Blog Archives

• 2020 patching starts with a bang!

  Posted on January 20th, 2020 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  Patch Tuesday arrived on January 14, and it was not an auspicious start to the new year.

  An NSA warning about a newly revealed Windows vulnerability isn’t the only newsworthy event for January. Let’s recap:

  As we’ve discussed thoroughly on askwoody.com, millions of Windows users are saying goodbye (sort of) to the beloved Windows 7. For consumers, January’s updates are the last they’ll receive — barring some extraordinary event. Businesses still relying on Win7 machines (and there are possibly millions) get a three-year reprieve — if they take advantage of Microsoft’s Win7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) offering.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.3.0 (2020-01-20).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, NSA alert, Windows 7 ESUs, Windows patching

• No fireworks, closing out 2019 updating

  Posted on January 6th, 2020 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  The past year of Windows and Office patching sure had its ups and downs, false alarms, and true debacles.

  Fortunately, we seem to be ending the year on a relatively positive note.

  The new decade starts off with the official end of Windows 7 support — for most users. As regular readers know, we’ve come up with a process for acquiring extended security updates. It’s not free, but the cost is relatively low for any small business that can’t easily upgrade to a newer OS. (See my article “Hunting for an elusive Win7 ESU license” in the 2019-12-23 AskWoody Plus Newsletter.)

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.1.0 (2020-01-06).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Extended Security Updates, Windows 7 EoL, Windows patching, Windows Servers EoL

• Closing out the patching year …

  Posted on December 16th, 2019 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  This is a busy time for Windows upgrading.

  Win10 1803 officially fell into the bit bucket this past November; Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 will suffer the same fate this coming January.

  Upgrading to a newer version of Windows 10 should be relatively painless. But the shift will be far more difficult and consequential for the mass of PC users still running Win7.

  Security is obviously a concern for Win7 users, but Microsoft has stated that Security Essentials updates will also end in January. However, it’s likely that third-party browsers and anti-malware apps will continue to get updates for some unknown period of time. Based on the XP experience, it could be months or years.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.46.0 (2019-12-16).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Extended support, Windows 7 EoL, Windows updating

• The (sorta) quiet release of Win10 Version 1909

  Posted on December 2nd, 2019 at 01:00 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  Microsoft’s latest update of Window 10 is rolling out with little fanfare — and few reports of major problems.

  As Woody notes in an AskWoody post, the migration to Version 1909 appears to be relatively painless — especially if you’re coming from Version 1903.

  That said, businesses will want to thoroughly test Win10 1909 — and prepare for upgrading to Version 1903, assuming you’re not already on it.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.44.0 (2019-12-02).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Black Friday deals, November updates, Office updates, Win10 1909

• Ready or not, Win10 Version 1909 is here

  Posted on November 18th, 2019 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  The September Windows 10 feature release … um … no, the November feature release — well, in any case, the 1909 version is finally out.

  This time around, Microsoft is apparently doing something new that just might take some of the pain out of upgrading Windows 10. As Woody notes in a Computerworld column, Version 1909 has the feel of a Windows 7–style service pack.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.42.0 (2019-11-18).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Enablement Package, November updates, Windows patching

• Getting ready for Windows 10 1909

  Posted on October 28th, 2019 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  Many of us are still pondering Win10 1903 — and now Version 1909 is almost upon us. Here’s how not to be the next release’s beta tester.

  If the rumors are true, the next feature release for Windows 10 will begin trickling out on November 12. It looks like Version 1909 won’t be the big deal we thought it might be, which is all the more reason to not be one of the early adopters — unless you really like testing “beta” operating systems.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.39.0 (2019-10-28).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office patching, Windows 10 1909, Windows 7 EoL, Windows patching

• October’s updates look promising; however …

  Posted on October 14th, 2019 at 01:10 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  First, a mea culpa: I said I was comfortable with installing the out-of-band Internet Explorer update released October 3. I have to take that back.

  The update was designed to block the new IE vulnerability CVE-2019-1367. The October 3 release was the third time Microsoft sent out essentially the same fix, but it’s the only one I’ve called a true out-of-band update. Unlike the two previous attempts, Microsoft pushed this patch out to everyone via the usual channels: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Update.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.37.0 (2019-10-14).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office updating, Out-of-band patches, Windows updating

• Finally! We have a true out-of-band IE update

  Posted on October 7th, 2019 at 01:10 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH SPECIAL EDITION

  By Susan Bradley

  After a series of confusing missteps, Microsoft has somewhat belatedly released an “urgent,” out-of-the-usual-cycle update in the expected way: All supported versions of Windows receive the patch via WSUS or Windows Update.

  This is how an “out-of-band” update is supposed to look and act. All Microsoft customers get protected quickly and easily. We don’t have to download anything from the Microsoft Update Catalog, install preview updates, or otherwise stand on our heads to be safe from a new exploit.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.36.0 (2019-10-07).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Internet Explorer zero day, Out-of-band patches
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