Monthly Archives: March 2021

• Windows update for business – fun fact

  Posted on March 31st, 2021 at 11:49 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  #FunFact

  A user clicking "Check for updates" when you have #WUfB policies enabled (deferrals, target version, etc.) will ONLY offer updates that meet your specified policies.

  Typically devices scan every ~22hours, this button = scan now. Please don't be afraid of the button.🧙‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/QWAWMdgy4r

  — ariaupdated (@ariaupdated) March 18, 2021

  AH HA! The first unofficial documentation I’ve seen that confirms what @PKCano and others have noted: If you have certain settings in place, you DON’T get offered up the preview updates.

  Windows Update for business is merely local group policy settings that set certain patch settings.

   

  Windows Patches/Security Patch Lady Posts

• Tomorrow is World Backup Day

  Posted on March 30th, 2021 at 19:38 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Tomorrow, March 31, is World Backup day, a day that you are supposed to take stock and make sure your computers are truly backed up.

  “I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.”

  So what do you use for backing up your device? Personally, I’d urge you to do more than just backing up your documents and memories – you need to have a full image backup of your computer because you never know when a hard drive will fail, a patch will cause issues, or you accidentally save over the top of a file you didn’t intend to save over.

   

  Utilities Patch Lady Posts

• The ides of March

  Posted on March 29th, 2021 at 06:09 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  To patch or not to patch this month…. that is the question I attempt to answer this week in ComputerWorld.

  Printers side effects were the big issue (and still are) this month.

  (note that I’m going to have to reach out to the ComputerWorld editors… they missed part of the post I sent them…)

  It’s supposed to read:

  So for Windows 10 2004 or 20H2 you need to skip the updates released on March 9^th and instead jump over to the March 18^th update of KB5001649. It should be offered up to you as an optional update, or you can download it from the Catalog site. Because Windows 10 updates are cumulative you only need the one update (the third and final update Microsoft released this month).

  For Windows 10 1909, you need KB5001648. Once again it should be offered up to you as an optional update if you go to the Windows update interface or you can download it from the Catalog site like 2004/20H2 handles it’s updating, 1909 is cumulative.

  For Windows 8.1 the process is slightly different as the fixing patches are not cumulative. This time the updates are not documented on the Windows 8.1 history page but can be found if you dig into the 8.1 health release dashboard. On Windows 8.1 you need to install both the original update from March 9^th of KB5000848 AND the fix up patch of KB5001640. These are not offered up as optional updates and you must download KB5001640 from the catalog site.

  Windows 7 is similar to Windows 8.1 in not having a cumulative update patch to fix it’s printing issues. After you install the original security only update of KB5000851 or the monthly rollup of KB5000841 (which includes security updates) is fixed by KB5001639 which is only available from the Catalog site.  So for these platforms you need to install two updates just like 8.1.

  Windows Patches/Security March 2021 Black Tuesday, MS-DEFCON 3, Patch Lady Posts

• The scammers are a buzzing today

  Posted on March 28th, 2021 at 17:59 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Well I’m out in the garden on my Surface typing up tomorrow’s ComputerWorld article and enjoying the Spring weather…. meanwhile I’ve gotten about 8 robocalls trying to say they are from apple icloud support and that I have a problem with my service. Yea, right. There have been some days that my Dad has kept the scammers on for quite a while as he pretends to go along with the scammers. These days I’ve also noticed an increase in robocalls, ones where you pick up the phone and there is a funny computerized blurb noise at it picks up the call. There is even a Youtube channel where they do nothing but record scam calls.  How many are you getting lately?  I’ve seen an increase, have you?

  

  That’s the bees enjoying my Allium flowers. Hope you enjoy your day as well.

  Apple Patch Lady Posts

• Tasks for the weekend – March 27, 2021 – How to pause

  Posted on March 27th, 2021 at 19:22 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  (Youtube video here)

  So how do you uninstall updates should you have an issue with printing after installing this months updates? It’s actually pretty easy for Windows 10 users. Click on Start, Settings, Update and security, Click on View update history, Click on uninstall update, Find the KB and click.

