Tuesday May 14, 2013
Today is Patch Tuesday. May's patches consist of 10 updates that correct 32 unique security issues across Microsoft Windows operating systems and some other Microsoft software.
What Do These Security Updates Do?
These patches from Microsoft update several individual files involved in making Windows and other Microsoft software work.
Do I Need These Security Updates?
You need these updates if you're running any currently supported, 32-bit or 64-bit, Windows operating system: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP, plus Windows server versions and Windows RT.
Security updates are also being pushed for Microsoft Publisher, Word, Visio, Communicator, and Lync. The free Microsoft Word Viewer and Windows Essentials applications are also being updated to fix security-related issues.
A few of this month's updates fix problems so serious that if left unpatched, it's possible that someone could gain access to your computer in very specific situations. These issues are given a Critical severity rating.
Most of the fixes this month aren't quite as serious but are security issues that should be corrected nonetheless. Some of these were given a severity rating of Important while others were categorized as Moderate.
Are There Any Non-Security Updates This Month?
Yes, including several non-security fixes for Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 7, and current Windows Server versions. A Root Certificates update is also being pushed out, as well as several .NET Framework 4.5 updates.
Firmware and driver updates are also going out for Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets.
Also, as usual, Microsoft is pushing this month's update to the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.
There may also be non-security updates included this month for Microsoft software other than Windows. See the Non-Security Updates link below for details.
Patch Tuesday Problems
This blog post has become Grand Central Station for Patch Tuesday problems each month. While updates from Microsoft rarely result in widespread problems with Windows itself, they do frequently cause specific issues with software or drivers provided by other companies.
Please see How To Prevent Windows Updates From Crashing Your PC for a number of preventative measures you should take before applying these updates, including disabling fully automatic updates.
If your computer freezes during the installation of an update, see How To Recover From a Frozen Windows Update Installation for help.
If the updates installed but you're now experiencing a problem, see How To Fix Problems Caused by Windows Updates for advice on how to undo the damage.
See Windows Updates & Patch Tuesday FAQ for answers to other common questions, including "Does Microsoft test these updates before they push them out?" and "Why hasn't Microsoft fixed the problem that their update caused on my computer?!"
Automatically install: via Windows Update.
Manually install: via the individual Security Bulletins listed here. See Do I Have 32-bit or 64-bit Windows? if you're not sure which downloads to choose.
Details from Microsoft: Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for May 2013.
Non-Security Updates: New Non-Security Content for 2013.
Microsoft Surface: update history for the Surface RT and the Surface Pro.
Next Patch Tuesday: will be June 11, 2013.
A Note on the Comments Below:
I update this blog post for each Patch Tuesday by Microsoft so some of the comments left may be for previous Patch Tuesdays. You can tell which Patch Tuesday a comment is referring to by looking at the notation at the end of the comment. For example, comments addressing Patch Tuesday May 2013 will end with [PT: May 2013].
Tuesday May 14, 2013
Mozilla released Firefox v21 today, the latest version of their Firefox browser.
The major improvements in Firefox v21 over v20 involve an update to the Social API (which you can read about here), enhancements to the Do Not Track (DNT) feature, and a new feature called The Firefox Health Report, which you can learn more about in Mozilla's blog post about it here.
You can download Firefox v21 here, or just watch for the update notification next time you're using the browser.
In addition to the new features I already mentioned there were a large number o bug fixes, all of which you can read on their Firefox v20.0 Bug Fixes page. A much easier-to-digest highlight of the new features and major fixes can be found here.
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How To Clear the Cache in Firefox
Tuesday May 14, 2013
I've been blogging frequently about the upcoming major update to Windows 8. Here's what we know so far:
Fact:
- It's called Windows 8.1 (Windows Blue was just Microsoft's internal codename).
- It will be free to existing Windows 8 users.
- It will be available as a "public preview" starting on June 26, 2013.
- It will be available [as a full product] by the 2013 holiday season.
Rumor:
- It will bring back the Start menu.
