Monthly Archives: February 2023

• Here comes February’s valentines of patches

  Posted on February 14, 2023 at 12:12 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Here we go again with a bundle of updates.

  Remember our mantra – to pause, ponder, wait and in general see what the side effects are first.

  Windows servers are still getting Internet Explorer updates!  So IE is not quite dead.  Yet.

  Remember Windows 7 is officially out of support so if you are still using it, please do not be using it to surf, browse, etc ensure that you are using it in isolation away from the Internet. 0Patch is an option for those of you.

  Remember as well that the “disable IE” is only on Windows 10 and comes through an Edge update  NOT an Internet Explorer update.

  Links for discussion on this month’s updates:

  Dustin Childs’ blog

  Ghacks

  Incidents.org

  Trending issues:  Seeing reports that Server 2022 booting issues see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/90947  “Also having this issue on 2 Win 2022 servers after applying KB5022842. Disabling Secure Boot on the VM “fixed” it for now. ESXi 7.0.3, 20842708″

  I can personally report that the removal of Internet Explorer in Edge is breaking remote deposit with the Bank of America website.  It doesn’t recognize the scanner driver on Edge, it does on Chrome.

  For those of you that are IT admins be aware of:

  Updates released February 14, 2023 or later might not be offered from some Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) servers to Windows 11, version 22H2. The updates will download to the WSUS server but might not propagate further to client devices. Affected WSUS servers are only those running Windows Server 2022 which have been upgraded from Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019. This issue is caused by the accidental removal of required Unified Update Platform (UUP) MIME types during the upgrade to Windows Server 2022 from a previous version of Windows Server. This issue might affect security updates or feature updates for Windows 11, version 22H2. Microsoft Configuration Manager is not affected by this issue.

  To mitigate this issue, please see Adding file types for Unified Update Platform on premises. We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

  Windows Security February 2023 Black Tuesday, Patch Lady Posts

• Apple is out with several zero days in Feb patch bundle

  Posted on February 14, 2023 at 00:58 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Apple is once again patching Webkit bugs in a series of updates out today for several of their platforms:

  💻 macOS 13.2.1 – 3 bugs fixed
  📱 iOS and iPadOS 16.3.1 – 2 bugs fixed
  📺 tvOS 16.3.2 (details available soon) – no details yet
  ⌚ watchOS 9.3.1 (details available soon) – no details yet

  More tomorrow for Microsoft – stay tuned!

  Apple Patch Lady Posts

• You are rich!

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.07 • 2023-02-13

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  You may not realize that you have a valuable asset, one that companies are willing to pay big bucks for.

  Unfortunately (for you), to date those companies have paid the big bucks to someone else: $76 billion to Google in the last quarter of 2022, $31 billion to Amazon for advertising alone last year. Those companies (and others) are selling access to your personal information. There is nothing illegal about that — you willingly (although perhaps not purposely) provided them the information.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Artificial intelligence, Copyright, Legal, Newsletters, Trademark

• The Fastie Keyboard Silencer Pro+

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Getting a quiet keyboard is easier than you think, especially with my new product concept.

  I type a lot. That’s what editors do. I also write code when I’m working on websites. I can’t escape the need for a good, comfortable keyboard.

  I also can’t escape the need for a quiet keyboard.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  Hardware hardware, keyboard, Keyboards, Newsletters, Quiet

• WeatherMate — The weather on your desktop, without ads

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Weather apps seem to follow a process in development.

  Step 1: Make a full-featured app.

  Step 2: Let people get hooked on it for a few years.

  Step 3: Ruin it by filling it with an obscene number of advertisements.

  But there is one app out there that is a breath of fresh air, mostly sunny with only a 10 percent chance of showers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Weather

• Which antivirus solution is the best?

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Once upon a time, antivirus was the only thing that kept the attackers on the outside and protected your data on the inside.

  Even though antivirus is still an important item in your security toolkit, it is by no means the only means of protection. These days, I look to security programs that provide a balance between protection, information, minimal or no performance impact, and rare false positives. In the days when Microsoft still released major Windows service packs, your antivirus solution often meant the difference between a successful upgrade and one that was painful.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  On Security antivirus, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, security, Software

• Finding a good keyboard

  Posted on February 11, 2023 at 22:36 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  One thing I’ve noticed lately when buying a new computer is that they EXPECT you to buy your own keyboard. The one that ships with a new desktop computer is one that I typically coil the cord up and put it in the storage room in case I need an emergency keyboard.

  Recently I went to investigate what would be a GOOD keyboard for someone after the wireless one I got for them wasn’t responsive enough and was a bit laggy.

