It seems like every time I turn around, here comes another “critical security update” for my computer. The Internet bad guys keep poking holes in the programs that are important to us, and the software companies keep patching up the holes, hoping that the whole shebang will stay afloat.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad to see these updates, but it does give one pause. Is the endless cycle of updating and patching due to the software companies hiring crummy, incompetent programmers, or are the bad guys all Lex Luthor-type criminal geniuses? It’s a little bit of both, actually. What do those things mean to the ordinary computer user? Not much, really; just stay alert and keep patching.
Most folks have a hard time remembering, though, that it’s not just their Windows operating system that needs to be updated and patched. Apples’ OS X also needs regular updating, as do most of the programs that we regularly use.
Recent important patches come from our good friends at Adobe. The most widely used programs from Adobe are called Flash Player and Adobe Reader. Most animations (or, “moving pictures,” for you old geezers) that you see on websites are Flash animations. In order to view these animations, Flash must be installed on your computer. For example, visit www.nipahome.com, the website of a local music school. If you can see the rotating cube, then you have Flash installed. If you’ve ever looked at a file that ends with “.pdf” (Portable Document Format), a file type invented by Adobe, then you probably did it using Adobe Reader.
Flash and Reader have long been high-profile targets for the bad guys. The more security holes they can find in these widely-used programs, the more computers they can infect, and the more Adobe keeps releasing updates. You need these updates. Do not consider them as optional or something to be put off until you get around to it; get them as soon as possible.
Just last week Adobe released a patch for Flash Player that fixes five serious security flaws. Left un-patched, Flash Player has flaws that allow someone to attack and take control of your computer, enabling them to do pretty much whatever they want. All operating systems are affected, including Apple OS X and Linux.
Go to adobe.com/software/flash/about/ to see which version of Flash you are using. You need to be using version 10.0.22.87. If you are not using that version, go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and follow the instructions to install the latest version. You will need to check and update every browser that you have installed, i.e., Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, etc.
About two weeks ago, Adobe issued a “Security Bulletin” warning users of Adobe Reader that the program has serious flaws that could, once again, allow someone to attack and take control of your computer, enabling them to do pretty much whatever they want. This time, though, Adobe has no quick fix available. Instead, they say that a fix will be available on March 11, three days after this article goes to press. In addition, you must have Version 9 of Adobe Reader in order to install the March 11 security fix.
To see which version of Reader that you have, go to Start/All Programs and you’ll see the version listed there. If you do not have Version 9, download it at get.adobe.com/reader/. Uninstall any other versions of Reader that you may have before installing Version 9. Then, on Wednesday, March 11, run Adobe Reader and go to Help/Check for Updates. If all goes as planned, Adobe will have released the update on time and it will download and install without too much messing around. Until then, be very cautious about opening .pdf files. Happy surfing!