diff --git a/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Modem.java b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Modem.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c37739819c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Modem.java
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package com.baeldung.optional;
+
+public class Modem {
+    private Double price;
+
+    public Modem(Double price) {
+        this.price = price;
+    }
+
+    public Double getPrice() {
+        return price;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/java_8_features/Person.java b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Person.java
similarity index 95%
rename from core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/java_8_features/Person.java
rename to core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Person.java
index 82b6819699..47473c29ea 100644
--- a/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/java_8_features/Person.java
+++ b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/optional/Person.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.baeldung.java_8_features;
+package com.baeldung.optional;
 
 import java.util.Optional;
 
diff --git a/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java/nio2/async/AsyncEchoTest.java b/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java/nio2/async/AsyncEchoTest.java
index 93cb3e1eb6..9e20a7144f 100644
--- a/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java/nio2/async/AsyncEchoTest.java
+++ b/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java/nio2/async/AsyncEchoTest.java
@@ -33,4 +33,4 @@ public class AsyncEchoTest {
         client.stop();
     }
 
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java8/optional/OptionalTest.java b/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java8/optional/OptionalTest.java
index 1038043d49..8aeaf2b9f7 100644
--- a/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java8/optional/OptionalTest.java
+++ b/core-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/java8/optional/OptionalTest.java
@@ -1,17 +1,15 @@
 package com.baeldung.java8.optional;
 
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+import com.baeldung.optional.Modem;
+import com.baeldung.optional.Person;
+import org.junit.Test;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
 import java.util.Optional;
 
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import com.baeldung.java_8_features.Person;
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
 public class OptionalTest {
     // creating Optional
@@ -95,7 +93,38 @@ public class OptionalTest {
         boolean is2017 = yearOptional.filter(y -> y == 2017).isPresent();
         assertFalse(is2017);
     }
+    @Test
+    public void whenFiltersWithoutOptional_thenCorrect() {
+        assertTrue(priceIsInRange1(new Modem(10.0)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange1(new Modem(9.9)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange1(new Modem(null)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange1(new Modem(15.5)));
 
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void whenFiltersWithOptional_thenCorrect() {
+        assertTrue(priceIsInRange2(new Modem(10.0)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange2(new Modem(9.9)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange2(new Modem(null)));
+        assertFalse(priceIsInRange2(new Modem(15.5)));
+    }
+
+    public boolean priceIsInRange1(Modem modem) {
+        boolean isInRange = false;
+        if (modem != null && modem.getPrice() != null && (modem.getPrice() >= 10 && modem.getPrice() <= 15)) {
+            isInRange = true;
+        }
+        return isInRange;
+    }
+
+    public boolean priceIsInRange2(Modem modem2) {
+        return Optional.ofNullable(modem2)
+          .map(Modem::getPrice)
+          .filter(p -> p >= 10)
+          .filter(p -> p <= 15)
+          .isPresent();
+    }
     // Transforming Value With map()
     @Test
     public void givenOptional_whenMapWorks_thenCorrect() {
@@ -203,4 +232,4 @@ public class OptionalTest {
         System.out.println("Getting default value...");
         return "Default Value";
     }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/Author.java b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/Author.java
index 2d816282b2..2fcb1bbf32 100644
--- a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/Author.java
+++ b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/Author.java
@@ -15,9 +15,8 @@ public class Author extends Person {
 
     List<Item> items = new ArrayList<>();
 
-    public Author(){
-        super();
-    }
+    public Author(){}
+
     public Author(String firstName, String lastName) {
         super(firstName, lastName);
     }
diff --git a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsondeserialize/Book.java b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsondeserialize/Book.java
index eb2c1c967c..b4cf1227cc 100644
--- a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsondeserialize/Book.java
+++ b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsondeserialize/Book.java
@@ -19,9 +19,7 @@ public class Book extends Item {
     private Date published;
     private BigDecimal pages;
 
-    public Book() {
-        super();
-    }
+    public Book() {}
 
     public Book(String title, Author author) {
         super(title, author);
diff --git a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsonsetter/Author.java b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsonsetter/Author.java
index 534984f731..87767a11e3 100644
--- a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsonsetter/Author.java
+++ b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jsonsetter/Author.java
@@ -18,9 +18,7 @@ public class Author extends Person {
 
     private List<Item> items = new ArrayList<>();
 
