Items tagged with Patch
One would think that once a vulnerability received ample coverage and explicit warnings that encouraged uses to patch, we might see a drop-off in attacks. That is not the case; however, as Microsoft is again reporting that the Zerologon security flaw is still being exploited in the wild. This is another succinct warning on top of the pile already saying that Zerologon is dangerous, and people need to patch their systems ASAP. In late September, we reported, as others did, that hackers were actively exploiting the Zerologon security flaw. Following a Department of Homeland Security emergency directive, Microsoft confirmed that they were tracking the use of Zerologon. Microsoft also reported that...
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Gamers all around the world often wonder if the developers of big games even think about how large updates are and consider that the internal drives on consoles are only 1TB out of the box. Depending on what games you play, you may get only a few titles before disk space is full, and an external drive is needed. This week, a new update was launched for Modern Warfare, and the file size was a massive 51 GB on the PS4, 68GB on Xbox One, and 94GB on PC. Infinity Ward Devs are promising, however, that they are working on making updates as small as possible. It's not just the most recent update that is so large, only a couple weeks ago another patch was launched that was 53GB in size, the game itself...
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare fans who liked to use the insanely overpowered shotgun to take out enemies from afar will be saddened by the latest update from Infinity Ward. The 725 shotgun had enough range that it was essentially a sniper rifle, and many were expecting it to be nerfed. With the latest update, that change has happened along with some other changes. We mentioned earlier this week in a story about the shotgun and issues with recoil that made some weapons less accurate when crouched. The crazy range of the 725 shotgun is no more. The update makes the shotgun have a bigger spread for both hip fire and when aimed down the sight. The damage range has also been greatly reduced. The update...
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Microsoft has published a pair of rare security updates off its normal update cycle. The two patches are to fix serious security flaws in Microsoft Defender and Internet Explorer. The updates are rare because they are off Microsoft's steadfast schedule of releasing major security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. Typically, the only time that Microsoft goes off that schedule is when the patches are for critical security updates. One of the updates is for an Internet Explorer (IE) to patch a zero-day that has been exploited in the wild. This patch is a manual update, and the details of the zero-day exploit are unclear at this time. The zero-day attacks were reported to Microsoft by...
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In an era where many AAA gaming companies sometimes dismiss the concerns of their player base, Respawn Entertainment’s approach to communication has been a refreshing change. Since the release of their blockbuster game Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment has faithfully committed to posting regular updates and publishing new patches for the game. Respawn’s most recent patch should provide audio fixes that will be performance improvements, hit corrections and other fixes to Apex Legends. The latest patch will be available early next week. The main purpose of this particular patch is to improve the audio in Apex Legends. Overall, the audio engine should be “around 30% more...
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The launch of Anthem, the latest offering from BioWare and EA, has been anything but smooth. Players have complained that the game is riddled with bugs and is crashing their consoles. Anthem thankfully recently released a massive patch that removes respawn restrictions, fixes the loot system, and improves the overall stability of the game. Anthem’s Patch 1.0.3 is rather extensive. First and foremost, the patch has “improved stability for all platforms”. The game had previously been crashing both Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles. BioWare's head of live service, Chad Robertson, noted that they had discovered a bug that would shut consoles down as if the power plug had been...
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Bethesda had a rough 2018, with the highly anticipated Fallout 76 launching to poor reviews and many complaining about the bugs that plagued the game. Bethesda made a bad situation worse when it offered some gamers refunds on the game only to go back on that offer down the road. Some gamers allegedly found themselves banned for using mods to improve graphics in the game creating more ire against Bethesda. However, the game publisher is looking to make things better in 2019 and has promised some upcoming changes for the game. The very first Inside the Vault post for 2019 was published on New Year's Day, and in that post, Bethesda promises big things are to come for Fallout fans. Later this...
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It seems as though PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was all the rage last year with online gamers, then Fortnite came long to rain on its parade. With Fortnite now gathering up the lion’s share of attention from gamers these days, PUBG engagement has been cut in half since the start of 2018. Developer Bluehole is trying to address some of the complaints that may have caused some to flee the game with a new patch specific to the Xbox One platform. While there is no new content that is being delivered with this new patch, the main focus is being placed on stability and performance. With regards to stability, the developer has made further optimizations to the...
