Pokki is a freeware Start menu replacement program, previously available for Windows XP and 7. The developers recently added Windows 8 functionality, allowing users of that O/S to bring the Start menu back and avoid the goofy new user interface completely.
The Verge has a nice writeup on the new Windows 8 features in Pokki.
Oracle has released updates for all of its Java packages. The updates include a variety of bug and security fixes across all the affected Java products.
You can download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Developer Kit (JDK) appropriate for your computing environment from the Java downloads page.
Java browser plugins that are not updated as part of a JRE update will require separate updates, in some cases from the web browser developer (Chrome, Internet Explorer).
It is unclear whether these updates include fixes for the vulnerabilities reported in late September 2012. Update 2012-Oct-25: Apparently they do not, according to security researcher Adam Gowdiak.
Update 2012Oct12: Version 16.0.1 of Firefox has just been released. The new version fixes the vulnerability that caused version 16.0 to be pulled from the Firefox download site yesterday. All users are encouraged to upgrade to 16.0.1 as soon as possible.
Firefox 16.0 has been removed from the Mozilla web site due to a new vulnerability. Users who have already upgraded to the new version should either downgrade to version 15.0.1 or exercise extreme caution before visiting any unfamiliar or suspicious web site. The new vulnerability makes it possible for web sites to access information that is normally protected by the browser.
Update 2012Oct12: No exploits using this vulnerability have yet been seen in the wild, but a proof of concept has been published. The POC demonstrates the vulnerability with a few lines of Javascript code that could be embedded on a web site. Now that this POC has been made public, it’s reasonable to assume that similar code will start appearing on hacked and malicious web sites in the very near future.
Users forced to switch to Windows 8 are going to have a hard time adjusting to the new user interface. People who provide technical support for those users are going to wish they were on an extended vacation. Ars Technica provides an early glimpse at the Windows 8 support experience.
Google encourages security researchers to discover security vulnerabilities in its web browser, Chrome. The recently-concluded Pwnium 2 contest revealed one new vulnerability. A $60,000 prize was awarded to its discoverer, and within hours, a new version of Chrome (22.0.1229.94) that addresses the vulnerability was released.
Despite the fact that Windows 8 has not yet started appearing on store shelves, Microsoft is releasing a set of updates for the new operating system. Since Windows 8’s RTM (release to manufacturing), several new issues have been discovered, and the updates are intended to address those issues.
Anyone testing or evaluating Windows 8 should install the updates, which are available through Microsoft Update.
Anyone buying a new computer with Windows 8 installed on it should check for and install any pending updates immediately after powering up the computer for the first time. Anyone installing Windows 8 after it is released to retail should also immediately check for and install any pending updates.
Another new version of the Firefox web browser was released today.
The release notes for version 16.0 describe all the most notable changes, while the bug fixes page for version 16.0 lists every change.
It’s Patch Tuesday and Microsoft has released seven security bulletins, affecting Windows, Word, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft software. A total of 20 vulnerabilities are addressed by the updates. We covered the details in a previous post. As always, we encourage everyone running affected software to apply the updates as soon as possible.
Released yesterday, version 11.4.402.287 addresses security, performance and stability issues in the previous versions of Flash. Users are encouraged to install the new Flash as soon as possible.
Note that at the time of this post, the Flash Player Update Announcement on Adobe’s site shows the wrong version in the first paragraph. It should show the new version as 11.4.402.287 but instead shows it as 11.4.402.278.
Updates for Internet Explorer 10 and Google Chrome, containing associated fixes for Adobe Flash, were also released yesterday.
There’s another new version of Google’s Chrome web browser. Version 22.0.1229.92 addresses several security holes and includes a new version of Flash. The full details are available in the update announcement.
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