-    public Author(){
-        super();
-    }
+    public Author(){}
 
     public Author(String firstName, String lastName) {
         super(firstName, lastName);
diff --git a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/serialization/jsonserialize/Book.java b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/serialization/jsonserialize/Book.java
index a8a05b093c..6d003da903 100644
--- a/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/serialization/jsonserialize/Book.java
+++ b/jackson-annotations/src/main/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/serialization/jsonserialize/Book.java
@@ -19,9 +19,7 @@ public class Book extends Item {
     private Date published;
     private BigDecimal pages;
 
-    public Book(){
-        super();
-    }
+    public Book(){}
 
     public Book(String title, Author author) {
         super(title, author);
diff --git a/jackson-annotations/src/test/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/JacksonInjectTest.java b/jackson-annotations/src/test/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/JacksonInjectTest.java
index 7c9436d711..8b0e9a9688 100644
--- a/jackson-annotations/src/test/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/JacksonInjectTest.java
+++ b/jackson-annotations/src/test/java/com/baeldung/jacksonannotation/deserialization/jacksoninject/JacksonInjectTest.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ public class JacksonInjectTest {
         // assert
         assertThat(author.getId()).isEqualTo(id);
 
-
         /*
             {
               "firstName": "Alex",
diff --git a/spring-jpa/pom.xml b/spring-jpa/pom.xml
index cf0c2246af..2229d64abe 100644
--- a/spring-jpa/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-jpa/pom.xml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>xml-apis</groupId>
             <artifactId>xml-apis</artifactId>
-            <version>1.4.01</version>
+            <version>${xml-apis.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.javassist</groupId>
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.el</groupId>
             <artifactId>javax.el-api</artifactId>
-            <version>2.2.5</version>
+            <version>${javax.el-api.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         
         <!-- web -->
@@ -196,47 +196,48 @@
     
     <properties>
         <!-- Spring -->
-        <org.springframework.version>4.3.2.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
-        <javassist.version>3.20.0-GA</javassist.version>
+        <org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
+        <javassist.version>3.21.0-GA</javassist.version>
 
         <!-- persistence -->
-        <hibernate.version>5.2.2.Final</hibernate.version>
-        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.38</mysql-connector-java.version>
-        <spring-data-jpa.version>1.10.2.RELEASE</spring-data-jpa.version>
-        <h2.version>1.4.192</h2.version>
+        <hibernate.version>5.2.5.Final</hibernate.version>
+        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.40</mysql-connector-java.version>
+        <spring-data-jpa.version>1.10.5.RELEASE</spring-data-jpa.version>
+        <h2.version>1.4.193</h2.version>
         
         <!-- web -->
         <javax.servlet.jstl.version>1.2</javax.servlet.jstl.version>
         <javax.servlet.servlet-api.version>2.5</javax.servlet.servlet-api.version>
 
         <!-- logging -->
-        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.13</org.slf4j.version>
-        <logback.version>1.1.3</logback.version>
+        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.21</org.slf4j.version>
+        <logback.version>1.1.7</logback.version>
 
         <!-- various -->
-        <hibernate-validator.version>5.2.2.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <hibernate-validator.version>5.3.3.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <xml-apis.version>1.4.01</xml-apis.version>
+        <javax.el-api.version>2.2.5</javax.el-api.version>
 
         <!-- util -->
         <guava.version>19.0</guava.version>
-        <commons-lang3.version>3.4</commons-lang3.version>
+        <commons-lang3.version>3.5</commons-lang3.version>
 
         <!-- testing -->
         <org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
         <junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
         <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
 
-        <httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-        <httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
+        <httpcore.version>4.4.5</httpcore.version>
+        <httpclient.version>4.5.2</httpclient.version>
 
         <rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
 
         <!-- maven plugins -->
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
         <maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
-        <maven-war-plugin.version>2.4</maven-war-plugin.version>
-        <!-- <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version> -->
+        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
 
     </properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-katharsis/pom.xml b/spring-katharsis/pom.xml
index e2e3ea6f97..32f24231a9 100644
--- a/spring-katharsis/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-katharsis/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
   <parent>
         <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
         <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.3.RELEASE</version>
+        <version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
     </parent>
 
