boot13A new version of Flash was announced today. Version 11.6.602.180 fixes several security (and other) bugs and adds a few new features. The security issues are described in the associated security bulletin: APSB13-09. The rest of the changes are covered in the release notes for 11.6.602.180.
Category Archives: Windows
Patch Tuesday for March, 2013
Yes, it’s that time again. Time to update all your Windows computers, or at any rate helplessly watch as auto-update randomly siphons away your computer’s resources at the most inopportune times.
This month’s crop of updates includes a total of seven bulletins, which address vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Outlook, Visio, Silverlight, SharePoint, OneNote and Windows driver technologies.
This month’s bulletins:
- MS13-021 – Critical : Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (2809289)
- MS13-022 – Critical : Vulnerability in Silverlight Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2814124)
- MS13-023 – Critical : Vulnerability in Microsoft Visio Viewer 2010 Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2801261)
- MS13-024 – Critical : Vulnerabilities in SharePoint Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2780176)
- MS13-025 – Important : Vulnerability in Microsoft OneNote Could Allow Information Disclosure (2816264)
- MS13-026 – Important : Vulnerability in Office Outlook for Mac Could Allow Information Disclosure (2813682)
- MS13-027 – Important : Vulnerabilities in Kernel-Mode Drivers Could Allow Elevation Of Privilege (2807986)
If you can’t get enough about these patches, there’s more technical stuff over at the MSRC blog.
Advance notification of March Patch Tuesday from Microsoft
March 12th will see a new batch of updates for Windows, Office, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft software. This month there will be seven bulletins, four flagged as Critical.
Patches will become available at around 10am PDT on March 12. PCs configured for auto-updates will see the patches during the following day or so.
Technical details are available in the complete bulletin at TechNet.
More improvements to Windows 8’s dumb UI
Even before Windows 8 was released, you could find third party tools for resurrecting the missing Start menu. New software from Stardock goes even further in eliminating inexplicable Windows 8 behavior.
It’s called ModernMix, and its most notable feature brings back the ability to show applications in multiple windows concurrently. Apparently much of the underlying functionality was there in Windows 8 all along, and ModernMix just makes it possible to access the hidden goodies.
I knew eventually the world would hammer the Windows 8 mess into something usable. Attaboy, Stardock. ModernMix is currently priced at $4.99.
Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 now available
If you’re interested in using Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7, head over to this Microsoft Downloads page.
Windows 7 users with autoupdate enabled will be upgraded to IE10 in the coming weeks. Currently, the new version doesn’t appear in Windows Update, but that will also change in the near future.
IE10 is much the same as IE9, but includes Javascript performance improvements, integrated spell-checking/correcting and better adherence to web standards like CSS3.
Windows 7 users: install Service Pack 1
If you’re running Windows 7, and you haven’t already installed Service Pack 1, you should do so before April 9, 2013. After that date, Microsoft will no longer provide patches for Windows 7 without SP1. That includes security patches.
Microsoft will continue to supply patches for Windows 7 with SP1 until January 14, 2020.
The details are laid out in a related post on Microsoft’s Springboard blog.
New versions of Adobe Flash
Yesterday Adobe announced version 11.6 of the Flash player. All platforms are affected.
Version 11.6 includes several security fixes, as well as some new features.
The technical details are available in the release notes and in the related security bulletin from Adobe: APSB13-05.
Anyone using Flash (e.g. Youtube) should install the new version as soon as possible.
Patch Tuesday for February 2013
It’s that time again: time to patch your Windows systems. This month there are twelve bulletins, addressing a total of 57 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft software.
The Microsoft Security Response Center’s post has all the technical details.
Here are the individual bulletins:
Advance notification for February 2013 Patch Tuesday
This month’s Patch Tuesday is on February 12. Patches should become available starting about 10am PST.
Updates this month comprise twelve bulletins, five of them critical, that address 57 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft software.
The associated security bulletin has all the technical details.
Flash player update fixes serious security issues
Yesterday, Adobe announced an update for Flash that fixes specific security issues that are currently being exploited on the web.
Anyone who uses Flash should install the update as soon as possible.
The new version for Windows XP, Vista and 7 is 11.5.502.149. The new version for Windows 8 (available as an update from Microsoft) is 11.3.379.14.