Updates

Just last week NVidia distributed a beta version of their Forceware drivers 260.89. The main feature was support for their recently launched GeForce GT 430, and although a few other improvements were mentioned there was nothing really outstanding. This time around the company offers the final release of these drivers with pretty much the same improvements, plus support for playing back Blu-ray 3D discs when connecting your GPU to a 3D TV through HDMI. ...

Nokia released its first major firmware for Nokia C7 (RM 675) for all Versions. The new firmware should be available in a few days via NSU or OTA. There is no changelog, because it’s the first and initial firmware. This firmware is for RM675 for all countries and regions. you can check here your product code, if it’s available for you, too. or start your Nokia Software Updater (NSU).

Windows Phone 7 officially launched 11Oct at a press event in NYC Monday morning. You can check out more here – http://www.windowsphone7.com By the way, if you have any doubts about the platform or it’s responsiveness, you should really watch this video here – http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windowsphone/videoGallery.aspx?contentID=wp7_unveil03&WT.z_convert=Share Seriously, watch the video. The responsiveness of the device is just flat out amazing. No lag whatsoever. If you’ve been a Windows Mobile user, this is a VERY, VERY good thing to see. I currently have a HTC Touch Pro 2 and the delay is soooo irritating. It’s even faster than my ZuneHD. Wait until you see the Bing Maps responsiveness, or the Bing Search (using Voice) feature. ...

Windows/Mac/Linux: Chrome has hit version 8 in its Dev builds, adding more solid graphics acceleration to the web using your video hardware, along with a few new Labs features that herald the coming of Chrome OS. If you’re using the Dev channel, open up a tab and type in about:labs. You’ll notice features there to turn off outdated plug-ins, enable “Remoting” support for Chrome, turn on the very useful Google Instant in the Chrome Omnibar, and enable a few other useful features, including GPU acceleration of the HTML5 Canvas feature. ...

As announced last Friday, Microsoft released 16 security bulletins on the October Patchday. They fix security vulnerabilities in various Windows operating systems and components like Internet Explorer, Windows Kernel, .Net frameworks, and Microsoft Office. Affected are all operating systems from Windows XP to Windows Server 2008 R2. Office needs to be updated from version XP to 2010 – also the Mac OS flavours. The patches fix critical rated vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 to 8. ...

The Redmond company today announced that it plans to release 16 security bulletins on coming Tuesday, Microsoft’s official monthly Patchday in October. Never before Microsoft released so many security bulletins on a Patchday. Four of these security bulletins are rated critical by the company. Thus they allow attackers to inject malicious code into computers without user interaction. Ten get the rating important, and another two are rated moderate. ...

Adobe just released Reader and Acrobat version 9.4. The new release fixes some critical vulnerabilities which allow attackers to infect PCs – for example, just by browsing the net. Overall the update lists 23(!) entries in the CVE database as being solved with version 9.4. The new version is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Unix systems. For those who still use the version 8, Reader and Acrobat 8.2.5 for Windows and Mac fix the security vulnerabilities. Windows and Mac users can download the updated version at Adobes download center, while Unix users need to download the new release from Adobe’s ftp server.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 is now out of beta. Download links in bottom of page. This package contain most essential programs needed for your digital life: Windows Live Essentials 2011 Advanced made easy Do more with Windows on your PC with free programs from Microsoft for photos, movies, instant messaging, email, social networking, and more. Get it all in one simple download. To see if your system support this program, check System requirements ...

Adobe fixed the vulnerability in Flash Player in a record time again. Just one week after the 0-day became public and started to get exploited, an update is available to close the security hole. Even though Adobe Reader and Acrobat are affected (which are supposed to get an update in 2 weeks), until now we’ve only seen exploits against the Windows Flash Player. Users and administrators should update their Flash Player as soon as possible! The version 10.1.85.3 fixes the issue for Windows, Unix, Solaris and is available through Adobe’s download center. Android users can get the update to 10.1.95.1 on the Android Market Place.

Google released version 6.0.472.59 of its Chrome web browser. It fixes 10 security vulnerabilities; 1 is only affecting Mac OS X and critical, 6 are rated “high” in their severity. As usual, the update should get delivered and installed automatically – but it doesn’t hurt to check via the “Info about Chrome” option in the “settings” menu whether the new version is already installed. The Mozilla developers pulled the update to Firefox 3.6.9 due to some stability issues some users experienced. Now Firefox 3.6.10 is available which fixes the security vulnerabilities like 3.6.9 and also the instabilities. It is available via “Help” – “Check for Updates” and should be installed ASAP, too.

The Mozilla foundation just released the popular web browser Firefox in version 3.6.9. The new version fixes overall 14 security vulnerabilities of which 10 are rated critical by the developers. Additionally, they added a new feature called “X-FRAME-OPTIONS“-header which shall help mitigating clickjacking attacks as web site owners can ensure with this header that their content isn’t inserted into other sites via frames. The update is available through the automatic update mechanism ( via the “Help” – “Search for updates” menu). ...

Microsoft discontinued support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 on July 13th, and that means there is no SP2 update for the recent LNK shortcut vulnerability (KB2286198). If you review the comments from this SANS Diary post, you’ll see that there was some initial confusion regarding SP2 support, due to a typo in Microsoft’s Security Bulletin (MS10-046). The bulletin is now corrected. However, even today, the download for Windows XP still includes SP2 in the file properties. ...

Hey Admins…. It’s that time again. The second Tuesday is upon us and May so far hasn’t been demanding as far as patching goes. So far …. this month Microsoft has only issued two security announcements. MS10-030 and MS10-031. Microsoft has rated both as critical – and both could result in remote code being executed. MS10-030 resolves an integer overflow in POP3 & IMAP mail responses to Outlook Express and Windows Mail…. MS10-031 addresses a stack memory corruption related to the way that “Visual Basic for Applications” searches for ActiveX components, when host applications provide specially crafted files to the Visual Basic runtime. ...

If you’re a fan of cloud storage service Dropbox and own an iPad, it’s your lucky day. The iPhone version was already quite good, but Dropbox have now updated the app for better iPad support. The new version of the app, available for free here [warning: iTunes link], makes great use of the extra screen real estate afforded by the iPad and takes advantage of both portrait and landscape modes. A few other visual niceties separate the iPad from the iPhone version, making an overall slicker appearance and implementation on the larger device. ...

A universe filled with kaleidoscopic colors blazes across your desktop in this theme for Windows 7, revealed by the infrared imaging of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Discover more about Spitzer’s unique view of stars, nebulae, and galaxies on the Spitzer Space Telescope website. Download: NASA Hidden Universe Theme Download ...