Category Archives: Time to Patch

Short posts on the latest security updates for widely-used software.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, August 2021 Edition

August 10, 2021

Microsoft today released software updates to plug at least 44 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and related products. The software giant warned that attackers already are pouncing on one of the flaws, which ironically enough involves an easy-to-exploit bug in the software component responsible for patching Windows 10 PCs and Windows Server 2019 machines.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, July 2021 Edition

July 13, 2021

Microsoft today released updates to patch at least 116 security holes in its Windows operating systems and related software. A half of dozen of the vulnerabilities addressed today are under active attack, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch for Windows Flaw

July 7, 2021

Microsoft on Tuesday issued an emergency software update to quash a security bug that’s been dubbed “PrintNightmare,” a critical vulnerability in all supported versions of Windows that is actively being exploited. The fix comes a week ahead of Microsoft’s normal monthly Patch Tuesday release, and follows the publishing of exploit code showing would-be attackers how to leverage the flaw to break into Windows computers.

Another 0-Day Looms for Many Western Digital Users

July 2, 2021

Countless Western Digital customers saw their MyBook Live network storage drives remotely wiped in the past month thanks to a bug in a product line the company stopped supporting in 2015, as well as a previously unknown zero-day flaw. But there is a similarly serious zero-day flaw present in a much broader range of newer Western Digital MyCloud network storage devices that will remain unfixed for many customers who can’t or won’t upgrade to the latest operating system.

MyBook Users Urged to Unplug Devices from Internet

June 25, 2021

Hard drive giant Western Digital is urging users of its MyBook Live brand of network storage drives to disconnect them from the Internet, warning that malicious hackers are remotely wiping the drives using a previously unknown critical flaw that can be triggered by anyone who knows the Internet address of an affected device.

Microsoft Patches Six Zero-Day Security Holes

June 8, 2021

Microsoft today released another round of security updates for Windows operating systems and supported software, including fixes for six zero-day bugs that malicious hackers already are exploiting in active attacks.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2021 Edition

May 11, 2021

Microsoft today released fixes to plug at least 55 security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software. Four of these weaknesses can be exploited by malware and malcontents to seize complete, remote control over vulnerable systems without any help from users. On deck this month are patches to quash a wormable flaw, a creepy wireless bug, and yet another reason to call for the death of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, April 2021 Edition

April 13, 2021

Microsoft today released updates to plug at least 110 security holes in its Windows operating systems and other products. The patches include four security fixes for Microsoft Exchange Server — the same systems that have been besieged by attacks on four separate (and zero-day) bugs in the email software over the past month. Redmond also patched a Windows flaw that is actively being exploited in the wild.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, March 2021 Edition

March 9, 2021

On the off chance you were looking for more security to-dos from Microsoft today…the company released software updates to plug more than 82 security flaws in Windows and other supported software. Ten of these earned Microsoft’s “critical” rating, meaning they can be exploited by malware or miscreants with little or no help from users.

Warning the World of a Ticking Time Bomb

March 9, 2021

Globally, hundreds of thousand of organizations running Exchange email servers from Microsoft just got mass-hacked, including at least 30,000 victims in the United States. Each hacked server has been retrofitted with a “web shell” backdoor that gives the bad guys total, remote control, the ability to read all email, and easy access to the victim’s other computers. Researchers are now racing to identify, alert and help victims, and hopefully prevent further mayhem.