Category Archives: Patches and updates

Internet crime, Malware, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Things that are bad, Windows

WannaCrypt variants infecting systems worldwide

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The accidental stifling of WannaCrypt’s spread was too good to last, apparently. New versions of the ransomware — unaffected by the serendipitous domain registration of a security researcher — are now making their way around the world. You can even watch the malware spread using MalwareTech’s WannaCrypt live feed.

Our advice remains the same: make sure all your Windows computers have the relevant updates installed, including Windows XP. Microsoft’s Customer Guidance for WannaCrypt attacks is a good place to start; there are links to the updates at the bottom of that page. For more information about the exploit used by WannaCrypt, see Microsoft’s MS17-010 bulletin from March 14.

SANS has a good summary of the technical aspects of WannaCrypt.

Update 2017May16: There’s plenty of blame to go around for this mess. Microsoft is being criticized for abandoning Windows XP when it’s still widely used. Meanwhile, Microsoft is blaming the NSA’s vulnerability hoarding.

Internet crime, Malware, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Things that are bad, Windows XP

WannaCrypt ransomware: Microsoft issues updates for unsupported Windows

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Ransomware known as WannaCrypt (aka WCry, WannaCry) has already crippled as many as 75,000 unpatched Windows computers in Europe and Asia. So far it hasn’t done much damage in North America, but that could change quickly.

The flaw WannaCrypt uses to infect Windows computers was patched by Microsoft in March, but unpatched computers and those running unsupported versions of Windows were left unprotected.

Microsoft has long since stopped releasing security updates for Windows XP, but WannaCrypt is spreading quickly, and Windows XP computers are essentially defenseless against it. So Microsoft has taken the unprecedented step of publicly releasing an update that protects Windows XP computers from the flaw that WannaCrypt uses to spread.

If you manage any computers that run Windows XP, you should install the update immediately: download update for 32-bit Windows XP Service Pack 3. There’s more information about this from Microsoft.

Techdirt points out that the flaw WannaCrypt exploits was exposed in the recent NSA tool leaks. Which is exactly the problem when security organizations hoard flaws instead of reporting them responsibly.

Update 2017May14: Apparently a security researcher at MalwareTech registered a (previously unregistered) domain used by WannaCrypt as part of his investigation into the ransomware. This is standard practice, because it often allows researchers to gain a better understanding of their subject. Surprisingly, this move stopped WannaCrypt from doing any further damage.

The latest guidance from NCSC.

Opera, Patches and updates

Opera 45: user interface and ad-blocking improvements

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Though it’s not mentioned until close to the end of the page, a recent announcement on the Opera blog entitled ‘Opera is Reborn‘ is actually about a specific new version of the browser: 45.

Opera 45 includes numerous changes to the user interface, mostly related to aesthetics: colours, backgrounds, icons, and animation. The integrated ad-blocker now reloads pages automatically when ad blocking is switched on and off. Social messaging software (Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram) is now integrated into the sidebar. Video performance is improved slightly on some hardware. And you’ll now see warnings below password and credit card fields on web sites that don’t support encryption.

Many of Opera 45’s changes come from the experimental browser Neon, which Opera released a few months ago to test some ideas and elicit user feedback.

You can peruse the full change log for more information. That log includes changes to development and pre-release versions as well.

Adobe, Chrome, Edge, Flash, Internet Explorer, Patches and updates, Security

Flash 25.0.0.171

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Adobe’s software updates for April include Flash 25.0.0.171, which fixes seven security issues in previous versions. If Flash is enabled in your web browser, you should visit the official Flash About page to check its version and update if it’s not current.

As usual, Chrome will update itself with the latest Flash, and Internet Explorer and Edge get their new Flash via Windows Update.

Edge, Flash, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows

Patch Tuesday for May 2017

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Well, I was right. The announcement for May’s Patch Tuesday has almost exactly the same wording as last month’s. That’s because neither contains any useful information. No, it’s back to the new Security Update Guide, at least if you want to know what Microsoft wants to do to your computer this month.

According to my analysis of this month’s update information in the SUG, there are fifty distinct bulletins, affecting Flash, Internet Explorer, Edge, .NET, Office, and Windows. A total of fifty-six vulnerabilities are addressed. Fifteen of the vulnerabilities are categorized as Critical.

Today Microsoft also issued three advisories:

Firefox, Mozilla, Patches and updates, Security

Firefox 53.0.2

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Mozilla released Firefox 53.0.2 on May 5. The new version includes three bug fixes, one of them for a security vulnerability.

As usual, Mozilla did a lousy job of announcing the new version: in fact, they didn’t bother at all, apparently preferring to leave that job to others like the far more dependable CERT.

If you use Firefox, and you’re not sure which version you’re running, open its menu (click the ‘three horizontal lines’ icon at the top right), then click the question mark icon, then About Firefox. If an update is available, this should trigger it.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 58.0.3029.96

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A single security fix is the only change mentioned in the release announcement for the latest version of Chrome.

The change log contains forty-one changes, of which about twenty-five are minor bug fixes.

Chrome is pretty good about updating itself, but since this version includes a security fix, you should probably make sure by checking: three-dot-menu > Help > About Google Chrome. This will usually trigger an update if one is required.

Patches and updates, Security, Vivaldi

Vivaldi 1.9

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Vivaldi’s selection of search engine choices has a new member: Ecosia, which bills itself as “the search engine that plants trees with its ad revenue.” Sadly, it appears that Ecosia is very easy to manipulate, since searching for a nonsense word will show at least two ads trying to sell it to you.

Vivaldi 1.9 also fixes a few bugs, including several related to security. The release announcement provides additional details.