     <dependencies>
@@ -61,9 +61,9 @@
     
     <properties>
         <java.version>1.8</java.version>
-        <katharsis.version>1.0.0</katharsis.version>
-        <restassured.version>2.4.0</restassured.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.0</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <katharsis.version>1.0.1</katharsis.version>
+        <restassured.version>2.9.0</restassured.version>
+        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
     </properties>
 
 
diff --git a/spring-mockito/pom.xml b/spring-mockito/pom.xml
index c8e0d3b7f5..ca9bad2bc0 100644
--- a/spring-mockito/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mockito/pom.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
         <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.3.RELEASE</version>
+        <version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
         <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
     </parent>
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
             <artifactId>mockito-all</artifactId>
-            <version>1.10.19</version>
+            <version>${mockito.version}</version>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <java.version>1.8</java.version>
+        <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
     </properties>
 
 </project>
diff --git a/spring-mvc-email/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-email/pom.xml
index 0d3acec1fe..a04097e027 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-email/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-email/pom.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
         <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.4.0.RELEASE</version>
+        <version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
         <relativePath></relativePath>
     </parent>
 
@@ -24,18 +24,15 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
             <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-mail</artifactId>
-            <version>1.4.0.RELEASE</version>
         </dependency>
         <!-- The following two dependencies included to render jsp pages -->
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
             <artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
-            <version>8.5.4</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
-            <version>1.2</version>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-forms/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-forms/pom.xml
index 370fd7feb2..c0cac4d349 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-forms/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-forms/pom.xml
@@ -84,14 +84,14 @@
     </profiles>
 
     <properties>
-        <springframework.version>4.0.6.RELEASE</springframework.version>
-        <maven-war-plugin.version>2.4</maven-war-plugin.version>
+        <springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</springframework.version>
+        <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
         <jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
         <javax.servlet.jsp-api.version>2.3.1</javax.servlet.jsp-api.version>
         <javax.servlet-api.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet-api.version>
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <maven-compiler-plugin.source>1.8</maven-compiler-plugin.source>
-        <hibernate-validator.version>5.1.1.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <hibernate-validator.version>5.3.3.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
         <deploy-path>enter-location-of-server</deploy-path>
     </properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-java/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-java/pom.xml
index 8e2db044a6..3c1e44d13a 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-java/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-java/pom.xml
@@ -47,13 +47,13 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
-            <version>3.0.1</version>
+            <version>${javax.servlet-api.version}</version>
             <scope>provided</scope>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
-            <version>1.2</version>
+            <version>${jstl.version}</version>
             <scope>runtime</scope>
         </dependency>
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>commons-fileupload</groupId>
             <artifactId>commons-fileupload</artifactId>
-            <version>1.3.1</version>
+            <version>${commons-fileupload.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>net.sourceforge.htmlunit</groupId>
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.jayway.jsonpath</groupId>
             <artifactId>json-path</artifactId>
-            <version>2.2.0</version>
+            <version>${jsonpath.version}</version>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@
 
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.7</version>
+                <version>${maven-resources-plugin.version}</version>
             </plugin>
 
             <plugin>
@@ -250,42 +250,46 @@
         <!-- Spring -->
         <org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
         <org.springframework.security.version>4.2.0.RELEASE</org.springframework.security.version>
-        <thymeleaf.version>2.1.4.RELEASE</thymeleaf.version>
-        <jackson.version>2.7.8</jackson.version>
+        <thymeleaf.version>2.1.5.RELEASE</thymeleaf.version>
+        <jackson.version>2.8.5</jackson.version>
 
         <!-- persistence -->
-        <hibernate.version>4.3.11.Final</hibernate.version>
-        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.38</mysql-connector-java.version>
+        <hibernate.version>5.2.5.Final</hibernate.version>
+        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.40</mysql-connector-java.version>
 
         <!-- logging -->
         <org.slf4j.version>1.7.21</org.slf4j.version>
-        <logback.version>1.1.5</logback.version>
+        <logback.version>1.1.7</logback.version>
 
         <!-- various -->
-        <hibernate-validator.version>5.2.2.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <hibernate-validator.version>5.3.3.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <javax.servlet-api.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet-api.version>
+        <jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
 
         <!-- util -->
         <guava.version>19.0</guava.version>
-        <commons-lang3.version>3.4</commons-lang3.version>
+        <commons-lang3.version>3.5</commons-lang3.version>
+        <commons-fileupload.version>1.3.2</commons-fileupload.version>
+        <jsonpath.version>2.2.0</jsonpath.version>
 
