Newsletter Archives
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Can we control the changes to our operating systems?
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. -
May’s messy updates
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).
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Apple and Microsoft fix April zero days
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).
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How do you install and patch your new computer?
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).
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Firmware and drivers
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).
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The sky is not falling
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).
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Ensuring you can recover
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).
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Microsoft kills off Internet Explorer — mostly
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. -
Getting Outlook to behave
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).
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January’s patching cyclone
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).
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Patching year 2022 comes to a close
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. -
It’s time to install Windows 10 22H2
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).