Newsletter Archives

• Can we control the changes to our operating systems?

  Posted on June 5, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.23 • 2023-06-05

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I grew up on television shows such as Bewitched, in which Samantha, the character played by Elizabeth Montgomery, could just wiggle her nose and things would do what she wanted them to do.

  Until something went wrong, that is, and she’d have to explain to Darrin that, well, things didn’t quite go as planned.

  Sometimes updating Windows is like that.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.23.0, 2023-06-05).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch Apple patches, Dribbled updates, Microsoft Patches, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• May’s messy updates

  Posted on May 15, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Although the May releases for both Windows and Apple have not introduced side effects or hiccups so far, they haven’t been as problem-free as they should have been.

  Apple released the first of its “rapid response” updates, announced last June and supposedly allowing the company to deploy important security-only software updates without demanding a reboot.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).

  Patch Watch Apple, Exchange Server, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Rapid Security Responses, Secure Boot, Windows 10

• Apple and Microsoft fix April zero days

  Posted on April 17, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Tomorrow is the tax-filing deadline in the US. It’s not the time to be installing updates, especially since we’re still at MS-DEFCON 2.

  In other words, we’re still in deferral mode despite several newsworthy patching headlines and despite my not having noticed any significant side effects. As usual, I suggest patience until we know more.

  The majority of the items of concern relate to businesses, not consumers. Here are some highlights.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.16.0, 2023-04-17).

  Patch Watch Active Directory, Certificate padding, Juice Jacking, LAPS, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Zero Day

• How do you install and patch your new computer?

  Posted on April 10, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’m doing something vastly different this week.

  Right off the bat, you’ll notice that this article is a bit shorter than I usually write. That’s because it describes the actual writing task to which I’ve set myself. I’ve prepared two checklist documents about setting up a Windows PC, one for Windows 10 and one for Windows 11.

  Both of these documents are targeted at the ordinary consumer, the home user.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.15.0, 2023-04-10).

  Patch Watch New PC setup, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Win10 setup, Win11 setup, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Firmware and drivers

  Posted on April 3, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Why are drivers and firmware so important?

  Once upon a time, you would set up a computer and any display adapter driver or firmware would be automatically installed to match the hardware. More than likely, you would not install new drivers for a long, long time.

  But now with both Windows 10 and 11, I annually review drivers and firmware as the Windows feature releases come out. I go through certain steps and processes to rule out issues that might have been triggered by out-of-date drivers, especially if I’ve encountered side effects that I can’t otherwise explain.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.14.0, 2023-04-03).

  Patch Watch drivers, firmware, Graphics Cards, Intune, Motherboards, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, WSUS

• The sky is not falling

  Posted on March 20, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  You may have seen the headlines: Outlook is getting a patch for a zero-day attack that can’t be fixed just by turning off the preview pane.

  Don’t panic. The risk is greatest if you are connecting Outlook to an on-premises Exchange server.

  Importantly, the attacks have been seen only in targeted firms. The risk is higher for government agencies. Microsoft has even provided a script to determine whether you are at risk.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.12.0, 2023-03-20).

  Patch Watch Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• Ensuring you can recover

  Posted on March 13, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Anyone reading the title of this edition of Patch Watch may think I’m talking about a Windows update issue.

  But no matter what your technology, I want to remind you that having a backup means that you will be able to recover.

  A good friend of mine, totally ensconced in the Apple world, reported that her older Apple computer running Monterey was not a happy camper. She had been traveling and did not want to install updates. Once at home after her travels, she attempted to update. That’s when the “fun” started.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.11.0, 2023-03-13).

  Patch Watch backup, Group Policy Editor, Intel, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Reinstall, Upgrade blocking, Zero Day

• Microsoft kills off Internet Explorer — mostly

  Posted on February 20, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.08 • 2023-02-20

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Not feeling the love from Microsoft this month?

  That might be because the company is saying goodbye to its aged Internet Explorer Web browser (IE), albeit only on certain platforms.

  For Windows 10, the death of IE is not part of this month’s Windows update but rather part of the update to the Edge browser. That update would have been in the background, silent, and you may not have noticed it. Even if you did, you probably didn’t pay much attention. Unless, of course, you had moved from IE to Edge a while back. For you, the update re-migrated your favorites and bookmarks, making a duplicate list.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.08.0, 2023-02-20).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch .NET patches, Edge, Internet Explorer, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, SQL Server, Web Browsers

• Getting Outlook to behave

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:41 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  When dealing with Outlook, there are some tricks for dealing with its annoyances.

  A friend of mine was setting up a new computer and loaded up her applications. One of the major ones she relies on is Outlook, for her email and calendar. When she opened Outlook to view her calendar, it had frozen and wouldn’t open. What to do?

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

  Patch Watch Newsletters, outlook, Patch Lady Posts

• January’s patching cyclone

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re a bit soggy and wet at the AskWoody Tech LLC Global Headquarters here in central California.

  We’ve had nearly a week of rain, and more is coming. I shouldn’t complain — severe drought has brought our state’s water supply down to historically low levels, so the water is needed and much appreciated. But when Microsoft rains down upon us at the same time, the total deluge is a bit much.

  For January, Microsoft fixed 98 security vulnerabilities, said goodbye (for the final time) to the much-beloved Windows 7, also said goodbye to the less used (but popular among its buffs) Windows 8.1, and actually released updates to Microsoft’s on-premises mail server, Exchange.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).

  Patch Watch Exchange Server, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, windows 7, Windows 8

• Patching year 2022 comes to a close

  Posted on December 19, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.51 • 2022-12-19

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Every vendor brought us a lump of coal.

  No matter which platform you use, we are closing out a year in which we have been very vulnerable. From Microsoft to Apple to our firewall vendors — and even to Linux distros such as Ubuntu and Mint — just about every vendor has ended the year with patches, vulnerabilities unfixed, and new releases.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.51.0, 2022-12-19).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch 0patch, Apple updates, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows 10, Windows 11

• It’s time to install Windows 10 22H2

  Posted on December 5, 2022 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Unless you have a pressing need to stay on 21H2, Windows 10 22H2 has proven stable enough to be my new recommended version for Windows 10.

  However, I can’t say the same for Windows 11 22H2. I’m still tracking numerous issues with it and thus do not recommend it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.49.0, 2022-12-05).

  Patch Watch Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11
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