Microsoft plans to roll out major extensions to its Diagnostic and Telemetry service in November

We’re going to see a big uptick in snooping on Win7 and 8.1 machines.

Don’t worry, I’ll have detailed instructions on how to avoid the snooping by staying with “Group B.”

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

AskWoody advertising just went live

Within the past hour or so, advertising started on AskWoody. As you all know, I have more than a little fear and trepidation about it. See Advertising on AskWoody for details.

I’m also fumbling with the requested donation links. I’ll get it all sorted out sooner or later.

If you have any problems, suggestions, or you just want to clobber me over the head for ruining an otherwise pristine site, post a comment here, or email me.

Win 7, 8.1 “C” Tuesday patch rollup previews are out – KB 3192403, 3192404

As expected, the new “previews” of next month’s patch rollups are out.

October, 2016 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 (KB 3192403)

October, 2016 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 8.1 (KB 3192404)

October, 2016 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 (KB 3192406)

They’re Optional patches – you’ll see them unchecked in the Optional bucket in Windows Update.

As I explained, these are functionally equivalent to the “Windows 10 Insider Preview Release ring” — which is to say they’re advance looks at some of the patches we expect to see in the Monthly Rollup next Patch Tuesday. More accurately, they’re test copies of some of the new non-security patches we expect to see in the next Monthly Rollup.

Remember when patching was easy?

Please, don’t install these unless you want to try to break them.

Just-released KB 3199209 is a Servicing Stack update, not a cumulative update

I’m seeing errors about this all over the web.

Some people report getting KB 3199209 on their Win10 1607 machines. I’m not seeing it as yet, but…

The Windows Update Catalog lists it

It’s a servicing stack update – basically an update for Windows Update. Tiny thing. No big deal. No restart required.

For heaven’s sake don’t run out and install it. Just wait.

Cookies and privacy

Excellent analysis from our own ch100. Hey, I never knew that….

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I am raising this issue to start a debate, I am not claiming to have authoritative knowledge in this area, although I did a little bit of research and I have preferred settings which I mention below.

Cookies are important in the context of the ongoing discussions about privacy and how advertising companies are trying to take advantage of technology for their benefit and indirectly for the benefit of the users who use those services.

It is so important, that the European Union issued legislation requiring any web site which is supposed to be rendered by an EU citizen needs to have a warning for the end-user that that site uses cookies.

The Cookie Law Explained

That warning message is redundant to a large extent, because virtually each current web site uses cookies and like everything that is too much, tends to be ignored by the end-user.

The warning may be useful to those users who have never browsed a web site before or have very limited experience with the web sites.

There are only 2 types of Cookies:
–          First-party Cookies
–          Third-party-Cookies

First-party cookies are almost always required for the good functionality of any web site and moving from one page to another within the same site.

Third-party cookies are optional and they can be disabled safely in most cases, although Microsoft has got sneaky and made them “required” to a certain extent. At least this is their claim.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/13/hotmail_cookies/

The third-party cookies are those used by advertisers and sometimes named “tracking cookies”.

Another important element is if the Cookies are persistent from one session to another. Generally speaking, persistent first-party cookies are useful in storing the user password and form data from one session to another on the same web site which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on perspective.

Persistent third-party cookies serve only the advertiser, but also the end-user in case that user needs to be repeatedly reminded of a certain product (who needs that functionality?).

To distinguish between them, the non-persistent cookies are often name “Session Cookies” while the others are named “Persistent Cookies”. They can be either First Party or Third Party cookies.

Different browsers have different settings and it is useful to mention that IE is the only browser implementing an RFC largely obsolete now, in which third-party cookies are allowed with certain conditions.

Google has been accused and admitted guilt in cheating the RFC and over-riding IE settings in code and since then the standard has become obsolete.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/ie/2012/02/20/google-bypassing-user-privacy-settings/

Who is not following standards. Microsoft or Google? The correct answer is both.

To overcomplicate things, there is also a setting named “Do not track” which is optional and  I am not recommending it to be enabled, as it has the same effect with email spam, under which the spammers are trying to see which email addresses exist from replies or from opening links containing images.

Recommended settings in my view – naming from IE, similar settings in other browsers:

First party-cookies – Accept
Third-party cookies – Block
Always allow session cookies – Disabled

What this means:

Allow First-party Cookies as instructed by the web site – persistent or not

Do not allow Third-party cookies, not even in session. If this creates a problem, allow them in session only, never permanent, but it tends to be complicated to configure.

Notes:

1.       Safari introduced another variation and Firefox implemented it, I tend to go with it when using those browsers, although it is mostly experimental for me. That setting is Accept third-party cookies: from visited (which include advertisers, but only if visited directly, not referred by other sites. It is Safari’s default. This is a grey area, so please make up your own mind and set it according to your preference. The safe setting for privacy, hated by advertisers, is to not allow any third-party cookies.

