It’s still too early to apply December patches

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I’ll be looking again early next week, but we’ve had several monkey wrenches so far this month. Patience. If you aren’t using Internet Explorer or Edg
[See the full post at: It’s still too early to apply December patches]

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I’ve had KB3207752 and KB3210131 (Win7) quality & rollup updates applied since the Dec.14th. So far there hasn’t been any noticeable issues as of yet. I do use IE and have flash (NPAPI) installed.

Luckily didn’t get that Intel system optional update appearing in my WU. Maybe it only affects more recent systems with newer cpus.

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I installed the KB3207752 and KB3210131 (Win7) updates on my old “dog” box on the 14th Dec.
No problems found.
Today I’ll be installing on one of my newer Core i7 PCs.
Will post back if I have issues.

PS I didn’t install the Intel update. It went straight into the hidden updates.

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Update
Installed KB3207752 on both my Core i7 PCs win7 x86 and win7 x64.
No worries.

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I’m waiting until it’s at Level 3 and there’s an article about what updates are safe to install.

Also I don’t use Internet explorer anymore since it’s ancient browser history.

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We’ve run into an issue of defender definitions etc not turning up. Defender itself says it’s out of date, but the progress bar for uploading and installing only goes so far and then gets stuck. This is the case on our Asus laptop and Lenovo desktop, both running Windows 8.1 We’re group A and when it’s least dangerous (per Woody) run the full download of updates. Any chance MS is withholding defender updates until the latest rollups are installed? The message that there’s an internet or connectivity issue is unlikely since we have no problems with anything else using it.

Are we alone, or have others had the same issue?

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I keep seeing references to not using Flash in various AskWoody posts. Why? What are good alternatives for someone using Firefox?

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Avoid Flash like the plague it is. It’s the largest source of malware on Windows computers. THE largest.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/disable-flash-how-to,news-21335.html

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I have deleted Flash from my primary browser, Firefox.

I let Firefox default to HTML5 media, if available. If the site insists that I need Flash, I open it up in Google Chrome, with the latest integrated Flash plugin installed. Chrome integrates the latest Flash plugin updates with every browser update, so at least I know I’m running the latest, updated, Flash plugin 🙂

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The message is likely to be true, but misleading. Try to go into Defender and update manually. Do you use a proxy server or is just a home user setup?

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It is an exaggeration not to use Flash at all to prove a point, but you can configure Flash in Firefox under plugins to Ask for permission before running and allow it only if the site is trusted.
Flash will be discontinued soon by Adobe and most serious sites have transitioned or are in the process of transitioning to HTML5 as replacement.
bbc.co.uk is among the last big ones transitioning away from Flash, but is getting there.

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Most websites have migrated from Flash to HTML5…My suggestion (and probably Woody’s) would be to not install Flash until you come across a site that you actually have to have it for…and even then, you’d be advised to use something like a Flashblock extension to keep it from running on sites unless explicitly allowed.

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Flash is gonna be with us for a while…some site will not work properly without it.

I have it set to click to run in Firefox.

I have done the December updates, including Flash, and have had no problems.

For some reason, I don’t seem to have 99% of the issues that people claim to have here.

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The issues you see here are distilled. They don’t represent the typical situation. I report, almost daily, on problems that other people have – not ones that I have.

But it’s important to know about the issues and how to solve them, because some day you (or I) might not be so lucky.

If a bug in a Windows update causes problems on just 1% of all the machines…

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Yep. I personally use (and recommend in my books) one, single browser for Flash sites. In my case, if I have to use Flash, I’ll fire up Chrome.

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@jmwoods
For some reason, I don’t seem to have 99% of the issues that people claim to have here.

One more reasonable user here 🙂
We need more voices like you for a sense of balance.

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Here, here!

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@Woody:

Is “Chrome” a separate browser that anyone can utilize? I’ve never used it, so just wondering if the reviews I see make it a browser of choice (especially for Flash).

I’ve only used Firefox, however wondering if Chrome would be a good addition. NEVER use the IE.

Thank you for the information you’ve provided. 🙂

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Both Firefox and Chrome are excellent, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. If you’re happy with Firefox, keep using it. Firefox should automatically warn you if you need to run Flash:

https://threatpost.com/firefox-to-block-flash-in-august-disable-in-2017/119419/

They’re going to disable Flash completely next year.

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@Woody:

Thank you so much for all of the information! The link you provided contains a wealth of information!

I’m relieved to know that Flash will be completely disabled next year. WONDERFUL!!

Thank you again for everything!!! 🙂 🙂

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One peculiarity about how FF handles Flash when it is set to “Ask to activate” is kind of a pain, though. It still reports to the site that Flash is installed, so a lot of sites will not offer the HTML5 version, but will instead demand that you enable Flash. (Speedtest.net and dailymotion.com are a couple of examples of this).

If you set Flash to Never Activate, the HTML5 content will play without issue.

There are supposed to be addons that hide the Flash plugin when its set to Ask, but the one I tried didn’t work. Given that Flash is on the way out, I just leave it on “Never activate” and turn it on manually (or use a separate FF profile) for the rare sites that are stuck in the dark ages (the US National Weather Service radar animation, for one example).

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“But it’s important to know about the issues and how to solve them, because some day you (or I) might not be so lucky.”

Which is why I do a disk image (and validate it byte-for-byte) before making major changes to my systems…

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+1

As long as your system isn’t bricked (which is becoming less and less common).

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I use a third-party disk imaging tool that allows me to restore a Windows disk image using Linux boot media.

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I have Flash blocked in Firefox. If I need to run something that requires Flash, I use Brave (https://brave.com/).

Brave was designed to not run all of the ads and other hidden junk that runs in other browsers. Consequently, it is fast and more safe than other browsers.

It’s still got a few rough edges, and some add-ins that I use aren’t available in Brave.

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Home setup.

I’ve tried to upload through the action center, but that’s where the progress bar gets stuck.

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You might try the offline updater…

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/definitions/adl.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

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I think you should be able to update Defender separately from Windows Update.
Might be worth setting Windows Update temporarily at least, until the Defender issue gets fixed, on Never check for updates.
After Defender is updates and not stuck any more, the Windows update configuration can be set back to your preferred position.

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Re: Shanfan “The message that there’s an internet or connectivity issue is unlikely since we have no problems with anything else using it.” Exactly same message here.

I manually update WinDef in W8.1 twice daily. Last few days download and install portion of green bar take 2xlonger than before and message pops up “WinDef can’t update”…but it does o.k.

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Ascaris; Thanks for the “never activate Flash in Firefox” tip.

?✔

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Thanks ch100, Clueless and jmwoods, I figured out how to get the manual update to run and the laptop is now fully updated for Defender. We’re working on the desktop which seems to be following a similarly optimistic path. All without any additional updates! 🙂

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I guess we will get Preview Rollups next tuesday
unless they decided to skip December 2016 🙂

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It’s entirely possible they’re going to just skip it… hard to say. Everybody I know is out on vacation.

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That seems very likely, since Preview Rollup just offeres new “non-security” fixes, which can be postponed one more month

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@Shanfan;

My WinDef manual updates back to normal today.

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Santa making great time. Now over Europe.

http://www.noradsanta.org

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good- night.

??

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