With a record number of people working from home hackers are busy trying to exploit weaknesses. They have a narrowed target since they know who the remote access service providers are, the ports and protocols they use and the weaknesses of home routers. See ZDNet links below
SECURITY
In the past 5 months Microsoft updates have contained an average of ninety fixes for CVEs, (common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE)). However, total updates are actually down from previous cycles with no new updates for Exchange and SQL products.
It is important to keep your systems updated so that security flaws are patched and your computer protected. You can delay your updates for a default of 7 days to a maximum of 35 days if you wish but remember this can leave your system vulnerable to the latest attacks.
You need to be diligent about updating your system, Old vulnerabilities exist and new variants of ransomware are appearing one, example being Try2Cry.
If you are experiencing any particular issues as you roll out this new operating system you should check out the known issues page for the latest information. You may find a fix is already available or will soon be on the way.
To read more visit this link which is the source of much of this post.
July 2020 Patch Tuesday forecast
- Expect to see a larger number of Microsoft updates this month. We are due for a new set of .NET updates and, as I mentioned above, we are overdue for a SQL server or Exchange server update.
- Servicing stack updates (SSUs) and Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for Windows 7 and Server 2008/2008 R2 are expected in the group release as usual.
- The Oracle Critical Product Update (CPU) aligns with patch Tuesday once again this quarter. Don’t forget your Java update and other OpenJDK-based products such as Amazon Correto, AdoptOpenJDK, and others which will follow close behind.
- After the surprise Adobe Flash release last month, could we see another? Unlikely, but be on the lookout. The last major security update for Acrobat and Reader was in early May so look for a security release this week.
- Apple released their security updates for iTunes and iCloud back in late May and have been releasing roughly every other month. We may not see a release on Tuesday but be on the lookout later this month.
- Google released a security update for Chrome 84 this week.
- Mozilla provided minor security updates this week for Firefox 78, and major updates for Firefox ESR 68 and Thunderbird 68 the last week of June. We may see a minor update for these applications next week.