  So now that you know that you ARE having issues with the main March updates you have the choice to find the out of band updates or just wait until April (the fixes will be rolled up into Aprils).

  If you want to continue to pause updates I recommend going to start, Settings, Update and security, Windows update, Advanced options and Pick a new date.

  The optional update should be offered up to you but if they are not, you can also go to the catalog site. To find an update I go to the Windows Health release dashboard and find the KB number I need in the resolution section, then go to link in the page the catalog site and search for it. If you go from the Health release dashboard, it gives you the exact link to go to.

  Once you find the KB you need, the trick is to find the “bitness”. Most of us have 64 bit machines so then find the 64 bit version of the update and click to download it. Now click to install it and follow the prompts. If you get a message that the update doesn’t apply to your machine, don’t worry, this just means you clicked on the wrong patch. Windows will never let you accidentally install the wrong patch.

  Tech Help Patch Lady Posts

• If you think you are having a bad day

  Posted on March 26th, 2021 at 10:39 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Off topic wonder for a Friday

  Cargo ship blocking waterway disrupts shipping worldwide.

  Tugboats and workers are trying still to free the skyscraper-sized cargo ship stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal.

  Read more: https://t.co/ZXbmjU5JGr pic.twitter.com/ETVd5bs7Rd

  — Sky News (@SkyNews) March 25, 2021

  You could be a Captain for a ship.

  I think they are going to have to remove a few containers to lighten the load, don’t you?  How much of the world’s technology shipments are impacted by this I wonder?

  What would you do to unstick it?

  Troubleshooting Patch Lady Posts

• MS-DEFCON 3: Patching is unclear

  Posted on March 26th, 2021 at 01:00 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.11.1 • 2021-03-26

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Proceed with caution.

  I’m separating my patching guidance into two categories: one for business users and one for consumer or home users. And I’m lowering our MS-DEFCON level to 3. We’re not out of the March woods yet, but things are a bit better.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.11.1 (2021-03-26).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 3, Patch Lady Posts

• LinkedIn deliberately scrambles résumé PDFs, experts say

  Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 01:08 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.11 • 2021-03-22

  The AskWoody Newsletters will not be published on March 29, 2021. We’ll see you again on April 5, 2021.

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  LinkedIn — the foremost social network for working professionals, with 760 million members in more than 200 countries — constantly changes the format of its PDF résumés to make it hard for companies to search for possible job applicants, according to human-resource consultants.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.11.F (2021-03-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LinkedIn, Public Defender

• A wide-ranging trio of questions

  Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 01:06 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  This week’s top reader-submitted questions cover quite a spread of topics, starting with some unexpected lithium-ion battery behavior.

  Then we examine the reasons for a reader’s deep misgivings about the safety and reliability of cloud-storage services, and we’ll wrap up with a super-simple, three-click solution for a notebook PC whose unplugged performance is simply too slow for practical use.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, Power settings, Windows

• Freeware Spotlight – Distant Desktop

  Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 01:04 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Best Utilities

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  It’s unfortunate that I paid for an annual renewal of Team Viewer just before I found Distant Desktop.

  I might have made a different decision. This newly discovered remote-control software is totally free for personal and commercial use, AND it has everything I use and love.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).

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

• How to set up and use a Microsoft account in Windows

  Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 01:02 Lance Whitney Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  MICROSOFT ACCOUNTS

  

  By Lance Whitney

  A Microsoft account offers you a single sign-on method to log in to Windows on any computer.

  A Microsoft account is a quick and convenient way to use the same credentials to sign in to different Microsoft applications and services. This type of account can connect you to Office, Outlook, OneDrive, Skype, the Microsoft Store, and Xbox Live. A Microsoft account is required for you to access certain services such as Office on the Web and, more importantly for this series, OneDrive.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, Windows 10 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Account, Windows 10

• Dealing with printers

  Posted on March 22nd, 2021 at 01:00 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Keeping printers up to date

  Once upon a time, I purchased an HP LaserJet 4L printer that would just keep on printing, year after year, until the plastic door on the top of the printer finally broke off. After my initial installation, the printer driver was never updated.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Blue screens of death, Exchange Server, Patch Lady Posts, printers
• « Older Entries