old Pulaski Middle School, One Community Health, Oregon Anesthesiology Group, P.C., Pakistan’s National Database Biometric Data, Panasonic, Pellissippi State Community College, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, millions of PlayStation 5 devices, QNAP NAS devices, RedDoorz, Rideau Valley Health Centre, Riverhead Central School District, Robinhood, S&R Membership Shopping, SanDisk SecureAccess, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Shelley School District, Simon Eye Management, millions of Sky Routers, SonicWall SMA 100 VPNs, South Australian Government, Southern Ohio Medical Center, SPAR Stores, Spotswood Public Schools, Stor-a-file Limited, Stripchat, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Swire Pacific Offshore, TATA, TP-Link routers, True Health New Mexico, Tulane University Medical Center, Ulss 6 Euganea, US defense contractors, U.S. State Department, Utah Imaging Associates, Virginia’s Division of Legislative Automated Systems, Vestas, Volvo, Waikato DHB, Yemeksepeti, Za: Standard Bank, and Zoho ServiceDesk have reportedly been hacked this month.

A Tesla server outage prevented owners worldwide from unlocking their cars.

Another 5 hour outage at AWS caused problems for thousands of websites that depend upon the “reliability” of cloud services. Netflix, Ring, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon deliveries, and Roku were just a few affected sites and services.

Google Photos suffered from a bug for 10 days that damaged all downloads over 128 MB. They alerted their customers to the problem about a month after fixing the bug.

Instead of focusing on providing a more secure product, Apple is suing the NSO Group for developing malware that exploits vulnerabilities in Apple products.

Google, Apple and Samsung payment services exposed to provide unlimited access to digital wallets without authentication.

Grafana – used in thousands of applications for the gorgeous displays it can provide – has patched multiple critical security vulnerabilities. Expect vendors to play catch-up as they release updates that update their Grafana libraries.

Like Grafana, Log4j is another widely used engine across thousands of applications – mostly in corporate and enterprise applications. It’s been exploited in 40% of corporate networks globally, so far. It’s not just corporate risk – even Minecraft is vulnerable.

A massive series of attacks targeting managed WordPress websites has compromised at least 1.8 million sites so far. Merely patching the sites and removing unused and out-dated plugins and themes would have eliminated the risk here.

Now for the good news:

Alexa.com is finally being shut down after 25 years of misrepresenting the web.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Patch Tuesday this month is smaller than it has been in months. The typical computer should see roughly 2 GB in updates today. Let’s get started.

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, and MSRT (~1.5 GB). This includes updates for Windows Server 2008. This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Monterey 12.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, Security Update 2021-008 Catalina, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, tvOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, and watchOS 8.1.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 15.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 15.2 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

tvOS 15.2 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

watchOS 8.3 and 8.1.1 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 96.0.4664.77 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

Windows 11 is still very young so I encourage you to wait a few more months before you consider switching to it.

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

Citizen Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/citizen/download/

CognitiveTPG Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/cognitivetpg/download/

Logitech Options 9.40.86 adds support for new hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025297893

Logitech SetPoint 6.70.55 adds support for new hardware and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025141274

Xerox Smart Start 1.6.28.0 adds support for newer drivers. This is not a security update.
https://www.support.xerox.com/en-us/content/143617

Zebra Driver 2021.3 adds support for over 430 hardware printer models and resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.seagullscientific.com/support/downloads/drivers/zebra/download/

Browser Updates

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

Brave 1.32.115 is a security update.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 96.0.4664.110 is a security update.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 96.0.1054.53 is a security update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 95.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Firefox ESR 91.4.0 is a security update.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

SeaMonkey 2.53.10.1 is a security update.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Vivaldi 5.0.2497.28 is a security update.
https://vivaldi.com/

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 91.4.0 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 7.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

AnyDesk for macOS 6.3.3 improves M1 compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://anydesk.com/en/downloads

curl 7.80.0 resolves over 100 bugs. This should be treated as a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 136.4.4345 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.57.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.15 resolves several bugs and improves user interface and compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Google Drive 54.0 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drive.google.com/start

