Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 80.0.3987.149

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Version 80.0.3987.149 of Google’s Chrome web browser is a security release. It includes fixes for at least thirteen security vulnerabilities.

Like most modern browsers, and many of Google’s software products, Chrome updates itself reliably, if somewhat unpredictably. This is arguably a good thing, as long as updates don’t break things and do improve security.

Regardless of your viewpoint on automatic updates, keeping your web browser up to date is critical if you use it to do any actual web browsing. Otherwise the risk of a drive-by malware infection is significantly higher.

To check the version of your Chrome browser, navigate its three-vertical-dots menu to Help > About Google Chrome. If there’s a newer version, you’ll see a button or link for installing it.

Internet crime, Spam and scams, Things that are bad

COVID-19 scams are everywhere

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Major events are viewed as opportunities by scammers worldwide. Same as it ever was. These days, the scammer’s tools of choice involve computers, because the potential victim pool is far beyond any alternative.

In keeping with this sad reality, COVID-19 scams are showing up everywhere on the web, and in our email inboxes.

Please exercise caution when you receive email or visit web sites that advertise cures, or entice you to click links or open attachments claiming to provide COVID-19/Coronavirus help.

If you’re looking for legitimate information about COVID-19, visit the web sites of major health organizations and local governments.

In Canada, visit the federal government’s COVID-19 page.

In the USA, try the web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For a global overview of the spread of COVID-19, see the frequently updated map of Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Ars Technica has more information about this.

Adobe, Patches and updates, Security

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 20.006.20042

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Adobe logoA new version of Adobe’s free PDF document viewer, Acrobat Reader DC, was released on March 17.

According to the release announcement, Reader 20.006.20042 addresses thirteen security vulnerabilities in earlier versions. Many of these bugs were detected and reported by third-party researchers, who are credited in the announcement.

If you use Reader, and particularly if you use it to open PDF files you obtain from email and the web, you should make sure it’s up to date.

Newer versions of Reader typically update themselves when they detect new versions, but since it’s not clear what triggers these updates, you might want to check your version and update it yourself.

Check the version of your Reader by navigating its menu to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC... If you’re not running the latest version, update it via Help > Check for Updates...

Firefox, Mozilla, Patches and updates, Privacy, Security

Firefox 74.0

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A new version of Firefox fixes some annoying problems with pinned tabs, improves password management, adds the ability to import bookmarks from the new Chromium-based Edge, resolves some long-standing issues with add-on management, introduces Facebook Container, and addresses several bugs, including twelve security vulnerabilities.

The release notes for Firefox 74.0 provide the details.

Starting with Firefox 74.0, it is no longer possible for add-ons to be installed programmatically. In other words, add-ons cannot be added by software; it can only be done manually by the user. Add-ons that were added by software in previous versions of Firefox can now be removed via the Add-ons manager, something that was previously not possible.

Facebook Container is a new Firefox add-on that “works by isolating your Facebook identity into a separate container that makes it harder for Facebook to track your visits to other websites with third-party cookies.” People who are concerned about Facebook’s ability to track their activity across browser sessions and tabs can use this add-on to limit that tracking, without having to access Facebook in a separate browser.

You can wait for Firefox to update itself, which — assuming that option is enabled — may take a day or so, or you can trigger an update by navigating Firefox’s ‘hamburger’ menu to Help > About Firefox. You’ll see an Update button if a newer version is available.

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

Patch Tuesday for March 2020

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Happy Patch Tuesday! Today’s gifts from the always-generous folks at Microsoft include forty-two updates, addressing one hundred and fifteen security bugs in Internet Explorer (9 and 11), Edge (the original version, not the one built on Chromium), Office (2010, 2016, and 2019), Windows (7, 8.1, and 10), and Windows Server.

You can dig into all the gory details over at the Microsoft Security Update Guide.

Computers running Windows 10 will update themselves at Microsoft’s whim over the coming days.

Windows 8.1 users can still exercise some freedom of choice in deciding when to install updates, but I encourage everyone to install them as soon as possible. Even with Microsoft’s recent bungling, you’re arguably better off with security fixes than without, even if those updates sometimes cause other problems.

To install updates on your Windows 8.1 computer, go to the Windows Control Panel and open Windows Update.

If you’re running Windows 7, you may be surprised to note that some of this month’s updates are available for that no-longer-officially-supported version. That’s because while those updates definitely exist, they’re not technically available to the general public.

To get access to the Windows 7 updates, you need to sign up for Extended Security Updates for Windows 7. This is typically only done by Enterprise users (businesses and educational institutions) who need more time to migrate computers to newer versions of Windows. For regular folks, the cost of ESU seems likely to be prohibitive.

The more adventurous among you might want to experiment with hacks to get around this limitation for Windows 7 updates. Apparently people are finding some success doing this.

Mac, Tools

Hook: find without searching

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A new software tool from CogSci Apps called Hook lets you link together web sites, emails, documents, and many other resoures, making it a simple matter to find those resources again later. Open one resource, then use Hook to open any or all of the related resources.

Here’s an exerpt from the Hook web site:

Hook for macOS
Find without searching.
Instantly access the information you need, without searching. Whether it’s in the Finder, email, on the web, in the cloud, a version-control system, … almost anywhere.

Currently available only for Mac, a Windows version is in the early planning stages.

If you have a Mac and want to try Hook, you can download the free version from the Hook Download page.

Paid versions of Hook include more features. You can see how the different versions compare on the Hook Buy page.

JRC is a CogSci Apps affiliate. If you purchase a paid version of Hook within 30 days after visiting the Hook Buy page using any Hook Buy page link on this page, Jeff Rivett Consulting will receive 15% of the purchase price.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 80.0.3987.122

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Three more security vulnerabilities are fixed in the latest Chrome, version 80.0.3987.122.

According to the release notes, one of the vulnerabilities fixed in Chrome 80.0.3987.122 is already being exploited ‘in the wild’ so anyone using Chrome should check their version and update immediately.

To determine whether you need to install the new version, navigate Chrome’s menu button () to Help > About Google Chrome. You’ll see the current version, and if a newer one is available, there should be a button that allows you to install it.

Chrome, Google, Patches and updates, Security

Chrome 80.0.3987.116

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Sometimes when Google releases a new version of Chrome, the release announcement doesn’t mention any security fixes. That’s intentional:

Note: Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.

Chrome 80.0.3987.116 was announced on February 18, but the initial announcement didn’t include any mention of five security vulnerabilities that were fixed in that version. Those details were added a few days later.

Three of the vulnerabilities addressed in Chrome 80.0.3987.116 were reported to Google by third party security researchers.

To check your current version of Chrome, click its menu button (three vertical dots) and navigate to Help > About Google Chrome. If a newer version is available, you should see a button or link that allows you to install it.

Rants and musings on topics of interest. Sometimes about Windows, Linux, security and cool software.

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