Apple released iTunes 11.3.1
iTunes 11.3.1 addresses a problem where subscribed podcasts may stop updating with new episodes and resolves an issue where iTunes may become unresponsive while browsing your podcasts episodes in a list.
WordPress 3.9.2
WordPress 3.9.2 is released to address some security issues.
WordPress 3.9.2 is now available as a security release for all previous versions. We strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.
This release fixes a possible denial of service issue in PHP’s XML processing, reported by Nir Goldshlager of the Salesforce.com Product Security Team. It was fixed by Michael Adams and Andrew Nacin of the WordPress security team and David Rothstein of the Drupal security team. This is the first time our two projects have coordinated joint security releases.
It is highly imperative to update to WordPress 3.9.2.
In July 2014, WordPress plugin MailPoet were found to be vulnerable and affected sites running Joomla and Magento.
Random Pick: NewerTech AdaptaDrive
For the past two days I had been installing SSD on numbers of desktop computer. One thing that would have come handy is a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter bracket. In the past, I bought several NewerTech AdaptaDrive to accommodate the need for such adapter. Once again I found myself needing such adapter. I have just ordered a few units to finish up the upgrade, properly.
NewerTech AdaptaDrive costs about $15 and can be easily purchased from Other World Computing.
iOS 8.0 beta 5
Apple seeds iOS 8.0 beta 5 build 12A4345d to Developers.
iOS 8.0 beta 5 now shows indicators when Wi-Fi calling is enabled. This feature is currently available on T-Mobile USA network.
Synology Vulnerability and Ransomware
In the early Sunday morning of August 3, 2014, a tweet by Mike Evangelist was linked on Hacker News.
Lovely. My @Synology NAS has been hacked by ransomware calling itself Synolocker. Not what I wanted to do today. pic.twitter.com/YJ1VLeKqfY
I was somewhat scared by this news as some users at Synology forums reported that they were also victims of SynoLocker which is a CryptoLocker malware which specifically targets Synology NAS. I am managing numbers of Synology NAS for a few small offices and homes. Granted that none of them are directly connected to the Internet, but I have to make sure none of them would be hacked and crypto-locked.
Make sure your Synology NAS is running the latest DSM Operating System.
For now, disable the QuickConnect service.
Disable all port-forwarding if your Synology DiskStation is behind a NAT Firewall. This is a definite inconvenience; better to be safe than sorry.
More importantly, back-up the content of your Synology NAS. Should anything happen, you still have your data. My colleague has a great advice on backing up:
As always, if you have data on your Synology that you consider irreplaceable, make sure that you have it backed up to. I’d recommend using the built in Amazon S3 client. It’s cheap and fairly easy to set up, and should help you in case of a disaster.
I personally also run a backup to another hard drive locally for rapid recovery.
Firefox 32.0 Beta 3
Firefox 32.0 Beta 2 is now available for download.
The latest build of Adobe Flash Player 14 Beta from July 23, 2014 is also available.
OS X Tips: Always Display Scroll Bars
For those who missed the scroll bar in OS X Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks (Yosemite too), fear not. Just go to System Preferences > General. Select “Always” on “Show scroll bars” option.
Well, this is one of the frequently asked questions I received from people who upgraded from OS X Snow Leopard to Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks.