Patch Tuesday December 2015: Santa brought security updates for all the boys and girls.
Spiced Apple
Apple was really generous this December with the updates. Besides offering more functionality on all their products, buried deep in the details are the security bug fixes.
iPhone and iPad users: the latest version of iOS, version 9.2 was released.
Also security updates for Apple TV (4th generation) were released.
And updates for OS X El Capitan (10.11.2) improve Wi-Fi reliability, fix Bluetooth funkiness and some Mac Mail issues.
More details about the mega apple updates here.
Good King WordPress
WordPress has been updated to version 4.4.
This means a ton of popular plugins have been updated to match including JetPack and Yoast SEO.
Also WordPress.com is now offering a way to automatically update your plugins. I have been testing this with one web site for only a couple of weeks. I will update you next month on how successful the updates are. This would fix a big hole in most business web sites.
Microsoft Mistletoe
Last month Microsoft pulled one of their updates as it was the kiss of death to the privacy settings. It was later re-released.
This month Microsoft was also very generous providing fixes for 71 security vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Silverlight, Internet Explorer, and their new Edge Browser (available only in Windows 10).
Twelve patches in total and yes, you will have to reboot your computer. Details here for the technically minded.
Fa, La, La, La Flash
Adobe Flash: the plugin that just keeps on giving security problems. The December update fixes 78 separate security vulnerabilities affecting Windows, Mac and Linux.
You could uninstall it or update it yet again.
Before you head for the Christmas party (or parties) start the update process on your computers. Don’t let hackers be the Grinch and ruin the your Christmas.