Npcap 1.60 resolves over a dozen bugs and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Syncthing 1.18.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://syncthing.net/

Telegram 3.3.0 adds media distribution controls, bot improvements and channel controls. This is not a security update.
https://telegram.org/

WinSCP 5.19.5 resolves several bugs and adds Google Cloud S3 API support. This is not a security update.
https://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Zoom 5.8.7.2058 adds many new features and resolves a dozen bugs, mostly with compatibility. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

3tene 2.0.19 improves compatibility with VRoid Studio and adds Leap Motion. This is not a security update.
https://en.3tene.com/

Plex Desktop 1.39.1.2763 resolves code signing. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Home Theater 1.9.0.2741 adds audio stream selection, resolves several bugs, and improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

Plex Media Server 1.25.2.5319 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.

GameMaker Studio 2.3.7.606 improves reliability and performance, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker

Nintendo Switch 13.2.0 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22525/kw/system%20updates/p/989

PS5 21.02-04.50.00 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Steam 2021.11.19 resolves several bugs, improves reliability and stability. This is a security update.

Office Updates

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

Audacity 3.1.2 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Blender 3.0 is a major new version with dozens of new features, improvements in modeling, shadows, geometry and more. This is not a security update.
https://www.blender.org/download/

LibreOffice Fresh 7.2.4 is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

LibreOffice Still 7.1.8 is a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Notepad++ 8.1.9.3 resolves several bugs and improves diagnostics to troubleshoot a persistent crash bug. This is not a security update.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Paint.net 4.3.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.getpaint.net/

PDF-XChange Editor 9.2.359.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

Adobe Premiere Rush 2.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_rush/apsb21-101.html

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.11 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb21-103.html

Adobe Connect 11.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/connect/apsb21-112.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.5.4 and 23.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-113.html

Adobe Prelude 22.1.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/prelude/apsb21-114.html

Adobe After Effects 22.1.1 and 18.4.3 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-115.html

Adobe Dimension 3.4.4 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/dimension/apsb21-116.html

Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb21-117.html

Adobe Media Encoder 15.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/media-encoder/apsb21-118.html

Adobe Lightroom 5.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/lightroom/apsb21-119.html

Adobe Audition 14.4.3 and 22.1.1 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/audition/apsb21-121.html

Security Software Updates

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

Tails 4.25 adds backups, external storage support, updates applications and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

BelArc Advisor 11.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

Chainsaw 1.1.4 improves logging, error handling, and removes progress bar for reliability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/countercept/chainsaw

Hashcat 6.2.5 improves improves hardware compatibility, performance, and resolves several bugs. This is a security update.
https://hashcat.net/hashcat/#downloadlatest

RogueKiller 15.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.39.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

VT-CLI 0.10.0 adds support for managing collections. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/VirusTotal/vt-cli/releases/latest

Wireless Network Watcher 2.26 updates internal MAC address database and improves high-DPI support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2022.0.0 adds several new features including a universal file format, cross-platform markup, and cloud storage, improves performance, and resolves several bugs.
https://download.techsmith.com/snagit/releases/snagit.msi

VideoCacheView 3.08 adds compatibility with newer browser builds. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

PDF Creator 4.4.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

1Password for Mac 7.9.2 improves compatibility and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://1password.com/downloads/mac/

7-Zip 21.06 adds memory controls, dictionary size improvements, hash validation support, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.7-zip.org/

Agent Ransack 2022.3277 adds OCR, new themes, improves indexing, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download/

Bitcoin 22.0 removes defunct protocols, updates privacy and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Carbonite 6.4.0 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://account.carbonite.com/

Cygwin 3.3.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://cygwin.com/

DesktopOK 9.44 adds dark theme support, high-DPI improvements, and several bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

Etcher 1.7.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Fido 1.27 adds support for Windows 10 v21H2. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases

FileLocator Pro 2022.3277 adds OCR, new themes, improves indexing, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

Git SCM 2.34.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://git-scm.com/

GoodSync 11.9.7 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

grepWin 2.0.9 improves reliability and adds exact match support. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/stefankueng/grepWin/releases/latest