  Who knew that all the really good keyboards these days are for gamers? One for example that I’ve seen recommended by many is the Logitech G series. One of the first things I had to figure out was how to get it to NOT be rainbow colored, or neon pink, or bright green, or any of the other 9 colors or pulsing things it was trying to be. I set it for pale blueish white all the way across the keyboard. Non pulsing. Not having a backlight at all was too weird as you couldn’t see the keyboard keys and numbers. Now while we are all touch typists and all that, it still threw me off to not have any sort of indicator of what key I was on.

  Another recommended brand is Keychron  which looks like an old IBM style of keyboard.  Speaking of IBM, who knew you could still buy an IBM model M on ebay and on Amazon.

  Anyone who REALLY types knows what I mean. You have to have a certain ‘feel’ of the keyboard and the keys can’t be too big or too small. Any thing that is off on the keyboard and you can barely type. We have two people in the office that LOVE their Apple keyboards and even use them on the Windows machines at the office (we use software from magic utilities to provide the drivers for Apple devices on Windows platforms), but personally for me? The Apple keyboard is sooooo flat that my fingers stumble over it and isn’t as efficient. Some of our best keyboards are from older HP and Dell computers where we no longer have the computer it came from, but we keep cleaning and reusing the keyboards because they feel comfortable.

  So what about you? What is your favorite keyboard now and back then?

  Hardware Patch Lady Posts

• MS-DEFCON 2: .NET and Remote Desktop

  Posted on February 9, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.06.1 • 2023-02-09

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Defer until the February updates are fully understood.

  Even though I don’t anticipate any specific problem with February’s updates, it’s always hard to know for sure. For that reason, the MS-DEFCON level is raised to 2. Don’t be surprised by a Microsoft update before you’re prepared to deal with it!

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.06.1, 2023-02-09).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON .NET Framework, Alerts, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Remote Desktop, Windows 11

• Patch list for January 2023 – final update

  Posted on February 8, 2023 at 23:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  I realized tonight that I hadn’t done my final recap of the January updates on the Master Patch List page

  We’re just about to get ready for the February updates so stay tuned for advice about February.

  As a reminder – if  you want to keep your computer on Windows 10 but still let it update to the various feature releases – Enter Windows 10 in that upper section of the local group policy and leave the lower portion blank.

  

  • Windows 11 22H2: Not recommended
  • Windows 11 21H2: If you have a Windows 11 PC, recommended
  • Windows 10 22H2: Recommended
  • Windows 10 21H2: Recommended (if a vendor won’t support 22H2)
  • Apple Ventura – tentative. Check with the applications you rely on if they recommend this release.

  As always, thank you all for supporting the cause! Remember a donation will give you access and if you donate $50 or more you’ll get a special code to enable text messages sent to your phone each time the Master Patch List gets updated and when I change the MS-DEFCON level.

  Be aware that due to a change in twitter possibly as early as next week, the DefCon tweeting may not work automatically.  The texting will continue without fail, but I rely on Zapier who is like everyone else and trying to keep up with what keeps changing. We will keep you posted as we know more.

  Windows Security Master Patch List, Patch Lady Posts

• February 2023 Office non-Security updates

  Posted on February 7, 2023 at 14:49 CST by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft released NO non-security updates for Office on February 7, 2023.

  On April 10, 2018, Office 2013 reached End of Mainstream Support. Extended Support ends for Office 2013 on April 11, 2023.
  Office 2016 also reached  End of Mainstream Support on October 13, 2020. EOS for Office 2016 is October 14, 2025.

  Updates are for the .msi version (perpetual). Office 365 and C2R are not included.

  Security updates for all supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday).

  Office Patches/Security February 2023 Black Tuesday, February 2023 Office non-Security updates, Office 2013, Office 2016

• How to fix File Explorer folder views in Windows 10 and 11

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.06 • 2023-02-06

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  There’s a common complaint about the file manager in Windows 10 and 11. You change File Explorer’s “folder view” to show filenames, dates, file sizes, and so forth. You’ve got them exactly the way you want. You select View, Options and use the View tab to click “Apply to Folders.” Then File Explorer immediately forgets what you said and shows folders any damn way it wants.

  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But the anguish from this problem arises so often that it’s a wonder Microsoft hasn’t fixed it by now.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender File Explorer, Newsletters, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Changes to Outlook and OneDrive have fallout

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Last week there were two big — and related — changes to Outlook.com and OneDrive.

  One is a way for Microsoft to gobble up more of your OneDrive quota. The other is a new Microsoft 365 plan, which might interest people with a perpetual license to Office 2021, 2019, and earlier.

  I’ll explain these changes in detail; in particular, I’ll explain why these two changes are related and how to deal with the fallout.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, OneDrive, Outlook.com, outlook.com attachments
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