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Epic Games has announced that the v3.5 patch for the Fortnite is now available for all to download and that the most anticipated feature is likely the new Replay mode. This mode brings a bunch of settings that allow you to capture your most memorable moments, highlights, and cinematics. Epic says that it will be hosting a contest that allows players to win "phenomenal prizes" using the Replay system. There is no specific date for that contest, all Epic says is "very soon." Survive the Storm mode has returned and players who survive in the mode will be able to claim rewards. A useful new item has landed in the game in the form of the Port-a-Fort. That new item is a portable fortification that...
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After much hype and anticipation, Mass Effect: Andromeda launched to an eager crowd of gamers, only for many player to quickly become fed up with the game's various bugs. A glance at Metacritic shows a user score of just 4.8 based on more than 2,314 user ratings. The good news is Bioware has heard the grumbles and is currently readying a patch that will address many of the game's issues. Since launching two weeks ago, Bioware says it has been "poring over" comments and feedback related to the title in an attempt to see what players like about the game, and what they despise. Of course, the bugs are the No. 1 thing that gamers have complained about, and so tomorrow's patch will bring about several...
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Once upon a time, the land of Far Harbor was shrouded in a patchy, low framerate fog? Bethesda recommends that users who have experienced performance issues with Fallout 4 Far Harbor re-download the DLC. The issue was particularly prevalent with consoles, especially the PS4. The framerates would actually drop to 15fps in some of the worst areas. Although the unusual solution does fix the problem, some have complained that the lack of fog takes away from the experience of the DLC. The fog is actually a plot line in the Far Harbor DLC. The island was taken over by a radioactive fog and the dangerous creatures that hide within the fog. The only settlements that survived developed fog collectors...
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IT admins would do well to prepare themselves for a rather large collection of security updates that Oracle is planning to release this Thursday. The updates are supposed to fix precisely 113 security vulnerabilities that a apply to hundreds of versions of the company's products, including Database, Fusion Middleware, Solaris, MySQL Server, and many more. "A Critical Patch Update is a collection of patches for multiple security vulnerabilities. This Critical Patch Update contains 113 new security vulnerability fixes across hundreds of Oracle products," Oracle explain in a blog post. "Some of the vulnerabilities addressed in this Critical Patch Update affect multiple products. Due to the threat...
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Publisher Ubisoft is promising to release a major patch in the next few days that will fix a plethora of issues in Watch Dogs, arguably one of the most anticipated games of the year that unfortunately debuted with several bugs and performance issues. The fixes apply to all platforms, and in fact a patch for the PlayStation 4 version is already available. Ubisoft will address the PlayStation 3 and PC next, followed by the Xbox One and Xbox 360 within the next week. Among the major game fixes for all platforms is one that will automatically reconstruct corrupted save files that prevented loading to go further than 90 percent (some collectibles may remain unrecoverable). The patch will also fix...
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As one of the most anticipated games of the year, Battlefield 4 also has the distinction of being one of the most buggy releases, and that's regardless of platform. Even worse, Electronic Arts and DICE can't seem to catch a break. To wit, there's a new patch available for the PC version, and the main reason it exists is to fix a bunch of issues introduced in a previous update. Talk about taking one step forward and two steps back! Those of you wielding multiple graphics cards will be happy to know that the latest patch issues a fix for terrain flickering when running BF4 on a SLI or CrossFire configured system. Applying the patch is also supposed to resolve "three of the top crash issues on the...
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Being the most commonly used browser in the universe has its positives, but there's also a downside: when an exploit is found, it needs to be patched in a hurry. Otherwise, a huge, huge amount of people sit at risk, and your brand could suffer. Microsoft is no stranger to issuing patches, and Internet Explorer has certainly seen its fair share of issues over the years. Now, Microsoft has published a document detailing a recently-found zero-day bug in IE8 -- which just so happens to be Microsoft's most popular version of the browser. Reports suggest that the vulnerability has been used in active exploits, including acts against the U.S. government. Here's Microsoft's take: "This is a remote code...