Homedale 2.01 improves MAC Address vendor detection and IE DFS dump. This is not a security update.
https://www.the-sz.com/products/homedale/

IsMyHdOK 3.44 improves accuracy. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/IsMyHdOK

NTLite 2.3.2.8519 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

PointerStick 5.61 improves high-DPI support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

PowerToys 0.51.1 improves stability. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/latest

ReactOS 0.4.13.32 resolves over a hundred bugs, and improves stability, compatibility and reliability. This is a security update.
https://reactos.org/

SearchMyFiles 3.15 improves summary mode, zero-value filters, and search improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html

Synergy 1.14.2 resolves over a dozen bugs, improves reliability, adds M1 support, and adds automatic restart on settings change. This is not a security update.
https://symless.com/synergy/

TraceRouteOK 2.66 adds dark theme support, high-DPI improvements, and several bug fixes. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

USB Oblivion 1.17.0.0 resolves a key name bug and improves performance. This is not a security update.
http://www.cherubicsoft.com/en/projects/usboblivion

WakeMeOnLan 1.90 adds global and bulk WOL support and updates MAC addresses databases. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wake_on_lan.html

WhyNotWin11 2.4.3.1 improves stability, hardware detection, and compatibility improvements. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

WinScan2PDF 7.51 resolves several minor bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WizTree 4.07 improves MTP/PTP compatibility, reliability, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskanalyzer.com/

ZoomText 2021 2021.2111.4.400 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

ZoomText 2022 2022.2110.70.400 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/ZoomText

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Docker Desktop 4.3.1 is a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Node.js v14 14.18.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v16 16.13.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js v17 17.2.0 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 6.1.0.6054 adds MarkSaved and OverridePSTDisableGrow, and IMAP4 controls, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

SQLite 3.37.0 improves STRICT, CHECK constraints, and CLI improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.sqlite.org/download.html

Visual Studio Code 1.63 adds several features and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

VirtualBox 6.1.30 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Web Package Updates

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

Coppermine Gallery 1.6.16 improves compatibility and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://coppermine-gallery.net/

Drupal 9.3.0 updates libraries and dependencies, improves compatibility, and resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

HumHub 1.10.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.humhub.com/en/download

MailArchiva 8.4.1 is a security update.
https://mailarchiva.com/

Nextcloud Server 23.0.0 is a major update adding massing performance improvements, improved external integrations, Backup and more. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

ownCloud Client 2.9.2.6206 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://owncloud.com/desktop-app/

phpList 3.6.6 is a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

Piwigo 12.1.0 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://piwigo.org/

ScreenConnect 21.14.5791.8004 improves reliability and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.8.2 is a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Autoptimize 2.9.3 improves multisite support and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

bbPress 2.6.9 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.5.3 improves Constant Contact integration, filters and form properties. This is not a security update.

Slider Revolution 6.5.11 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Social Post Feed 4.1 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This version will need to reconnect to any Facebook feeds you use. This is not a security update.

Theme My Login 7.1.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.2.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

WP Mail SMTP 3.2.1 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

WordPress Zero Spam 5.2.8 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 2021-03-09

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Shawn K. Hall

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for March, 2021.

This Month in Technology

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

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

32red, Accellion, Allergy Partners, Apple, Bombardier, CA DMV, Clubhouse Chats, Covenant HealthCare, CSX, D-Link devices, Ecuador’s Ministry of Finance and Banco Pichincha, the European Banking Authority, EXMO, Experian (again), France’s Ministry of Health, Georgetown County (SC), Hipcam (and other baby monitors), Humana, IBM, over a hundred Italian banks, KeepChange, Kia, Kroger, Lakehead University, Malaysia Airlines, Ness Digital Engineering, Ninja Forms, Ngrok, NurseryCam, Oxford University, RealPage, RIPE NCC accounts, Rockwell Automation PLCs, Maza, a Russian Cybercrime forum, Singtel, SITA (an airline service provider), SolarCity, PayPal, Qualys, Sendgrid accounts (to send spam – how could anyone tell the difference?!), Sequoia Capital, Signal, T-Mobile, TMS, 15 UK schools, Underwriters Laboratories, Universal Health Services, VMWare vCenter Server, Washington State Unemployment Department, Wawa, Apple’s WebKit, and Yandex have been hacked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the pedophile, but ban the words.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now for the good news:

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

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Google Chrome OS 88.0.4324.186 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version. A reboot is required.

