14 DAY TRIAL // The company headquartered at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California has released AirPort Utility 5.5.1 for Mac and Windows, as well as a Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station Firmware Update (7.5.1) for customers using its wireless networking and backup solutions. Available as free downloads through the Mac OS X build-in Software Update mechanism, from Apple’s Support Downloads, as well as from Softpedia, the updates are recommended for all users of Apple’s AirPort base stations, and Time Capsule.
“AirPort Utility is a simple to use, setup and management utility for the AirPort Express Base Station, the AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule,” Apple notes in the update’s description. “AirPort Utility 5.5.1 includes general bug fixes and addresses the following issues,” the company states. The respective fixes are: “not importing all settings when importing a configuration” and “not propagating MAC address control lists when using an extended network.”
The Mac maker advises customers to check Software Update in System Preferences for the latest information on AirPort software. Apple also reveals that AirPort Utility 5.5.1 for Mac also addresses a security issue on both Mac and Windows platforms.
“An AirPort administrator may restrict access to a network by specifying a MAC address ACL,” it explains. “There is an issue where MAC address ACLs are not properly propagated to network extenders. This can allow an unauthorized user to access a network that should be restricted via the MAC address ACL. This update addresses the issue through improved distribution of settings to network extenders.” Apple credits Guido Lamberty for discovering and reporting the issue to it.
“Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station Firmware Update 7.5.1 […] provides several fixes for the latest Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station (Late 2009),” Apple states elsewhere on its Support Downloads section. According to the company whose latest product (the iPad) is launching publicly this Saturday, those are issues with wireless performance in the 5GHz band and with creating a Guest Network in the 5GHz band. “It is recommended that AirPort Utility 5.5.1 or later be installed before updating to Firmware version 7.5.1,” Apple points out, also signaling that this particular firmware update only targets late 2009 AirPort Extremes and Time Capsules.
Additional information on these updates, including how to install them properly, is available over at Apple’s Support section here. Download Apple Airport Utility Update for Mac (Free)
Download Apple Airport Utility Update for Windows (Free) Download Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station Firmware Update (Free)