Microsoft Patch Alert: January patches stumbled all over themselves, but they’re finally looking reasonably stable

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Cold and snow have descended on Middle Tennessee. School’s out for the day. What better activity than to dissect this month’s patches? Post coming in
[See the full post at: Microsoft Patch Alert: January patches stumbled all over themselves, but they’re finally looking reasonably stable]

4 users thanked author for this post.

abbodi86, Elly, geekdom, Myst

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Hi Woody,  You refer to another bug fix for the Win 7 roll up that is resolved by another “silver bullet” patch in the Computerworld article.    What is the number of this “silver bullet” patch? Thanks very much.

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There is more information about the Win7 patches and a link to the “silver bullet” patch in the ComputerWorld article. There is also a link there to Susan Bradley’s Patch Watch Column.

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It’s the same Silver Bullet. KB 4487345 kills two birds with one, uh, bullet.

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“but they’re finally looking reasonably stable”

Does this mean that it should be safe to proceed & update?

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No, we are still under DEFCON2. It is not time to update yet. Wait until the DEFCON number is 3 or above and Woody gives the instructions for safe patching.

1 user thanked author for this post.

woody

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looks like I won’t be patching Win 7 until at least Feb., if/when MS fixes this mess.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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We’ve got 11 days in Feb. to update before Tuesday the 12th.  I usually wait until around that time to update unless there’s a real important need to update sooner and Woody gives the go ahead.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Hopefully MS does, but no guarantees. Group B here and there was nothing critical for Win7 in January. Maybe better to give January SO update a miss rather than to experience a glitch down the road and have forgotten which patch to pull… 🙁

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fernlady here- Is the site having hic-ups? When signed in none of the topics will let me post
a reply. Just wanted to say I wasn’t offered the Silver Bullet KB 4487345, guess I don’t need it?

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The Silver Bullet KB 4487345 is a download from the MS Catalog, not offered through Windows Update and has to be installed manually.

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@fernlady. This is DrBonzo. I’m having the same problem; I can post anonymously but not when logged in as DrBonzo. I’m assuming it’s a hiccup due to all the changes at AskWoody.

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@fernlady @drbonzo

We are working on the poating problem. Stand by.

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I’m not sure what’s going on. Hang on.

UPDATE: I had the same problem, but it seems to be working now. Amirite?

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Another test post as a Lounger.

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DrBonzo here. Still being blocked from posting as DrBonzo.

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Just took out the ability to trash and edit posts.

Gimme a minute and I’ll see what else got screwed up.

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Testing

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

1 user thanked author for this post.

Mele20

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Testing again

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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fernlady here, testing

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fernlady here,  maybe its the cold weather playing tricks.

1 user thanked author for this post.

woody

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I don’t know what it is. I’ve had several more reports – and it happened to me, for a while, before mysteriously returning to working correctly.

Not clear at this point if it’s only this thread….

Gotta grab a cup of coffee.

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This is Mele20.

This is getting a bit tiresome!  All day on January 30 and now 1:35AM January 31 and I still can’t post here when I am logged in.

You have noticed that I can give Thanks while logged in but cannot post?  (Gave Thanks earlier in this very thread). That seems a bit weird.

Wishful thinking if you are under the impression the problem is only with THIS thread.  It is ALL THREADS ON THIS SITE that I cannot post to if logged in.

I hope it is only sunny, beautiful Hawaii where it isn’t working now!

1 user thanked author for this post.

woody

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DrBonzo here. In detail, here’s what happens to me. When I’m not logged in I’m given the option of replying to each post via the word “REPLY” in light gray at the top of each post. When I’m logged in as DrBonzo, I don’t have that option, and in addition, I see a statement in a pink-shaded rectangular box at the end of each thread that says I cannot reply to this topic (that’s a paraphrase since I’m not logged in at the moment and didn’t commit the statement to memory before logging in). This behavior happens on any of a handful or so of threads I’ve visited.

2 users thanked author for this post.

dgreen, woody

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Appreciate the detail. Hang on…

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Mele20, Elly

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Susan tried to tell us its ok to patch.. Until i see Woody raise it to defcon 3 or above, im not doing nothing

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Elly

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Susan and Woody have different patching strategies.

Susan tests, and looks if there are any problems reported, and who or what is effected, and gives the all clear patch by patch. Some businesses face updating mandates for security reasons, and need to get their patching done fairly quickly. Or someone may have faced a bug in last months patch, and thinks it is worthwhile to apply the fix included in this months patch. She does not provide step by step patching guidance, but relies on people to know enough about patching to look at the information she provides and be able to make an educated decision about what they are going to do, on their own.

Woody looks if there are any problems reported, what the fixes and work arounds are, and waits to see if there are any problems noted with the fixes. Before the next Patch Tuesday, he will change the DEFCON level and provides step by step instructions by operating system in a ComputerWorld article. If you are someone who needs to ask for help regarding patching, wait until the instructions are posted for everyone, and follow them.

Both Susan and Woody look at what malware is out there, and the severity, and risk of being attacked, when making recommendations about patching.

You will see a number of people report the results they have when patching, from the time the patches are issued. These should be people that are willing to test, and have the knowledge and skill to restore their machines if needed. If you aren’t willing to risk a BSOD, or loss of network connection, or some unknown bug, don’t be one of the early beta-testers… and you should be able to restore your computer without help if you do update! The whole point of the DEFCON system is to let others take the risks, and figure out what the problems are, while keeping your system safe and functional.

Like anonymous, I follow Woody’s DEFCON system, waiting until the number changes, and then following Woody’s instructions. My data may be backed up. My operating system and programs may be backed up. But it saves an awful lot of hassle to be able to move forward, problem free, after the bugs are identified and fixes worked out.

Articles between DEFCON changes report problems and fixes and how things are going generally. They aren’t meant to give the all clear to patch. But… people are free to take their chances, at any time. No one is going to force you to follow the DEFCON system. I get a kick out of people asking, all month, well, should I patch now? and the MVPs will tell them to wait… Wait for the DEFCON change. Relax until then. Its simple.

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

7 users thanked author for this post.

geekdom, pmcjr6142, SueW, Chris B, bradam, woody, Ed

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Keep a link handy to comment #318574 Elly, then you can just copy/paste the info you provided again next month. And the month after that. And the month after that.

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Elly, SueW

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dgreen reporting:
Having the same problem as post #318621

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anonymous wrote:

dgreen reporting: Having the same problem as post #318621

Working now after contacting woody at customer support for the fix.
Thanks Woody.

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Victory!  It’s working now.  Mahalo.

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And now it’s working again. I think.

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Another test post here.

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