Newsletter Archives

• 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

• When should you retire your Apple device?

  Posted on November 21, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.47 • 2022-11-21

  Look for our BONUS issue on November 28!

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Apple’s recent releases encourage new hardware.

  There are several people at my office who constantly purchase the latest iPhone or iPad, turning in their old devices in the process. I’m not that adventurous — I don’t recommend updating quite that fast.

  However, I do recommend an upgrade if your phone is an older model, such as iPhone 8. Why? Because the best security is provided on the newest hardware, and because Apple has become more like Microsoft in requiring newer hardware to protect against snooping, zero days, and other risks.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.47.0, 2022-11-21).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch Apple updates, iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• 22H2 not ready for consumers

  Posted on November 14, 2022 at 02:41 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I don’t like to be an alarmist. Nor do I like to base my technology decisions on one anecdote.

  But when a friend of mine who owns a Windows 11 computer called to tell me about issues he experienced with Windows 11 22H2, I got concerned.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.46.0, 2022-11-14).

  Patch Watch Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Print Spooler, security, Windows, Windows 11

• Dealing with incremental updates, aka “dribbles”

  Posted on November 7, 2022 at 02:41 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Last year, Microsoft announced that Windows was moving to an annual release schedule rather than the twice-a-year release cadence.

  The impression at that time was that Microsoft would be settling into a nice, boring release schedule with only one disruption per year. But the reality so far has been the exact opposite. Even with the Insider testing program, the timing is such that you can’t really test things until they get to the general public.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.45.0, 2022-11-07).

  Patch Watch Hardware drivers, Newsletters, OpenSSL, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows Update

• Tracking the larger Microsoft ecosystem

  Posted on October 31, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  With Microsoft 365 making inroads onto platforms other than Windows, it’s increasingly important to track versioning and patches elsewhere.

  For example, it’s not enough to talk about Microsoft 365 as if it existed only on Windows PCs. We know our readers have more than one device, including phones and tablets. So while my focus with Patch Watch will continue to center on Windows, you’ll hear more from me about the broader Microsoft universe.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.44.0, 2022-10-31).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MacOS, Microsoft 365, Newsletter, Office, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• 22H2 – Windows 10 edition

  Posted on October 17, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ---

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We anticipate an uneventful release of Windows 10 22H2 later in the month.

  Meanwhile, we’re watching several side effects from the September and October updates that have not yet been addressed. Most of these side effects are not being seen in the consumer and home space, and here’s hoping it stays that way. Issues do tend to bubble up over time, though.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.42.0, 2022-10-17).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows 10 22H2

• Patch your humans

  Posted on September 19, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The September updates for Windows appear to be better behaved than those in other recent months.

  Gone is the notation that Windows 10 or Windows 11 will trigger audio issues when the updates are installed. Also, thankfully, it appears that the problems with USB printers have been resolved.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.38.0, 2022-09-19).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, IPSec, IPv6, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• Windows 11’s unique bug

  Posted on August 15, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, it invariably introduces new bugs as a side effect.

  KB5016629 includes a fix for a server message-block (file-sharing) bug that is unique to Windows 11. In a peer-to-peer network, an attacker could trick you by using web-based sharing links such as Azure or other data centers. Windows 10 and earlier are not affected.

  This month’s Windows 11 updates also include fixes for issues where File Explorer fails to work when you use the Star menu’s context menu and an external monitor, or when you use the Play and Pause keyboard buttons.

  Not to be outdone, the Windows 10 security update this month, KB5016616, includes fixes for an issue that affects printing. Let’s hope it fixes those problems we’ve been seeing with USB-based printers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.33.0, 2022-08-15).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch Adobe, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Patch Lady Posts, Print Spooler vulnerabilities, Windows, Windows 11

• Printer bugs squashed this month

  Posted on July 18, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  If you are like me, you still print. A lot.

  Just this week, I was fighting a Lexmark printer that no longer would recognize “Tray 1” and refused to print. To get someone to look at the printer is going to cost nearly as much as it did to purchase the printer.

  But we’re not here to hear about my printer woes — we’re here to discuss potential side effects due to July’s updates. In yet another chapter of this sad story, we’re once again patching Print Spooler elevation of privileges. That means, once again, I’ll be keeping a very sharp eye out for printing side effects. And my sharp eye will also be on label printers, because those have been impacted by previous patches. (This has been going on for a really long time.)

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.29.0, 2022-07-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows Update

• Dealing with DCOM

  Posted on June 27, 2022 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  In the June updates, Microsoft continues its journey to harden the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), with the goal of making it more resilient to attack.

  DCOM is a proprietary Microsoft software component that allows COM objects to communicate with each other over a network. Network OLE was the precursor to DCOM (remember Windows 3.1.1?). Because DCOM can run programs on other computers, hackers can leverage it for lateral-movement attacks through your network, gaining access to more data. This activity can be difficult to detect because it’s not malware or hacker tools — all it takes to access DCOM is PowerShell.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.26.0, 2022-06-27).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows, Windows DCOM
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