Earlier in the week, Apple announced a number of security updates for multiple software products including Leopard, Snow Leopard, iOS, Safari, etc.  Approximately 56 security vulnerabilities were patched in OS X and 45 are considered critical since Apple states that they can provide “arbitrary code execution” (i.e., someone else running software on your Mac without your knowledge/consent).

Please take a moment to run “Software Update” on your Mac and install the available patches as soon as you can.

In addition to Apple, Firefox and Adobe (Flash, Reader and Acrobat) also announced the availability of critical software patches.  Firefox and Adobe Reader updates can be installed by clicking on Help and then “Check for Updates…”  For Adobe Flash and Shockwave, the latest versions can be downloaded from the links below.

Java also released important fixes recently and the latest version is currently Version 6 Update 24 (1.6.0_24).  To check the version of Java you have installed (non-Mac), you can go to http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp

More information on updating Java can be found in an earlier blog post at https://blogs.swarthmore.edu/its/2010/11/12/freshen-up-your-java/

 

Links to download the latest Adobe Flash and Shockwave applications.