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

Important Notes

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.

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

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

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

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

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

Browser Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Email Updates

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

Thunderbird 78.8.0 is a security update.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

Office Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Security Software Updates

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

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

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

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

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

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Developer Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

AutoHotkey 1.1.33.05 resolves several bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://www.autohotkey.com/download/

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

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

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

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

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

Virtual Machine Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

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

Web Package Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WordPress Zero Spam 5.0.9 resolves several bugs and improves spam detection. This is not a security update.

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

Regards,

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

Updates 2021-01-12

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Shawn K. Hall

Welcome back, Folks!

Today is Patch Tuesday for January, 2021.

This Month in Technology

By now you’re probably very aware with the SolarWinds “hack” since it was 24/7 news only a month ago, though mostly conjecture. We now know they were hacked over a year before a third-party (FireEye) pointed it out to them, and the malware remained on their servers weeks after it was identified.

What we’ve learned of it over the last month is a rich reminder of do’s and don’ts:

Don’t trust multi-factor authentication – it’s not nearly as effective at preventing logins as you’ve been lead to believe.
Don’t take over devices you can’t exploit quickly – don’t expose yourself wideband for 0.2%.
Do use a strong, unique password for everything – never something as absurd as “solarwinds123“.
Do modify your firewall to eliminate automatic whitelists for government IP addresses.
Do regular checkups – you never know what you’re going to find.

Don’t worry, though, they’ve hired a political hack to CYA!

Austin City, the City of Cornelia, City of Ellensburg, Independence City (Kansas), Chatham County (North Carolina), Huntsville City Schools (Alabama), Jefferson County (Kentucky), Subway, Intel’s Habana Labs, Microsoft, FireEye, the United Nations, Maryland’s GBMC HealthCare, the US Dept of Justice, Nissan, Livecoin, Spotify, IndiGo, various Israeli companies, the US Judiciary case file system, and many gaming companies have all been hacked.

Security issues or backdoors were found in Zyxel firewalls, Typo3, Android Bluetooth, Glassdoor, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft 365, Google Titan security keys, Signal App cryptography, Starbucks mobile, and terabytes of secrets and databases have been dumped online.

Point-of-sale hardware has a “service mode” with a default password, malware is fingerprinting and mapping networks using the MAC address, Smart Doorbells are still a bad idea, Gionee has been infecting their own budget smartphones for kickbacks, and Google is still the easiest way to hack Google.

Ticketmaster hacked their competition 7 years ago and is only now paying a fine for it, Twitter is being fined almost half a million Euros for its breach handling, and Sabre Corp has now settled with 27 states over data breach.

WhatsApp won’t let you use it if you don’t want it to have your data tied to the rest of Facebook. The bigger you are, the bigger the target is on your back.

The “secure communication” tool Telegram tells everyone your precise location if you enable location support. One of my favorite browser extensions, The Great Suspender, changed hands in 2020 and the new publisher has recently been caught using it to distribute malware under the guise of analytics. Shopify, BigCommerce and other large sales platforms are being targeted with a card skimmer.

Mozilla (creator of Firefox and Thunderbird) wants the entire Internet to be used to censor certain publishers (that’s a bad thing), which is sad since they recently dropped support for PWAs (that’s a good thing).

Speaking of censorship and cancel culture, a potential new federal banking rule could put an end to the social/financial terrorism employed by cancel culture devotees. However, Big Tech censorship is at an all-time high in the wake of “riots” that were tame for the last year.

Corellium is protected by Fair Use and Tim Cook is going to have to testify more than a mere 4 hours about how his elimination of competition and closed ecosystem aren’t “really” a monopoly.

Ledger Wallet, T-Mobile (yet again), Amazon partner Juspay, Ubiquiti, Nintendo, 21 Buttons, Sangoma Technologies, Dental Care Alliance, Koei Tecmo, and Apex Laboratory all suffered data leaks/breaches.

Zoom, however, willingly shared their US user data with China.

Facebook’s recent Instagram hack exposed a massive click farm.

Google has had several service outages in the last month, as has Apple and even #Slack.

WinZip is vulnerable to a MitM attack (dude, no SSL, really?!).

Google broke SMS on many Android devices, your RAM can be used to exfil data from your device, Apple iPhone assembly plant Wistron in India has been suspended after a riot causes $60 million in damages. That may be a good thing, though, since the Apple MagSafe chargers can deactivate pacemakers.

macOS Preview is damaging PDFs (again).

Apple has removed the ability to download combo updates for Big Sur. This is going to cause serious security problems for the vast majority of the world that doesn’t have Bay Area bandwidth available to them.

In a good move, Apple has upset Facebooks advertising ecosystem by preventing certain data collection and use on their latest platforms, even Google is trying to figure out how to get around the new privacy requirements.

Why don’t I trust government? It’s hard to pick just one reason, but this month has many examples. Government employees tasked with preserving election data call for its mass deletion, or “accidentally” delete the security log files, while ignoring hundreds of pages of evidence and “moving the goalposts.”

The FBI has been hiding Seth Rich’s laptop while claiming they didn’t have it, public schools are purchasing hacking tools to get the data off student’s phones, mass data collection never ends, agencies fine you for helping during a crisis or being in a car without permission, while they hack journalist’s phones and run pedophile rings out of large white government buildings in DC. Nevertheless, you should trust the math and not look behind the curtain. Or else.

By the way, streaming content that you don’t have rights to is now a felony thanks to a nearly 6,000 page bill passed without anyone reading it. Hypocrisy is their bread and butter. Which is why they have such religiously held beliefs that violate all common sense.

Now for the good news:

It is now possible to integrate Everything into the Windows taskbar!

Starlink is approved for use in the UK, opening the door to true worldwide broadband.

Let’s Get Busy

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Adobe Flash Player is finally dead! There will be no more security updates released for Flash, and it’s probably the application single-most responsible for infections world-wide over the last 20 years, so it should be removed immediately. Use the utility below to remove it.
Win: https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html
Mac: https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html

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

Microsoft released updates for Windows, Edge, .NET, and MSRT (~ 1.6 GB). This includes security updates. A reboot is required.

Apple released updates for macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 Catalina, Security Update 2020-007 Mojave, Safari 14.0.2, macOS Server 5.11, macOS X Combo Update 10.15.7, Brother Printer Drivers 4.1.1 and HP Printer Drivers 5.1. This includes security updates. Use Apple Software Update to install these updates. A reboot is required.

iOS 14.3 and iOS 12.5.1 are security updates. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

iPadOS 14.3 is a security update. Use Settings, General, Software Update to install the most current update.

watchOS 7.2 and watchOS 6.3 are security updates. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to install the most current version.

tvOS 14.3 is a security update. Use System, Software Update to install the most current version.

Google Chrome OS 87.0.4280.142 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

Driver Updates

If you’re using this hardware – these updates are for you.

Crucial Storage Executive 6.09 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive

Display Driver Uninstaller 18.0.3.5 improves removal of various artifacts. This is not a security update.
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu

nVidia 461.09 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 1.18.78 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://brave.com/

Google Chrome 87.0.4280.141 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.google.com/chrome/

Microsoft Edge 87.0.664.75 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

Firefox 84.0.2 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

Firefox ESR 78.6.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/

Iridium 2020.11 is a security update (but still not patched to the current Chromium security updates). Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://iridiumbrowser.de/

Vivaldi 3.5.2115.87 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 78.6.1 is a security update. Use Menu, Help, About to install the most current version.
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

Internet Updates

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

Facebook Messenger 20201207 is a security update, but is still a month behind the current chromium security level. You should remove Facebook Messenger if you have it installed.
https://www.messenger.com/download

Trillian 6.4.0.2 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.trillian.im/

curl 7.74.0 is a security update.
https://curl.haxx.se/windows/

Dropbox 112.4.321 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://www.dropbox.com/

FileZilla Client 3.52.0.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://filezilla-project.org/

FreeFileSync 11.5 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

Minds 4.7.0 improves data use and channel header, restyles posts, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.minds.com/mobile

Npcap 1.10 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nmap.org/npcap/

Technitium DNS Server 5.6 adds dynamic configuration application, adds cleanup options, block list refresh intervals, forced refresh, and resolves many other bugs. This is not a security update.
https://technitium.com/dns/

Zoom 5.4.59931.0110 adds ability to block insecure participants, force authentication, silence notifications when sharing, and management improvements. This is a security update.
https://zoom.us/

Media Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Adobe FrameMaker 2020.0.1 doesn’t provide a changelog so should be treated as a security update.
https://supportdownloads.adobe.com/detail.jsp?ftpID=7061

Adobe Bridge 11.0.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/bridge/apsb21-07.html

Adobe Captivate 2019 11.5.1.499 hotfix 1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/captivate/apsb21-06.html

Adobe InCopy 16.0 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb21-05.html

Adobe Campaign Classic Gold Standard 11, 20.3.3.9234, 20.2.4.9187, 20.1.4.9126, 19.2.4.9082, and 19.1.8.9039 are security updates.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/campaign/apsb21-04.html

Adobe Animate 21.0.2 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-03.html

Adobe Illustrator 25.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb21-02.html

Adobe Photoshop 22.1.1 is a security update.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-01.html

darktable 3.4.0 resolves over 100 issues and adds several new features. This is not a security update.
https://www.darktable.org/install/

Flickr Downloadr 3.3.3.2 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.
https://flickrdownloadr.com/downloads/

Picard 2.5.6 resolves several bugs.
https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Game Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

Steam 2020.12.21 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.steampowered.com/platform/update_history/index.php?skin=0&id=0

PlayStation PS3 4.87 improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/

PlayStation PS4 8.03 adds option to disable Game Chat Audio. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/

PlayStation PS5 20.02-02.30.00 resolves PS4 transfer bugs, text input and Wi-Fi stability issues, and improves performance. This is not a security update.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5/system-software/

Office Updates

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

Interactive Calendar 2.2 adds color schemes, resolves search issues, improves stability & performance, and fixes several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.csoftlab.com/calendar

LibreOffice 7.0.4 resolves over a hundred bugs and is now the new general release. This is not a security update.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Nextcloud Desktop 3.1.1 resolves dozens of bugs and improves compatibility. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

Notepad++ 7.9.2 resolves over three dozen issues including performance and stability. 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 4.14 is a security update.
https://tails.boum.org/install/dvd-download/index.en.html

Gpg4win 3.1.15 improves AD support and resolves a random security key selection bug. This is a security update.
https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

KeePass 2.47 resolves several bugs, improves search and options. This is not a security update.
https://keepass.info/

NSudo 8.0.1 updates libraries and adds translations. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/M2Team/NSudo/releases/latest

RogueKiller 14.8.3 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.adlice.com/download/roguekiller/

uBlock Origin 1.32.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/latest

Wireless Network Watcher 2.23 updates internal MAC addresses database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html

Capture Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

SnagIt 2021.1.0 improves transparency handling, scaling improvements, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://12pd.com/click?snagit

Converter Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

DVDFab 12.0.1.5 adds new models and profiles, improved Enlarger AI handling. This is not a security update.
https://www.dvdfab.cn/download.htm

IsoBuster 4.7 adds an option to import and export templates, improved reliability, scanning, and read handling, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.isobuster.com/download.php

MakeMKV 1.15.4 improves compatibility, implements seamless join of TrueHD streams, and resolves bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.makemkv.com/download/

Utility Updates

These are unlikely to be of interest to most people.