2.       Google Chrome and Firefox and Edge come out of the box with Allow all cookies, first party and third party.
Are they so dangerous if Firefox allows them out of the box? Firefox also defaults to having telemetry (Enable Firefox Health Report, Enable Crash Reporter) enabled. Google Chrome is probably the same, but I don’t use it so much to know about those settings.

A good explanation about various privacy settings in Firefox is here
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/settings-privacy-browsing-history-do-not-track

Update: Microsoft has responded to the report about defective LG batteries in Surface Pro 3

Read it and see what you think.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

Microsoft Update Catalog finally works with (almost) any browser

Good news for the patchocalypse.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

Thanks, abbodi86!

UPDATE: A switcheroo. At this moment,

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com

works in IE 11, while

http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com

triggers the 8DDD0020 error.

Must-read interview with President Obama on AI and the future

If you’re concerned about the impact of technology on the future, and the US government’s place in discussions about the technological underpinnings of the future, you need to read this article in Wired.

Advertising on AskWoody

As many of you know, I’ve been operating AskWoody without advertising and without cookies (except for the open source avatar site) for several years. I occasionally toss up a post for my books, or for my son’s mobile phone games, but that’s been the extent of the ads. I pay for the site out of my own pocket and, increasingly, spend a whole lot of time keeping up with it.

I need to start making the site pay its own way. It’s a tough decision for me.

I’ve thought about doing some sort of pay scheme, but just can’t figure out how to make it work. I subscribe to Paul Thurrott’s $64-a-year Premium service – it’s a great way to support Paul and Brad – but I just can’t see trying to implement anything similar. Windows Secrets Newsletter went the pay route long ago — $25 to $59/year is worth it just for Susan Bradley, Fred Langa and Tracey Capen — but I’ve done the newsletter thing before and it’s a whole lotta overhead. Several of you have suggested putting a PayPal donation button on the site. Martin Brinkmann at ghacks.net does that, but (as he says) his site’s dying.

So I’m turning back to the old, old approach: Display ads. I found a company that brokers ads, and I trust them. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I’ll start posting their ads.

I’m not going to hit you with pop-over black-out, roving scroll, time triggered, blaring ads. They’ll be simple, out of the main line of fire, and relatively unobtrusive.

Here’s what you can do for me. Turn off add blocking for AskWoody.com. If you see something interesting, click on it. And if you’re ticked off about any ad, shoot me right between the eyes, woody@askwoody.com.

Let’s see if we can get this baby up and crawling.

UPDATE: Thanks to all of you for your encouragement!

Microsoft Update Catalog now works with any browser

From abbodi86:

Microsoft Update Catalog is finally updated to work with any browser
http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com

tested opera (old) and chrome

even in IE, the above link gives similar new experience, where you get download link directly
the other link (without www) gives the old ActiveX experience
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com

I just tested it in Firefox, using the search term “October x64” and, yes, it works quite well.

AWWWWRIGHT!

The interface is a little funky – in order to download a file, you have to click on “Download” and, in the resulting box, click a hyperlink to the filename – but it works.

Now we’re ready for “normal” people to join Group B. It isn’t time to download anything yet, but the tools are now in place.

UPDATE: Several folks have noted that the new link does not work in Edge. It doesn’t work in Edge for me, either. Maybe that’s why MS hasn’t announced it officially just yet.

“Give me recommended updates”

Good question from SC:

In Windows Update I don’t understand why I should check  the  box that says “Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates”.

I see conflicting info on AskWoody.com about  this.

Please explain.

I should’ve pointed this out explicitly.

Microsoft releases patches with one of (at least) three categories: Important, Recommended, Optional. Every patch is identified with one of those three settings.

Windows Update, on the other hand, only recognizes two categories – Important and Optional – but it also has boxes next to each patch. If you check the box, you get the patch the next time Windows Update runs; if you don’t check the box, you don’t get the patch.

Checking the box marked “Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates” makes Microsoft-designated Recommended updates show up in your Windows Update list as Important, and the patch is pre-selected for installation.

If you don’t have that box checked, the patch appears in the Optional section, the name’s italicized, but the installation box is not selected. Thus, the patch won’t be installed on the next run of Windows Update.

Clear as mud, I know. But the good news is that it won’t make much difference soon.

If you’re in Group A, you’ll be getting the whole Monthly rollup, which includes both security and non-security patches. Microsoft designates those as “Important.”

If you’re in Group B, you won’t use Windows Update, so the patches’ categories don’t mean anything. Like points in Who’s Line is it Anyway?

Microsoft refuses to honor Panos Panay’s promise for $200 replacement of defective Surface Pro 3 batteries

And a whole lot of Surface Pro 3 owners are steamed about it.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows.