Adobe Shockwave Player: Critical Security Update to v11.6.4.634

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Adobe has again done the right thing and ignored their own idiotic quarterly updates schedule. I'm glad someone over there has a brain in their head. This time the problem is with Adobe Shockwave Player. Adobe says:

These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker, who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities, to run malicious code on the affected system.

Update Adobe Shockwave Player to version 11.6.4.634 immediately. You can download it here:


http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/otherversions/


A good article about the many dangerous security flaws in the previous version is available at ZDNet:

Adobe plugs critical holes in Shockwave Player

You can read Adobe's detailed explanation of the critical security issues here:

Security update available for Adobe Shockwave Player

And for those interested: 

ALL the critical security flaws are due to poor memory management, still the bane of modern code engineering. (o_0)

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VLC Update!Version 1.0.6 Is Available

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[-->Please note that the link for VLC v1.0.6 was inexplicably taken down from the VLC Intel nightly builds site, leaving only the link for v1.1rc, the 64-Bit branch, which is buggy. The only linked version at the standard Mac download page is v1.0.5, which you do NOT want to use due to security flaws. I'm attempting to get the VLC gang to reinstate the v1.0.6 link. In the meantime, v1.1rc generally works fine except for a crash-at-Quit bug, which thankfully is entirely ignorable. :-Derek]
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UPDATE!

Hey kids. I found that in April some terrific folks on the Mac side of the VLC project have gotten things going again and have provided an update past VLC v1.0.5. You can download the lastest version of VLC at the source page for VLC media player Mac OS X Intel nightly builds. (Sorry PPC users, you are SOL).

Be sure to read the notes at the top of the page very carefully! What you probably want is the latest version of the 1.0-branch-intel stable series. Ignore the gibberish numbers in the file names. When you see '107' in the name it does NOT mean 'version 1.0.7'. ATM the latest version is v1.0.6.

There is a new branch available at the site called '1.1'. It is currently in beta and has some bugs. Thankfully it brings back 64-Bit VLC to the Mac.

Thank you very much to the Mac crew at the VLC project for great, dedicated work! Keep in mind everyone that VLC is an Open Source project, which means all the work is being donated by the developers.
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iPhone OS v3.0.1 Patches The SMS Security Hole

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Friday, July 31, Apple released iPhone OS version 3.0.1 ahead of schedule to patch the SMS security hole revealed Thursday at Black Hat USA 2009. According to the Associated Press, iPhone users must connect their iPhones to their computer in order to be alerted about the update, download and install it.

It is important to install this update ASAP. You can read Apple's description of the SMS security problem and patch HERE. Credit for discovery of the SMS problem was given to Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner.

The AP report that Google have patched the SMS problem in their Android OS. Meanwhile, Microsoft are "investigating the vulnerability" in their Windows Mobile OS. There are no announcements at Microsoft.com regarding the SMS problem at this time.
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