Daily Archives: February 8, 2021

• MS-DEFCON 2: Time to make sure you are pausing Patches

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 19:47 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  It’s that time again. Tomorrow is Patch Tuesday (*) and it’s time to pause updates.

  There’s no reason to rush out updates this week.  Make sure your computer is set to pause updates or have set a date for deferred installs. If you are unsure how to do a deferral I have a post and a video with instructions. Also make sure you have a backup. I’ll be posting up a video how to next weekend.

  I’ve been warned that there is a zero day to be patched in tomorrow’s updates, but that’s all the information I have at this time. As always, visit us here and we’ll keep you informed.

  (*) Yes I realize that for some of you it’s Patch Wednesday but the ‘slang’ for the day when patches come out normally ties it to the Redmond time zone.  Patches normally start getting published around 10 to 11 a.m pacific time.

  Windows 10, Windows Patches/Security February 2021 Black Tuesday, MS-DEFCON 2

• Surf the Web — even when your ISP is down

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:50 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
  

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  Surf the Web — even when your ISP is down

  By Brian Livingston

  It’s a well-known subset of Murphy’s Law: Your Internet service provider will go down at the worst possible time for you.

  When my ISP goes dark, whatever boat I was trying to float becomes pretty much dead in the water. On occasions like this, my usually sympathetic friends become singularly unhelpful: “Just go outside and take a walk for a while.”

  But if you’re hosting a video conference, moderating a hot stock-tips forum, or preparing a report for presentation to your board in an hour, your participants aren’t going to accept excuses such as, “I decided to take a walk instead.”

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.5.F (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Home Networks, Public Defender

• More on Win10’s Ransomware protection

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:45 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  More on Win10’s Ransomware protection

  By Fred Langa

  Many subscribers tried enabling this optional security enhancement, only to discover it can be hard to get going!

  There are at least five reasons why Ransomware protection — and other Win10 security features — might not be available on your PC.

  Here’s what they are, and what you can do about them.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, Ransomware, security, Windows 10

• Master your printer – not the other way around

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:40 Michael Lasky Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  HARDWARE

  Master your printer – not the other way around

  By Michael Lasky

  “I hate printers, but I love what they can do!”

  That’s the mantra recited by just about anyone who has a printer attached to their computer. Of all the peripherals that connect to our PCs, printers seem to be the number-one troublemaker.

  But it doesn’t have to be that way. Paper jams, overpriced ink, print spooler logjams, wasted paper – these are just a few of the hassles whose remedies are addressed here. If your love/hate relationship with your printer is more hate than love, read on — and maybe, just maybe, we can flip that around with these expert printer tips and tricks.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, printers

• Freeware Spotlight — Windows Repair Toolbox

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:35 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Best Utilities

  Freeware Spotlight — Windows Repair Toolbox

  By Deanna McElveen

  “Why doesn’t someone put all the best computer repair tools into one portable utility?”

  Well, someone did. Alex Canotilho created Windows Repair Toolbox. The program is not new — I believe we added it to our website back in 2015. Alex keeps the program updated, and each version adds or changes something, so you will want to keep checking our site for updates.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight

• Fixing a misbehaving computer

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:30 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  Fixing a misbehaving computer

  By Susan Bradley

  Hitting the wall with Windows updates can be extremely frustrating and even scary. But machines that can’t install updates can be fixed.

  On occasion, computers decide to drive your life crazy. When it comes to installing updates, they can often throw off confusing and unhelpful error messages. In the Windows 10 era, the Windows update error log and component-based servicing logs (cbs.log) can be hard to understand; see Microsoft’s Analyze the log file entries that SFC.exe generates article (which is still relevant to Windows 10) for help.

  If you have a machine that is throwing off an error message when attempting to update, there are some paths forward.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch