Firefox 3.0.13 and 3.5.2 have been released

As Woody continues to urge you folks to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, download and install the latest security releases of the Firefox web browser to protect yourselves from recent major security exploits.

The second security bug fix release of Firefox 3.5 (aka. 3.5.2) can be obtained here.

And for those who want to stick to using Firefox 3.0 instead of upgrading to Firefox 3.5, get Firefox 3.0.13 here.
Mozilla will offer security releases of Firefox 3.0 until sometime in January 2010. After that date, you will have to upgrade to Firefox 3.5 or better.

Windows 7 officially Released to Manufacturing

Looks like they’ve gone and done it, Ollie.

Windows 7 has been officially released to manufacturing, with build 7600.16385.090713-1255. (At the same time, as expected, Windows Server 2008 R2 also RTMd.)

The 090713-1255 build has been available via torrents and on the newsgroups for about five days.

32-bit version MD5: c7102805815abb3b6b4796a8cc3fb008

64-bit version MD5: 4171999e05724d309a62104d83485d69

You can and should check the MD5 key for any downloaded file before you install it. That’s a simple procedure using the free MD5 Check 2.1 program from Angus Johnson.

Breaking news on Windows 7

MS spokesman Brandon LeBlanc just confirmed a bunch of details about the Windows 7 release – although he left unanswered the biggest questions, which is “When will Windows 7 RTM?”

August 6 is the magic date for official availability of the English version on MSDN and TechNet. One day later, big companies with Volume Licenses and Software Assurance will be able to download the bits.

Brandon also confirmed the existence of a “Family Pack” – an upgrade version for Home Premium that will install on three separate PCs. There are still lots of questions about that one, including the price, but the general upshot is a good one: those of you who missed the scramble for $49 upgrades in the US will probably be able to get three upgrades for roughly the same price.

My guess is that the Family Pack will be the upgrade avenue of choice for small businesses.

Firefox 3.5.1 now released

The first bug fix release of Firefox 3.5 has been released today. Get FF 3.5.1 here.
This version fixes a critical security flaw mentioned here.

Firefox 3.5 has been officially released

A little over a year since Firefox 3.0 was released back in mid June 2008, Firefox 3.5 has been released. Get it here:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Firefox 3.5 RC 1 now available

Mozilla has just released Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 1. Note that this isn’t quite the final product yet but beta testers are welcome to test it out.

Firefox 3.0.11 released late last week

Mozilla has posted Firefox 3.0.11 late last week. This version fixes 11 security vulnerabilities as mentioned in this ZDNet blog.

For those using Firefox, start updating to the latest release immediately.

MS-DEFCON 2: PowerPoint Patch Posted

Black Tuesdays just aren’t as exciting as they once were.

This month, we get just one security bulletin – and it’s only really important if you use PowerPoint 2000.

Hang in there. Let’s see if MS gets all of the problems ironed out with the earlier patches.

We’re still at MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.