- It will allow you to boot directly to the Desktop.
I'd also guess that the Windows 8.1 update for existing Windows 8 users will be available via the Windows Store on or soon after the time Microsoft is rumored to release it to manufacturers which, according to several sources, should be in August of this year.
You can read all the details in Mary Jo Foley's piece linked below. I highly recommend you follow her if you're interested in keeping up with this topic.
Microsoft Confirms Blue to be Free for Existing Windows 8 Users [Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet]
Windows Keeps Getting Better [Blogging Windows]
Any of you Windows 8 users excited for this update?
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Tuesday May 7, 2013
NVIDIA has released GeForce drivers version 320.00 beta. This update boosts performance in several games, across nearly all of NVIDIA's popular GPUs in use today, as well as fixes several issues.
Important: This NVIDIA driver is a beta release, meaning it has not been tested in-the-wild by NVIDIA, nor certified by Microsoft. I recommend that you wait for the final, WHQL release of this driver before installing it unless it fixes a serious issue you've been having or you're very interested in a new feature and are willing to take the risks of using a driver that might still have some issues. The latest WHQL certified NVIDIA GeForce driver for Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP was v314.22, which you can still download here.
Here are some of the new features, changes, and fixes available in v320.00 over previous releases:
- This is the "Game Ready" driver for Dead Island: Riptide, Start Trek, and Neverwinter.
- Increases performance in Dirt: Showdown, StarCraft II, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, and several more games.
- Adds or updates SLI profiles for Alien Fear, Neverwinter, GRID 2, Resident Evil 6, and many more.
- Fixes a number of issues with Windows 7 and Windows Vista, as well as a few in Windows 8.
- NVIDIA PhysX is at v9.12.1031 and HD Audio is at v1.3.24.1 in this release.
For complete information on v320.00, see NVIDIA's Version 320.00 Release Notes for Windows 8/7/Vista here (desktop) and here (notebook), or the Version 320.00 Release Notes for Windows XP here. All links are to PDF files.
Download Links:
Most NVIDIA GPUs are fully supported with the v320.00 driver in most current versions of Windows, including Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.
The following two downloads are for Desktop GPUs ONLY. These are the NVIDIA drivers you need if you have a video card with an NVIDIA ION/ION LE or GeForce GPU installed in your desktop computer.
32-bit Download [Windows 8, 7, Vista]
64-bit Download [Windows 8, 7, Vista]
These two downloads are for Notebook GPUs ONLY. These are the NVIDIA drivers you need if your laptop, netbook, notebook, or tablet is powered by an NVIDIA ION/ION LE or GeForce GPU.
32-bit Download [Windows 8, 7, Vista]
64-bit Download [Windows 8, 7, Vista]
Tip: Not sure if you should download the 32-bit or 64-bit driver? See Am I Running a 32-bit or 64-bit Version of Windows? for help. If you need even more assistance, head over to the GeForce Drivers page and click on the big green AUTO-DETCT YOUR GPU button.
Windows XP Drivers: NVIDIA supports Windows XP less and less with each new GPU and driver release. However, they do support many GPUs on Windows XP with their newest v320.00 drivers. You can download the 32-bit driver here or the 64-bit driver here. These drivers are only designed for desktop GPUs but you may have luck getting them to work on your notebook PC. If not, check with your notebook maker for better drivers or with NVIDIA for an older release.
Other downloads like nForce drivers, GeForce drivers for non-Windows operating systems, previous driver releases, and much more, can be found here.
Note: If you're using a relatively recent version of NVIDIA's GeForce drivers, just right-click on the NVIDIA icon in the system tray and choose Check for updates.... You can download and install the driver automatically from there. If you want to be prompted for beta driver updates, be sure to check the appropriate box in the Preferences tab.
Tip: If you're looking for an up-to-date resource on new drivers, see my Windows 7 Drivers and Windows 8 Drivers pages. I keep those pages updated with information and links to new drivers available from NVIDIA and other major hardware makers.
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