14 DAY TRIAL // As usual, new software updates are available from Apple this week, some targeting the developer crowd, others aimed at the general population. Read on for the full details on Apple’s Software Updates for the week ending February 23.
On February 17, Apple rolled out OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Build 13C62, the seventh beta in the development cycle of a new incremental update for Mac users. The focus areas remain unchanged (SMB2, Mail, Messages, Graphics Drivers, VoiceOver, and VPN), and there are no known issues with the build.
On February 19, the Mac makers greeted developers with yet another update, this time releasing OS X Server 3.1 Preview Build 13S4101b. According to the seed notes, there are still some unresolved issues with this upcoming Server release, but some bugs have been addressed as well.
Problems that are in need of patching are currently found in Wiki Server, Xsan, Network Settings, Xcode Server, Caching Server, and other core areas of the operating system.
Later in the week (yesterday, February 21) came iOS 7.0.6 and iOS 7.0.6. Both updates delivered an important security patch for SSL connection verification. Here’s the description from Apple:
“An attacker with a privileged network position may capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS […] Secure Transport failed to validate the authenticity of the connection. This issue was addressed by restoring missing validation steps.”
iOS 7.0.6 is for iPhone 4 or later, iPad 2 or later, iPad mini or later, and iPod touch (5th generation). iOS 6.1.6 is for older generations of devices, including iPod touch (4th generation) and iPhone 3GS. The downloads are free through iTunes or wirelessly, as over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Apple TV Software Update 6.0.2 was subsequently released containing the very same security patch, with Apple clarifying that this update also “includes general performance and stability improvements.”