Category Archives: Patches and updates

Microsoft, Patches and updates, Windows 10

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316

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Last week Microsoft pushed out another preview build for Windows 10: build 14316.

For me, the most interesting aspect of build 14316 is ability to use Linux commands from the Windows 10 command line. Getting this to actually work involves a few additional steps, including installation of Visual Studio, Microsoft’s main development platform. Sadly (for me, anyway), this essentially requires at least 4 GB of RAM, and my test PC has only 2 GB.

Build 14316 also sports improvements to Cortana, more new extensions for Edge, and better control of alerts in the Action Center. You can now switch between dark and light visual modes globally. Virtual Desktops have been enhanced with multi-desktop pinnable windows. Battery settings were improved. The Feedback Hub now allows user comments.

The BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) screen that appears when Windows crashes has been improved with QR codes. This is a neat idea, because it means you no longer have to write down the error details. Just scan the code with your smartphone to find out what the error means.

A new setting in Windows Update allows you to specify a window of time during which the computer should not be restarted automatically. Unfortunately, the window can be ten hours long at the most.

With this build, Microsoft changed the status messages that appear on your screen during installation. These messages now look more like the ones you see when installing Windows updates. This change may be partly due to the unintentionally humourous nature of the original messages. My favourite was “All your files are exactly where you left them”, which was presumably meant to be reassuring, particularly as upgrades in previous Windows versions would sometimes blow away user data.

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

Patch Tuesday for April 2016

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Microsoft offers up thirteen patches this month, addressing thirty security issues in the usual culprits: Windows, Internet Explorer, Edge, .NET, and Office. There are thirteen updates in all, six of them flagged as Critical.

The folks at SANS now provide useful summaries of Microsoft patch days, showing which vulnerabilities are addressed in each update, with multiple risk assessments.

Adobe, Flash, Patches and updates, Security

Flash 21.0.0.213 fixes 24 security issues

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Earlier this week Adobe issued a security alert about a Flash vulnerability that was (and still is) being actively exploited on the web. As expected, that vulnerability has been fixed in a new version of Flash. In all, twenty-four security vulnerabilities are addressed in Flash 21.0.0.213.

If you use a web browser with Flash enabled, you should install the new version as soon as possible. You can find out whether Flash is enabled in your browser by visiting Check-And-Secure.

As usual, Chrome will update itself with the new Flash, and Internet Explorer and Edge running on newer versions of Windows will get the new Flash via Windows Update.

Edge, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Windows 10

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14295

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Late last week, preview build 14295 started making its way to computers enrolled in the ‘Fast track’ Windows 10 Insider Preview program. Yesterday, the build was made available to computers on the ‘Slow track’.

This latest build actually includes some interesting features. Or it will when the accompanying developer tools become available. With this build, Microsoft is expanding support for Linux tools on Windows 10, including the BASH scripting language.

While not of much interest to regular users, adding Linux tools to Windows 10 shows that Microsoft is actually listening to developers and other power users.

Build 14295 also fixes some minor problems affecting XBox compatibility, the Edge browser, and Kaspersky security software.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates

Chrome 49.0.2623.110

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At what point does an update qualify as pointless? The full change log for Chrome 49.0.2623.110 contains six items, two of which involve merely changing the version number. Another publishes a small change in dependencies. One is literally about compatibility with Windows NT4. There’s nothing here that justifies all the data movement associated with mass-updating a popular piece of software like Chrome.

But hey, I guess I shouldn’t complain. I’d rather be at the “too many updates” end of that particular spectrum.

What you really need to know about the new Chrome version is that none of the issues addressed relate to security.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 49.0.2623.108

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Earlier this week, Google announced another new version of Chrome.

Version 49.0.2623.108 addresses five security issues, so if you use Chrome, you should make sure it’s up to date. Click the browser’s ‘hamburger’ menu at the top right, then select Help > About Google Chrome. If you’re not running the latest version, Chrome will start the update process automatically.

The full log lists about sixty changes in the new version, but nothing particularly interesting.