Apple Issues a Trio of Security Updates

Today was a busy day for Apple’s security team, with the release of three security updates. As always, use your Software Update preference pane (in System Preferences) to download these updates (though you need to download the Safari 3 Beta update directly from the Apple web site, at the link given below). Here’s what’s awaiting you:

• iPhone update 1.0.1: This contains five fixes for iPhone’s version of the Safari web browser. Find out more here.
• Safari 3 Beta Update 3.0.3: Four updates here for the Windows version of Safari, and three for Mac OS X. You can get more information on this update, and find a download link, here.
• Security Update 2007-007, for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4.10: Twenty-five updates, for things such as WebKit (the framework that provides web page rendering), Samba (the Mac to Windows file-sharing protocal), iChat, PHP and more. Get full details here.

Opera Security Update

If you use the Opera web browser, it’s time to get the latest update. It contains several security fixes, as well as a handful of other bug fixes and changes. It’s always a good idea to keep your web browser up to date, because one of the biggest Mac security risks comes from web-based exploits. Of course, Intego’s NetBarrier X4 personal firewall protects you when you’re surfing, but it’s still important to make sure all your Internet software is up to date.

Adobe Flash Player Security Update

Everyone uses Flash Player, especially to view on-line videos such as those on YouTube. Adobe recently issued a security update for all platforms that addresses some serious issues.

“Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Flash Player that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these potential vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. A malicious SWF must be loaded in Flash Player by the user for an attacker to exploit these potential vulnerabilities.”

Download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player at the Adobe Download Center.

Is Your iPhone Safe?

With the iPhone just a few weeks old, the first security issue has appeared. It’s not a virus, a worm, or a Trojan horse, but a weakness in the iPhone’s Web dialing feature. As Macworld reports, this feature can be exploited, causing iPhone users to unknowingly dial expensive phone numbers (such as 900 numbers) or continuously dial certain numbers. While you’d have to visit a malicious web site for this to occur, it’s best to turn off this feature, since you could land on a malicious web site without knowing. Just dial your numbers manually. After all, that’s easy enough to do with just a few taps.

Apple Releases QuickTime Security Update

Apple today released QuickTime 7.2, an update to its essential video and audio software package. This update includes a number of security fixes, together with some new features. (Users can now view QuickTime videos full-screen; this feature was previously reserved for purchasers of QuickTime Pro.) You can download the update, as always, by checking the Software Update pane in Mac OS X’s System Preferences, or you can get more information about the update and standalone downloads from this page.