         <!-- testing -->
         <org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
         <junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
         <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
-        <httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-        <httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
+        <httpcore.version>4.4.5</httpcore.version>
+        <httpclient.version>4.5.2</httpclient.version>
         <rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
         <net.sourceforge.htmlunit>2.23</net.sourceforge.htmlunit>
 
         <!-- maven plugins -->
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
         <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
         <maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
 
         <!-- AspectJ -->
-        <aspectj.version>1.8.7</aspectj.version>
+        <aspectj.version>1.8.9</aspectj.version>
     </properties>
 
 </project>
diff --git a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/htmlunit/HtmlUnitWebScraping.java b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/htmlunit/HtmlUnitWebScraping.java
index f97bedddef..327bfc4596 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/htmlunit/HtmlUnitWebScraping.java
+++ b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/htmlunit/HtmlUnitWebScraping.java
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ package com.baeldung.htmlunit;
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
 import com.gargoylesoftware.htmlunit.WebClient;
 import com.gargoylesoftware.htmlunit.html.HtmlAnchor;
 import com.gargoylesoftware.htmlunit.html.HtmlHeading1;
@@ -9,34 +14,31 @@ import com.gargoylesoftware.htmlunit.html.HtmlPage;
 
 public class HtmlUnitWebScraping {
 
-	private WebClient webClient;
+    private WebClient webClient;
 
-	@Before
-	public void init() throws Exception {
-	    webClient = new WebClient();
-	}
+    @Before
+    public void init() throws Exception {
+        webClient = new WebClient();
+    }
 
-	@After
-	public void close() throws Exception {
-	    webClient.close();
-	}
+    @After
+    public void close() throws Exception {
+        webClient.close();
+    }
 
-	@Test
-	public void givenBaeldungArchive_whenRetrievingArticle_thenHasH1() 
-	  throws Exception {
-	    webClient.getOptions().setCssEnabled(false);
-	    webClient.getOptions().setJavaScriptEnabled(false);
+    @Test
+    public void givenBaeldungArchive_whenRetrievingArticle_thenHasH1() throws Exception {
+        webClient.getOptions().setCssEnabled(false);
+        webClient.getOptions().setJavaScriptEnabled(false);
 
-	    String url = "http://www.baeldung.com/full_archive";
-	    HtmlPage page = webClient.getPage(url);
-	    String xpath = "(//ul[@class='car-monthlisting']/li)[1]/a";
-	    HtmlAnchor latestPostLink 
-	      = (HtmlAnchor) page.getByXPath(xpath).get(0);
-	    HtmlPage postPage = latestPostLink.click();
+        final String url = "http://www.baeldung.com/full_archive";
+        final HtmlPage page = webClient.getPage(url);
+        final String xpath = "(//ul[@class='car-monthlisting']/li)[1]/a";
+        final HtmlAnchor latestPostLink = (HtmlAnchor) page.getByXPath(xpath).get(0);
+        final HtmlPage postPage = latestPostLink.click();
 
-	    List<HtmlHeading1> h1  
-	      = (List<HtmlHeading1>) postPage.getByXPath("//h1");
+        final List<HtmlHeading1> h1 = (List<HtmlHeading1>) postPage.getByXPath("//h1");
 
-	    Assert.assertTrue(h1.size() > 0);
-	}
+        Assert.assertTrue(h1.size() > 0);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerIntegrationTest.java b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerIntegrationTest.java
index db984eadfb..ca8c37175e 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerIntegrationTest.java
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ public class GreetControllerIntegrationTest {
 
     private MockMvc mockMvc;
 
-    private static final String CONTENT_TYPE = "application/json";
+    private static final String CONTENT_TYPE = "application/json;charset=UTF-8";
 
     @Before
     public void setup() throws Exception {
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public class GreetControllerIntegrationTest {
 
     @Test
     public void givenWAC_whenServletContext_thenItProvidesGreetController() {
-        ServletContext servletContext = wac.getServletContext();
+        final ServletContext servletContext = wac.getServletContext();
         Assert.assertNotNull(servletContext);
         Assert.assertTrue(servletContext instanceof MockServletContext);
         Assert.assertNotNull(wac.getBean("greetController"));
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public class GreetControllerIntegrationTest {
 
