Out-of-Band Java SE Update

Oracle released an out-of-band update for its Java SE Runtime Environment software.  The update contains bug fixes for Oracle Java SE.  

Update

If Java is still installed on your computer, it is recommended that this update be applied as soon as possible due to the threat posed by a successful attack.

Download Information

Download link:  Java SE 8u144

Verify your version:  http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp. Note:  The Java version verification page will only work if your browser has NPAPI support.  In that case, to check open a cmd window and enter the following (note the space following Java): 

java - version

Notes:

• Minimally, UNcheck any pre-checked toolbar and/or software options presented with the update. They are not part of the software update and are completely optional.  Preferably, see the instructions below on how to handle "Unwanted Extras". 
• Starting with Java SE 7 Update 21 in April 2013, all Java Applets and Web Start Applications should be signed with a trusted certificate.  It is not recommended to run untrusted/unsigned Certificates.  See How to protect your computer against dangerous Java Applets

Critical Patch Updates

For Oracle Java SE Critical Patch Updates, the next scheduled dates are as follows:

• 17 October 2017
• 16 January 2018
• 17 April 2018
• 17 July 2018

Unwanted "Extras"

Although most people do not need Java on their computer, there are some programs and games that require Java.  In the event you need to continue using Java, How-to Geek discovered a little-known and  unpublicized option in the Java Control Panel to suppress the offers for the pre-checked unwanted extras that Oracle has long included with the updates.  Although the Ask Toolbar has been removed, tha does not preclude the pre-checked option for some other unnecessary add-on.

Do the following to suppress the sponsor offers:

1. Launch the Windows Start menu
2. Click on Programs
3. Find the Java program listing
4. Click Configure Java to launch the Java Control Panel
5. Click the Advanced tab and go to the "Miscellaneous" section at the bottom.
6. Check the box by the “Suppress sponsor offers when installing or updating Java” option and click OK.

Java Security Recommendations

1)  In the Java Control Panel, at minimum, set the security to high.
2)  Keep Java disabled until needed.  Uncheck the box "Enable Java content in the browser" in the Java Control Panel.

3)  Instructions on removing older (and less secure) versions of Java can be found at http://java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml

References

• Java SE 8u144 Update Release Notes
• Java, The Never-Ending Saga  
• Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - July 2017
• Critical Patch Updates, Security Alerts and Third Party Bulletin
• Oracle Quality Assurance Blog 

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Java SE Critical Security Update

Oracle released the scheduled critical security updates for its Java SE Runtime Environment software.  The update contains 32 new security fixes for Oracle Java SE.  28 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e., may be exploited over a network without requiring user credentials. 

Update

If Java is still installed on your computer, it is recommended that this update be applied as soon as possible due to the threat posed by a successful attack.

Download Information

Download link:  Java SE 8u141

Verify your version:  http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp

Notes:

• Minimally, UNcheck any pre-checked toolbar and/or software options presented with the update. They are not part of the software update and are completely optional.  Preferably, see the instructions below on how to handle "Unwanted Extras". 
• Starting with Java SE 7 Update 21 in April 2013, all Java Applets and Web Start Applications should be signed with a trusted certificate.  It is not recommended to run untrusted/unsigned Certificates.  See How to protect your computer against dangerous Java Applets

Critical Patch Updates

For Oracle Java SE Critical Patch Updates, the next scheduled dates are as follows:

• 17 October 2017
• 16 January 2018
• 17 April 2018
• 17 July 2018

Unwanted "Extras"

Although most people do not need Java on their computer, there are some programs and games that require Java.  In the event you need to continue using Java, How-to Geek discovered a little-known and  unpublicized option in the Java Control Panel to suppress the offers for the pre-checked unwanted extras that Oracle has long included with the updates.  Although the Ask Toolbar has been removed, tha does not preclude the pre-checked option for some other unnecessary add-on.

Do the following to suppress the sponsor offers:

1. Launch the Windows Start menu
2. Click on Programs
3. Find the Java program listing
4. Click Configure Java to launch the Java Control Panel
5. Click the Advanced tab and go to the "Miscellaneous" section at the bottom.
6. Check the box by the “Suppress sponsor offers when installing or updating Java” option and click OK.

Java Security Recommendations

1)  In the Java Control Panel, at minimum, set the security to high.
2)  Keep Java disabled until needed.  Uncheck the box "Enable Java content in the browser" in the Java Control Panel.

3)  Instructions on removing older (and less secure) versions of Java can be found at http://java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml

References

• Java SE 8u131 Update Release Notes
• Java, The Never-Ending Saga  
• Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - July 2017
• Critical Patch Updates, Security Alerts and Third Party Bulletin
• Oracle Quality Assurance Blog 

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Pale Moon Version 27.4.0 Released with Security Updates

Pale Moon version 27.4.0 has been released with security fixes, including DiD* patches.

*DiD stands for "Defense-in-Depth" and is a fix that does not apply to an actively exploitable vulnerability in Pale Moon but prevents future vulnerabilities caused by the same code when surrounding code changes, exposing the problem.

This is a major update to address most of the media streaming issues users have had.  In addition, the update includes enhancements, bug fixes and security fixes to the browser.


Details from the Release Notes:

Security fixes:

• Removed preloading of HPKP hosts and enabled HPKP header enforcement.
• Added support for TLS 1.3, the up-next secure connection protocol.
• Fixed an issue with TLS 1.3 not supporting renegotiation by design.
• Relaxed some restrictions for CSP to temporarily work around web compatibility issues with the CSP-3 deprecated child-src directive.
• Updated NSS to 3.28.5.1-PM to address some security issues.
• Updated the installer selfextractor module to address unsafe loading of libraries.
• Changed the way certain resources are included to reduce effectiveness of some common fingerprinting techniques. (e.g. browserleaks.org)
• Fixed a regression in the display of security information in the page info dialog for insecure content.
• Fixed two potential issues with allocating memory for video. DiD
• Fixed a potential issue with the network prediction algorithm. DiD
• Restricted the use of Aspirational scripts in IDNs to prevent domain spoofing, in anticipation of the UAX#31 update making this official.
• Prevented a Mac font specific issue that could be abused for domain spoofing (CVE-2017-7763)
• Fixed several potentially exploitable crashes. (CVE-2017-7751) (CVE-2017-7757) and some that do not have a CVE designation.

Changes/fixes:

• Completely re-worked the Media Source Extensions code to make it spec compliant, and asynchronous as per specification for MSE with MP4. This should fix playback problems on YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo and other sites that previously had some issues. A massive thank you to Travis for his tireless work on making this happen!
  Please note that MSE+WebM (disabled by default) is not using this new code yet (planned for the next release), and as such there is a temporary set of things to keep in mind if you don't use default settings:
  
  • If you have previously enabled MSE+WebM, this setting will be reset when you update to avoid conflicting settings with the updated MSE code.
  • We've added an extra setting in Options to disable the updated MSE code (asynchronous use) in case you need to use WebM or are otherwise having issues with the updated code (please let us know in that case).
  • Once again, the MSE+WebM and Asynchronous MSE use are currently mutually exclusive. You can have one or the other, not both, until we sort out the code for WebM. To enable MSE+WebM you will first have to disable Asynchronouse MSE in settings (otherwise the WebM setting will be greyed out and disabled).
• Added a control in options/preferences for HSTS and HPKP usage.
• Changed HTML bookmark exports to write CRLF line endings to the file on Windows.
• Leveraged multi-core rendering for libVPX (VP8/VP9 WebM decoding).
• Fixed some issues accessing DeviantArt (useragent-sniffing).
• Aligned CSS text-align with the spec.
• Added a recovery module for browser initialization issues (e.g. when using a wrong language pack).
• Fixed spurious console errors for XHR requests with certain http response codes.
• Enabled v-sync aligned refresh for a smoother scrolling experience.
• Removed support for CSS XP-theme media queries.
• Improved console error reporting.
• Fixed resetting toolbars and controls from the safe mode dialog.
• Fixed bookmark recovery option from the safe mode dialog.
• Fixed innerText getters for display:none elements.
• Fixed a GL buffer crash that might occur with certain combinations of drivers and hardware.
• Added some more details to about:support.
• Fixed a potential crash when the last audio device is removed during playback.
• Fixed a crash on about:support when windowless browsers are created.
• Updated elements to blank if the actively set value doesn't match any of the options.
• Updated the interpretation of 2-digit years in date formats to match other browsers: 0-49 = 2000-2049, 50-99 = 1950-1999.
• Added q units to CSS (quarter of a millimeter).
• Added .origin property to blobs.
• Fixed several minor layout issues.
• Fixed disabled HTML elements not producing the proper JS events.
• Implemented web content handler blacklist according to the spec, allowing more than feeds to be registered.
• Fixed a spec compliance issue with execCommand() on HTML elements.
• Fixed a problem with table borders being drawn uneven or being omitted when zooming the page.
• Added devtools "filter URLs" option in the network panel.
• Added visual sorting options to the Network inspector.
• Added importing of login data from Chrome profiles on Windows (Chrome has to be closed first).
• Added importing of tags from bookmark export files (HTML format).
• Updated usage of SourceMap headers with the updated spec (SourceMap header, keeping X-SourceMap as a fallback).
• Fixed several cases of wrongly-used negations in JS modules.
• Added the auxclick mouse event.
• Added a control to not autoplay video unless it is in view (media.block-play-until-visible).
• Updated the Graphite font library to 1.3.10.
• Updated how image and media elements respond to window size changes (responsive design).
• Added parsing and use of rotation meta data in video.
• Fixed several crashes in a number of modules.
• Fixed performance regression for scaling large vector images (e.g. MSIE Chalkboard test)
• Fixed some issues with notification icons.
• Fixed some internal errors with live bookmarks.
• Updated SQLite to 3.19.3.
• Fixed several reported issues with devtools (cli-cookies, cli help, copying cURL, inspecting SVGs, element size calculations, etc.)
• Fixed an issue where a server response was allowed to override add-ons' specified version ranges even for add-ons that have strict compatibility (e.g. themes, language packs).

Minimum system Requirements (Windows):

• Windows Vista/Windows 7/8/10/Server 2008 or later
• Windows Platform Update (Vista/7) strongly recommended
  
• A processor with SSE2 instruction support
  
• 256 MB of free RAM (512 MB or more recommended)
  
• At least 150 MB of free (uncompressed) disk space

Pale Moon includes both 32- and 64-bit versions for Windows, Pale Moon Portable, Pale Moon for Linux and Pale Moon for Android.

Update

To get the update now, select "Help" from the Pale Moon menu at the upper left of the browser window.  Select About Pale Moon > Check for Updates.

References:

• Download
• Known Issues
• Pale Moon Add-ons
• Release Notes

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Microsoft Security Updates for July, 2017

The July security release consists of security updates for the following software:

• Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office Services and Web Apps
• .NET Framework
• Adobe Flash Player
• Microsoft Exchange Server

The updates address Remote Code Execution, Denial of Service, Information Disclosure and Elevation of Privilege in 57 CVE's in which 19 are Critical, 35 Important, and 3 Moderate in severity.

For more information about the updates released today, see https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/summary.  Updates can be sorted by OS from the search box. Information about the update for Windows 10 is available at Windows 10 Update history.

For a complete list of the CVEs addressed in the July update, see the The July 2017 Security Update Review by Dustin Childs.

Additional Update Notes

• Adobe Flash Player -- For Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1 and Windows 10, Adobe Flash Player is now a security bulletin rather than a security advisory and is included with the updates as identified above.
• MSRT -- Microsoft released an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center. 
• Windows 10 -- A summary of important product developments included in each update, with links to more details is available at Windows 10 Update History. The page will be regularly refreshed, as new updates are released.

References

• Release Notes
• Security Update FAQ
• Security Updates Guide
• Windows 10 Update History

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Adobe Flash Player Security Update Released

Adobe has released Version 26.0.0.137 of Adobe Flash Player for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Chrome and Linux.

These updates address vulnerabilities could lead to remote code execution, information disclosure and Memory address disclosure..

Release date:  July 11, 2017
Vulnerability identifier: APSB17-21
CVE Numbers:   CVE-2017-3080, CVE-2017-3099, CVE-2017-3100
Platform: Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Chrome OS

Update:

• With the option to 'Allow Adobe to install updates', the update will be automatic. Without that setting enabled, either install the update via the update mechanism when prompted or via the Download Center*.
• Windows 7 and earlier:  Installation links for Windows 7 and earlier are provided by Adobe at Installation problems | Flash Player | Windows 7 and earlier: 
• Flash Player for Internet Explorer - ActiveX 
• Flash Player for Firefox/Pale Moon - NPAPI
• Flash Player for Opera and Chromium-based browsers - PPAPI
• Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11:  Adobe Flash Player will be automatically updated to the latest version for Windows 8.1 and 10.
• Google Chrome:  Adobe Flash Player will be automatically updated to the latest Google Chrome version.
• Flash Player Uninstaller:  http://download.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/support/uninstall_flash_player.exe
• Adobe AIR:  Adobe - Adobe AIR

*Important Note:  Downloading the update from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center link includes a pre-checked option to install unnecessary extras, such as McAfee Scan Plus or Google Drive.  If you use the download center, uncheck any unnecessary extras that you do not want.  They are not needed for the Flash Player update.

Verify Installation

To verify the Adobe Flash Player version number installed on your computer, go to the About Flash Player page, or right-click on content running in Flash Player and select "About Adobe Flash Player" from the menu. 

Do this for each browser installed on your computer.

To verify the version of Adobe Flash Player for Android, go to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Adobe Flash Player x.x.

References

• Adobe Priority Ratings
• AIR Download Center 
• Installing and Updating Flash Player - FAQ
• Release Notes:  Flash Player® 26 AIR® 26
• Security Bulletin
• PSIRT

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Windows Insider MVP!

What a great way to start the day!  🐱‍👤

"Congratulations! Thank you for your continued contributions to the Windows community, we are excited to re-award you as a Windows Insider MVP. This award is a token of our appreciation, your leadership and passion help make Windows the best yet. We look forward to our on-going collaboration with you and all of our Windows Insider MVPs as we continue to strengthen the Windows Insider MVP (WI MVP) Program."

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...