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Maxis is prepping the first "major" patch for SimCity, which is set to launch this coming Monday at around 1PM PST. While I'd argue that it's bizarre to issue a major update to a game in the middle of the day like this, this particular patch looks to be well worth it. In addition to a slew of bugs being fixed, the HUD has been improved for colorblind mode and mayors will now drive their fanciest vehicles around - cars, helicopters, limos and sports cars. Ahh, to be king. Taking care of complaints that casinos are not profitable enough, those have been improved upon with this patch. Unfortunately, you'll need to bulldoze and rebuild your casino in order for the enhancement to trigger. In addition...
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This coming Tuesday, April 9, is going to be a busy one for Microsoft’s update servers. In advance of what have become known as “Patch Tuesday”, Microsoft posted nine early security bulletins to notify users and system administrators of the slew of impending Windows updates. Two of the patches have been deemed critical, while the remaining seven are flagged as important. And all of the updates are likely to require a restart. The exact details of the two critical updates are not posted just yet, but one of them affects Windows and Internet Explorer; the other is solely a Windows update. Though the details aren’t posted, critical updates are usually deemed as such because...
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Another day, another issue with Java. In a world that is becoming increasingly fraught with privacy invasions and security breaches, Java has been a term that's been popping up in negative fashion of late. Now, Apple has shot out a new batch of security patches for OS X, one of which covers up a flaw that "allowed Java Web Start applications to run even when users had Java disabled in the browser." OS X 10.8.3 fixed a total of 21 issues in terms of security, and it also throws in a fresh edition of the malware removal tool for Apple rigs. In an Apple advisory: "Visiting a maliciously crafted website could allow a Java Web Start application to be launched automatically even if the Java plug-in...
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Stretch those network pipes, because on Tuesday, a big workout is coming. That's when Microsoft's monthly "Patch Tuesday" hits, and this is one particular roll-out where the word "mammoth" definitely fits. In total, there are 57 flaws to be patched, 12 of which are either considered to be "Critical" or "Important". On account of some of the fixes, Internet Explorer users should be on high-alert and waste no time in updating, because a bulk of these important fixes are directly related to five versions of the browser, ranging from 6 - 10. The bugs are related to remote code execution, which means simply running the browser or visiting a page that has code designed to trigger them could result...
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Software vulnerabilities are common, but it’s not every day that the Computer Readiness Team (CERT) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security steps in and starts warning the public. Not surprisingly, Oracle jumped on the security hole and released an update (Java Update 7u11) that resolves the problem. If you’re running Java (even the Java plug-in in your browser), update now. That said, not everyone is convinced that Java users are completely in the clear after updating to the latest version. Experts agree that the updated version of Java now blocks the zero day exploit (in part by making you click a button to run Java technology present on most websites). But...
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Diablo III's launch and first few weeks were a complete disappointment. Even once these problems were ironed out, a number of players complained about major balance problems at the Inferno difficulty level and the static, boring nature of the item hunt once you hit level 60. Blizzard previously acknowledged that the game, as it currently exists, wasn't living up to player expectations. Now the company has gone a step further and begun discussing what it plans to offer to rejuvenate gameplay and make the game more fun. Updated Features, Fresh Design Diablo III's attempt to balance MMO features with its classic gameplay created mixed expectations that the game has had trouble satisfying. The game...
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We don't know if Electronics Arts' upcoming update for Battlefield 3 qualifies as the mother of all game patches, but it's certainly in contention for the update crown. EA said the update, which will roll out on June 4-5, is "a big one," an understatement of epic proportion, considering the multitude of tweaks, changes, enhancements, and fixes included within. "The next Battlefield 3 update goes live June 4-5 on all formats. As usual, the period between the last update and this upcoming one has been spent listening to our community, tweaking parameters, balancing performance, and eliminating issues that we have found with your help," EA announced in a blog post. "In short, the June update will...
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