BulkFileChanger 1.72 adds “Photo – Date Taken” option. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bulk_file_changer.html

CCleaner 5.75.8238 adds import for “Cookies to Keep” option, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.ccleaner.com/

ControlMyMonitor 1.27 adds switches for turning on, off, and toggling on/off state. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html

Dell Command Update 4.0 adds support for DCH drivers, adds a filter for Security updates, and improves user interface. This is not a security update.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln311129/dell-command-update?lang=en

DesktopOK 8.38 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

dupeGuru 4.1.0 now uses tabs instead of windows, adds cosmetic fixes and options, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://dupeguru.voltaicideas.net/

Etcher 1.5.113 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Everything 1.4.1.1003 resolves issues with the exit switch, improves shortcuts and autofocus. This is not a security update.
https://www.voidtools.com/

GoodSync 11.5.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.goodsync.com/

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

LessMSI 1.8.0 improves usability. This is not a security update.
https://lessmsi.activescott.com/

MS ISO Downloader 8.46 adds new builds for Office 2019 for Mac, more Dell models and ISO Tools hash improvements. This is not a security update.
https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-and-office-iso-download-tool

NTLite 2.0.0.7756 resolves several bugs and improves controls. This is not a security update.
https://www.ntlite.com/download/

Aomei Partition Assistant 9.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.diskpart.com/

PointerStick 5.01 improves rendering. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

Process Monitor 3.61 adds monitoring for various registry APIs and resolves a query output bug. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

PsExec 2.21 is a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

Sysmon 13.00 adds image tampering events and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://live.sysinternals.com/

TaskSchedulerView 1.65 adds columns for Task File Created/Modified. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/task_scheduler_view.html

TeamViewer 15.13.6 is released – but their changelog is on their community site (forum) which is currently down and redirecting to a third-party site. The new build may be a security update, but I recommend disabling TeamViewer completely for the near future just to be safe.
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows/

TraceRouteOK 2.31 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/TraceRouteOK

WakeMeOnLan 1.87 updates the internal MAC addresses database. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wake_on_lan.html

WifiChannelMonitor 1.66 adds option to copy clicked cell and updates MAC addresses file. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_channel_monitor.html

WifiInfoView 2.67 adds window resizing and pagination to the properties window, and adds wildcard filter support. This is not a security update.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

WinScan2PDF 6.41 improves duplex support. This is not a security update.
https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/WinScan2PDF

WirelessKeyView 2.21 improves display and adds QR Code view (F2). 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.

Node.js 12.20.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 14.15.4 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Node.js 15.5.1 is a security update.
https://nodejs.org/en/

Redemption 5.26.0.5872 adds ability to remember SMTP passwords, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
http://www.dimastr.com/redemption/

Visual Studio Code 1.52.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://code.visualstudio.com/

Web Package Updates

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

Docker Desktop 3.0.4 resolves a stability bug. This is not a security update.
https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Drupal 9.1.2 updates libraries and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://drupal.org/download

Joomla 3.9.24 is a security update.
https://www.joomla.org/

Nextcloud Server 20.0.4 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.
https://nextcloud.com/

OpenPetra 2020.12 removes support for SQLite, improves Find, Type Ahead, and resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.openpetra.org/

phpList 3.6.0 adds blacklisting hook, and counter limits. This is not a security update.
https://www.phplist.org/

phpMyAdmin 5.0.4 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.phpmyadmin.net/

ConnectWise Control 21.1.2009.7678 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.
https://www.connectwise.com/software/control/download

WordPress 5.6 improves layout flexibility, adds new block patterns, captions, new default theme, and improved auto-update capabilities. This is not a security update.
https://wordpress.org/

Akismet 4.1.8 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

Autoptimize 2.8.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

BuddyPress 7.1.0 resolves two bugs. This is not a security update.

Contact Form 7 5.3.2 is a security update.

Social Post Feed 2.18.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Interactive World Map 3.1.9 improves compatibility. This is not a security update.

myStickymenu 2.4.9 resolves a couple bugs. This is not a security update.

W3 Total Cache 2.0.1 resolves several bugs. This is not a security update.

Widgets on Pages 1.5.0 is a security update.

WooCommerce 4.9.0 resolves dozens of bugs. This is not a security update.

Show IDs 1.1.6 improves compatibility. 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/