Category Archives: Patches and updates

Opera, Patches and updates

Opera 34 arrives

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The latest version of the Webkit-based Opera browser is 34.0.2036.25. As usual, there was no proper announcement, just this weird article on the Opera desktop blog. At least the article bothers to point out that there is a new version, referring to it as 34.

The release notes describe some changes that are not likely to excite much interest, and go on to say vaguely that the new version contains ‘Stability enhancements and bug fixes.’

The full change log for version 34 lists numerous bug fixes and improvements. It’s not clear whether Opera 34 includes any security fixes, but I like to think anything like that would have been mentioned in the change log.

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

Patch Tuesday for December 2015

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Another month, another pile o’ patches from Microsoft and Adobe. This month Microsoft is pushing out twelve updates, affecting 71 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Edge, Office, .NET and Silverlight. Eight of the updates are flagged as Critical.

Microsoft has also published a few security advisories since the last monthly update.

Adobe’s chimed in this month with a new Flash (aside: how weird would it be if they didn’t?) The new version addresses at least 78 security vulnerabilities in the veritable piece of swiss cheese we know as the Flash player. The new version is designated 20.0.0.228 on most platforms, but the version designed for use in Firefox and Safari on Windows and Mac is 20.0.0.235.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 47 released

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Google just announced another new version of Chrome. Version 47.0.2526.73 includes fixes for at least 41 security vulnerabilities.

Alas, the only complete list of changes is the change log (warning: clicking may crash your browser), which as usual includes so much detail that it’s a headache to parse. It’s thousands of lines long. I started reading it, and ten minutes later, my browser scrollbar still hadn’t moved. Presumably if this version included any noteworthy changes, Google would mention them in the release announcement.

Meanwhile, if you use Chrome, you should install the new version, because of the security fixes it contains.

Microsoft, Miscellany, Patches and updates, Privacy, Windows 10

Windows 10 miscellany

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Ed Bott noticed that the latest release of Windows 10 (1511) was mysteriously removed from availability via the Media Creation Tool. The new version can still be obtained through Windows Update. Microsoft’s explanation isn’t very helpful, and it’s rather annoying to system builders who missed the brief window during which release 1511 was available via MCT. Update #1: Ars Technica reports on the situation, noting that there are reports of serious problems with release 1511 when installed via the MCT. Update #2: Ars Technica confirms that upgrading via MCT was causing privacy settings to be reset to defaults. The problem has been fixed, and build 1511 is once again available via MCT.

Meanwhile, Microsoft apparently updated its privacy policy in response to concerns about information gathered and transmitted by Windows 10. Changes to the policy make it clear that Microsoft will only provide law enforcement access to your data on their servers, not data stored locally on your computer. Encryption keys are backed up to Microsoft servers, but Microsoft will not use them to decrypt disks or files on your computer. The collection of telemetry data cannot be disabled, but it can be limited so that only very basic data is collected, and none of it personal.

And finally, Microsoft has relented somewhat on its Windows 10 activation policy, allowing for legitimate installs using old, unused activation keys from Windows 7 or 8.

Java, Patches and updates, Security

Java 8 Update 66

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We previously wondered about the status of Java 8 Update 66, released almost simultaneously with Update 65 around October 20, since it wasn’t being installed by Java’s auto-updater and seemed to cover a lot of the same ground as Update 65.

Well, wonder no longer, since Update 66 is now officially the latest Java version. Java 8 Update 66 is the version you’ll get if you look for the latest version on the Oracle Java site, and Java’s own auto-update mechanisms will also install Update 66. According to Oracle, Java 8 Update 66 was released on November 16. The release notes provide additional details.

Microsoft, Patches and updates, Windows 7

Update MS15-115 re-released to fix crashing issues

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One of the updates released by Microsoft on Tuesday apparently caused serious crashing problems on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 computers. Microsoft has re-issued the update to resolve these problems. Anyone who already installed MS15-115 on affected Windows systems should run Windows Update again to get the new version.

The MS15-115 bulletin has been updated to show the change.

From the associated knowledge base article:

This security update was rereleased on November 11, 2015, for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to resolve the following issues:

* Resolves crashing that occurred in all supported versions of Microsoft Outlook when users were reading certain email messages.
* Resolves problems that occurred while users were logging on to the system. For example, after a user restarted the computer and then pressed Ctrl+Alt+Delete at the logon screen, the screen flashed and then went black. The user was then unable to continue. There may be other, similar logon issues that are related to this issue.

Adobe, Chrome, Flash, Google, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows

Patch Tuesday for November 2015

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It’s that time again. This month’s crop of updates from Microsoft addresses security problems in the usual suspects, namely Windows, Office, .NET and Internet Explorer. Adobe joins the fun with yet another batch of fixes for Flash, and Google releases another version of Chrome with the latest Flash.

The Microsoft security summary bulletin for November 2015 gets into all the technical details. There are twelve separate bulletins with associated updates. Four of the updates are flagged as Critical. One of the updates affects the Windows 10 web browser Edge. A total of 53 vulnerabilities are addressed.

Flash 19.0.0.245 includes fixes for at least seventeen vulnerabilities. As usual, Internet Explorer in recent versions of Windows will be updated via Windows Update. Chrome gets the new Flash via its internal updater. Anyone still using a web browser with Flash enabled should install the new Flash as soon as possible.

Chrome 46.0.2490.86 includes the latest Flash (see above) and fixes a security issue in its embedded PDF viewer.

Microsoft, Patches and updates, Windows 10

Windows 10 build 10586

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Microsoft is happy with the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build, designated 10586. That means it will find its way to your Windows 10 computer over the next week or so as the Windows 10 Fall Update. This will roughly coincide with next week’s Patch Tuesday.

My Insider Preview test machine is configured to get the latest updates, so I’ve been using 10586, and the builds that were available in the interim since the last public release (10240) for a while. Now that the test computer is running the new release version, the ‘Insider Preview build’ message is once again gone from the desktop. That will change when Microsoft pushes out the next preview version.

There’s not a lot to talk about here. Most of the changes are fairly minor, including coloured title bars, tab previews in Edge, general cleanup in user interface elements, and improvements to the Start menu. Skype will get several enhancements. Several bugs have also been fixed.

Update 2015Nov15: Ars Technica has a list of changes in the new release, and really, there’s not much of interest.

With this release, Microsoft has also changed the way it identifies Windows 10 versions. The previous release was “Version 10.0 (Build 10240).” The new release is “Version 1511 (OS Build 10586.3)” where “1511” refers to the 11th month of 2015. They like to keep us confused, don’t they?