     @Test
     public void givenGreetURI_whenMockMVC_thenVerifyResponse() throws Exception {
-        MvcResult mvcResult = this.mockMvc.perform(MockMvcRequestBuilders.get("/greet")).andDo(print()).andExpect(MockMvcResultMatchers.status().isOk()).andExpect(MockMvcResultMatchers.jsonPath("$.message").value("Hello World!!!")).andReturn();
+        final MvcResult mvcResult = this.mockMvc.perform(MockMvcRequestBuilders.get("/greet")).andDo(print()).andExpect(MockMvcResultMatchers.status().isOk()).andExpect(MockMvcResultMatchers.jsonPath("$.message").value("Hello World!!!")).andReturn();
         Assert.assertEquals(CONTENT_TYPE, mvcResult.getResponse().getContentType());
     }
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerUnitTest.java b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerUnitTest.java
index eacd256438..0475bd933d 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerUnitTest.java
+++ b/spring-mvc-java/src/test/java/com/baeldung/web/controller/GreetControllerUnitTest.java
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import org.springframework.test.web.servlet.setup.MockMvcBuilders;
 public class GreetControllerUnitTest {
 
     private MockMvc mockMvc;
-    private static final String CONTENT_TYPE = "application/json";
+    private static final String CONTENT_TYPE = "application/json;charset=UTF-8";
 
     @Before
     public void setup() {
diff --git a/spring-mvc-no-xml/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-no-xml/pom.xml
index 202aee7295..4437661199 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-no-xml/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-no-xml/pom.xml
@@ -27,14 +27,14 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
-            <version>3.0.1</version>
+            <version>${javax.servlet-api.version}</version>
             <scope>provided</scope>
         </dependency>
 
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
-            <version>1.2</version>
+            <version>${jstl.version}</version>
             <scope>runtime</scope>
         </dependency>
 
@@ -144,28 +144,31 @@
 
     <properties>
         <!-- Spring -->
-        <org.springframework.version>4.2.5.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
+        <org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
 
         <!-- logging -->
-        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.13</org.slf4j.version>
-        <logback.version>1.1.3</logback.version>
+        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.21</org.slf4j.version>
+        <logback.version>1.1.7</logback.version>
 
         <!-- testing -->
         <org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
         <junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
         <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
 
-        <httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-        <httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
+        <javax.servlet-api.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet-api.version>
+        <jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
+
+        <httpcore.version>4.4.5</httpcore.version>
+        <httpclient.version>4.5.2</httpclient.version>
 
         <rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
 
         <!-- Maven plugins -->
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
         <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
         <maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
 
     </properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-no-xml/src/main/resources/webSecurityConfig.xml b/spring-mvc-no-xml/src/main/resources/webSecurityConfig.xml
index b9e15c7bae..febac349b0 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-no-xml/src/main/resources/webSecurityConfig.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-no-xml/src/main/resources/webSecurityConfig.xml
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <beans:beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/security" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:beans="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
     xsi:schemaLocation="
-		http://www.springframework.org/schema/security http://www.springframework.org/schema/security/spring-security-4.0.xsd
-		http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-4.2.xsd"
+		http://www.springframework.org/schema/security http://www.springframework.org/schema/security/spring-security-4.2.xsd
+		http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-4.3.xsd"
 >
 
     <http use-expressions="true">
diff --git a/spring-mvc-tiles/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-tiles/pom.xml
index 1a72549e70..400f79fbe1 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-tiles/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-tiles/pom.xml
@@ -9,8 +9,14 @@
 	<description>Integrating Spring MVC with Apache Tiles</description>
 
 	<properties>
-		<springframework.version>4.3.2.RELEASE</springframework.version>
-		<apachetiles.version>3.0.5</apachetiles.version>
+		<springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</springframework.version>
+		<apache-tiles.version>3.0.7</apache-tiles.version>
+		<javax.servlet-api.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet-api.version>
+		<javax.servlet.jsp-api.version>2.3.1</javax.servlet.jsp-api.version>
+		<jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
+
+		<maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+		<maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
 	</properties>
 
 	<dependencies>
@@ -34,24 +40,24 @@
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.tiles</groupId>
 			<artifactId>tiles-jsp</artifactId>
-			<version>${apachetiles.version}</version>
+			<version>${apache-tiles.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 
 		<!-- Servlet+JSP+JSTL -->
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
 			<artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
-			<version>3.1.0</version>
+			<version>${javax.servlet-api.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>javax.servlet.jsp</groupId>
 			<artifactId>javax.servlet.jsp-api</artifactId>
-			<version>2.3.1</version>
+			<version>${javax.servlet.jsp-api.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
 			<artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
-			<version>1.2</version>
+			<version>${jstl.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 
 	</dependencies>
@@ -62,16 +68,16 @@
 				<plugin>
 					<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 					<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-					<version>3.2</version>
+					<version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
 					<configuration>
-						<source>1.7</source>
-						<target>1.7</target>
+						<source>1.8</source>
+						<target>1.8</target>
 					</configuration>
 				</plugin>
 				<plugin>
 					<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 					<artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
-					<version>2.4</version>
+					<version>${maven-war-plugin.version}</version>
 					<configuration>
 						<warSourceDirectory>src/main/webapp</warSourceDirectory>
 						<warName>spring-mvc-tiles</warName>
diff --git a/spring-mvc-velocity/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-velocity/pom.xml
index 83f3150df9..31f2d19375 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-velocity/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-velocity/pom.xml
@@ -38,20 +38,20 @@
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
 			<artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
-			<version>3.1.0</version>
+			<version>${javax.servlet-api.version}</version>
 			<scope>provided</scope>
 		</dependency>
 
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
 			<artifactId>velocity</artifactId>
-			<version>1.7</version>
+			<version>${velocity.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 		
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
 			<artifactId>velocity-tools</artifactId>
-			<version>2.0</version>
+			<version>${velocity-tools.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 		
 		<!-- test scoped -->
@@ -188,26 +188,29 @@
     
 	<properties>
 		<!-- Spring -->
-		<org.springframework.version>4.1.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
+		<org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
 
 		
-       <!-- testing -->
+       		<!-- testing -->
 		<org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
 		<junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
 		<mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
-		<powermock.version>1.6.4</powermock.version>
+		<powermock.version>1.6.6</powermock.version>
 
-		<httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-		<httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
+		<httpcore.version>4.4.5</httpcore.version>
+		<httpclient.version>4.5.2</httpclient.version>
 
-		<rest-assured.version>2.4.1</rest-assured.version>
+		<javax.servlet-api.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet-api.version>
+		<velocity.version>1.7</velocity.version>
+		<velocity-tools.version>2.0</velocity-tools.version>
+		<rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
 
 		<!-- Maven plugins -->
-		<maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+		<maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
 		<maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
 		<maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
 		<maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-		<cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+		<cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
 
 	</properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-web-vs-initializer/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-web-vs-initializer/pom.xml
index b448673ef8..c8bb08cb38 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-web-vs-initializer/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-web-vs-initializer/pom.xml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
         <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.6.RELEASE</version>
+        <version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
     </parent>
 
     <dependencies>
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.assertj</groupId>
             <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
-            <version>3.5.1</version>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
 
@@ -118,7 +117,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.easymock</groupId>
             <artifactId>easymock</artifactId>
-            <version>3.4</version>
+            <version>${easymock.version}</version>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
 
@@ -158,7 +157,6 @@
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 				<artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-				<version>${maven-surefire-plugin.version}</version>
 				<configuration>
 					<excludes>
 						<exclude>**/*IntegrationTest.java</exclude>
@@ -206,42 +204,11 @@
     
     <properties>
         <!-- Spring -->
-        <org.springframework.version>4.3.1.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
-        <org.springframework.security.version>4.0.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.security.version>
-        <javassist.version>3.20.0-GA</javassist.version>
-        <jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
-
-        <!-- persistence -->
-        <hibernate.version>4.3.11.Final</hibernate.version>
-        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.38</mysql-connector-java.version>
-
-        <!-- logging -->
-        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.13</org.slf4j.version>
-        <logback.version>1.1.3</logback.version>
-
-        <!-- various -->
-        <hibernate-validator.version>5.2.2.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
 
         <!-- util -->
         <guava.version>19.0</guava.version>
-        <commons-lang3.version>3.4</commons-lang3.version>
-
-        <!-- testing -->
-        <org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
-        <junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
-        <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
-
-        <httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-        <httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
-
-        <rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
-
-        <!-- maven plugins -->
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
-        <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
-        <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
-        <maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <easymock.version>3.4</easymock.version>
 
     </properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-mvc-xml/pom.xml b/spring-mvc-xml/pom.xml
index ca51a56633..f0e4bbff55 100644
--- a/spring-mvc-xml/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-mvc-xml/pom.xml
@@ -28,21 +28,21 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
-            <version>3.1.0</version>
+            <version>${javax.servlet.version}</version>
             <scope>provided</scope>
         </dependency>
 
         <dependency>
             <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
             <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
-            <version>1.2</version>
+            <version>${jstl.version}</version>
             <scope>runtime</scope>
         </dependency>
 
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
             <artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
-            <version>5.1.1.Final</version>
+            <version>${hibernate-validator.version}</version>
         </dependency>
 
         <!-- logging -->
@@ -110,12 +110,12 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>commons-io</groupId>
             <artifactId>commons-io</artifactId>
-            <version>2.2</version>
+            <version>${commons-io.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.maxmind.geoip2</groupId>
             <artifactId>geoip2</artifactId>
-            <version>2.8.0</version>
+            <version>${geoip2.version}</version>
     </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
@@ -165,29 +165,45 @@
 
     <properties>
         <!-- Spring -->
-        <org.springframework.version>4.2.5.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
-        <jackson.version>2.7.8</jackson.version>
+        <org.springframework.version>4.3.4.RELEASE</org.springframework.version>
+        <org.springframework.security.version>4.2.0.RELEASE</org.springframework.security.version>
+
+        <!-- persistence -->
+        <hibernate.version>5.2.5.Final</hibernate.version>
+        <mysql-connector-java.version>5.1.40</mysql-connector-java.version>
+
+        <!-- http -->
+        <httpcore.version>4.4.5</httpcore.version>
+        <httpclient.version>4.5.2</httpclient.version>
 
         <!-- logging -->
-        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.13</org.slf4j.version>
-        <logback.version>1.1.3</logback.version>
+        <org.slf4j.version>1.7.21</org.slf4j.version>
+        <logback.version>1.1.7</logback.version> <!-- do not upgrade - see http://jira.qos.ch/browse/LOGBACK-851 -->
+
+        <!-- various -->
+        <hibernate-validator.version>5.3.3.Final</hibernate-validator.version>
+        <jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
+        <javax.servlet.version>3.1.0</javax.servlet.version>
+        <jackson.version>2.8.5</jackson.version>
+        
+        <!-- util -->
+        <guava.version>19.0</guava.version>
+        <commons-lang3.version>3.5</commons-lang3.version>
+        <commons-io.version>2.5</commons-io.version>
+        <geoip2.version>2.8.0</geoip2.version>
 
         <!-- testing -->
         <org.hamcrest.version>1.3</org.hamcrest.version>
         <junit.version>4.12</junit.version>
         <mockito.version>1.10.19</mockito.version>
 
-        <httpcore.version>4.4.1</httpcore.version>
-        <httpclient.version>4.5</httpclient.version>
-
         <rest-assured.version>2.9.0</rest-assured.version>
 
         <!-- Maven plugins -->
-        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <maven-war-plugin.version>2.6</maven-war-plugin.version>
         <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.19.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
-        <maven-resources-plugin.version>2.7</maven-resources-plugin.version>
-        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.4.18</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
+        <cargo-maven2-plugin.version>1.6.1</cargo-maven2-plugin.version>
 
     </properties>
 
diff --git a/spring-openid/pom.xml b/spring-openid/pom.xml
index 39cf3e9d4e..6646cdea14 100644
--- a/spring-openid/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-openid/pom.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
         <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.3.RELEASE</version>
+        <version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
     </parent>
 
     <dependencies>
diff --git a/spring-protobuf/pom.xml b/spring-protobuf/pom.xml
index a080d51221..84ebeff9ae 100644
--- a/spring-protobuf/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-protobuf/pom.xml
@@ -5,23 +5,28 @@
 	<artifactId>spring-protobuf</artifactId>
 	<version>0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
 	<name>spring-protobuf</name>
-
+             
 	<parent>
 		<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
 		<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-		<version>1.2.4.RELEASE</version>
+		<version>1.4.2.RELEASE</version>
 	</parent>
 
+             <properties>
+                 <protobuf-java.version>3.1.0</protobuf-java.version>
+                 <protobuf-java-format.version>1.4</protobuf-java-format.version>
+             </properties>
+
 	<dependencies>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>com.google.protobuf</groupId>
 			<artifactId>protobuf-java</artifactId>
-			<version>3.0.0-beta-3</version>
+			<version>${protobuf-java.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>com.googlecode.protobuf-java-format</groupId>
 			<artifactId>protobuf-java-format</artifactId>
-			<version>1.4</version>
+			<version>${protobuf-java-format.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
 
 		<dependency>