Newsletter Archives

• PrintNightmare still a nightmare for patchers

  Posted on September 13, 2021 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  As we start to ready ourselves for the September updates, we’re still haunted by the PrintNightmare issues from the August updates.

  The good news for home users and consumers is that we haven’t seen the August updates triggering side effects with printers. For business users, there are still issues requiring vigilance.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.35.0 (2021-09-13).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Printer Drivers, Printing

• MS-DEFCON 2: Get ready for battle stations

  Posted on August 6, 2021 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.29.1 • 2021-08-06 By Susan Bradley The annual security conference known as Black Hat is in the bag, and we are (well, I am) anxiously awaiting the next bugs that will rear their heads, based on the headlines that came out of the conference. Topics like Print Spooler bugs, Mac privacy bugs, and encryption platform attacks were just some of the headline topics that I expect to result in a new wave of patches — not just for Windows, but for almost every device. Consumer and home users In preparation for Patch Tuesday, I recommend that you take the usual actions to defer, pause, block, and just avoid updates for the operating system and Office apps. I suggest deferring until at least August 24. As always, we’ll keep an eye on side effects and issues. Remember, there are several ways to defer updates. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to click on Settings, Windows Update, Advanced Options, and then choose August 24 in the “Pause updates” section. When that clock runs out, updates will install automatically. Alternatively, use WuMgr to selectively install updates. Of course, as I always recommend, take the time to back up your system. Chromebooks should have been updated to 92.0.4515.130. It includes an improved version of Zoom as well as several other useful bug fixes. The Apple camp is still in beta testing mode on Monterey, and it’s anticipated that the release will be in September. In the meantime, you can keep up with the latest news on that beta in our forums. Business users What concerns me most is the “Microsoft Won’t-Fix-List (July 2021 Edition)” that a security researcher started in July of 2021 to document all the items that Microsoft hadn’t fixed by the end of July. Note that this list does not include all “won’t fix” items, just the ones that occurred during the month of July. I’m hoping that we see more of these issues fixed, especially those related to Print Spooler bugs. Those bugs keep me nervous about having the Print Spooler service enabled. I continue to recommend that you enable the Print Spooler service only on those computers and servers that absolutely need it for business operations. References AskWoody Master Patch List Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.29.1 (2021-08-06).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Plus Alerts, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• Targeted zero-day vulnerabilities; will more attacks be seen soon?

  Posted on June 14, 2021 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Solutions for six exploited vulnerabilities are included in this month’s patch releases.

  Months like these always leave me in a quandary. Sometimes fixes appear before anyone in the wild has been affected, but sometimes there are users who have been impacted. Should I urge everyone to immediately patch without testing? Or should I keep with my tried-and-true recommendations — don’t panic, and wait to ensure there are no side effects with these updates.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.22.0 (2021-06-14).

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

• MS-DEFCON 2: Defer Windows & Office updates to June 24

  Posted on June 4, 2021 at 03:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.20.1 • 2021-06-04 By Susan Bradley Consumer and home users Hopefully, you’ve taken the time to get the May updates installed. Before next Tuesday, be sure you are comfortable with your methodology for deferring updates. For Windows updates, I’m still a fan of the method I call “pick the date.” Go to Settings, then to Update and Security; click on Advanced options, and select Pause updates. Then use the Select date drop-down to choose the date when you’d like updates to resume. I’m suggesting June 24. Note that the News and Interests notification will be fully enabled in your task bar this month. For Office updates, open up any Office application, click on File, Office Account, Office Updates; choose Disable Updates. You can resume updates later in the month. While you have Office updates disabled, avoid opening macro-enabled files as a defense against potential ransomware threats. Business users Ransomware has been a big topic in the news this month. While doing your patch testing, continue to educate your end users about the dangers posed by simple tasks done carelessly — opening emails, transferring files, clicking on links, etc. Greater danger requires greater vigilance. References AskWoody Master Patch List Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.20.1 (2021-06-04).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Alerts, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• A quiet month of May

  Posted on May 31, 2021 at 01:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  21H1 is released. Quietly. With no fuss.

  The big release of this month is not the security patches released earlier but rather the May appearance of Windows 10 version 21H1. Microsoft currently has released 21H1 to “seekers” — that is, those people who click on Check for Updates in the Windows update interface. The 21H1 release is a bit anticlimactic; it doesn’t contain many changes. 21H1 even shares the same “base” as 2004 and 20H2. On my test laptop, the install of 21H1 was very fast and caused no side effects.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.20.0 (2021-05-31).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch

• Last call for 1909

  Posted on May 3, 2021 at 01:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  All’s clear for updating. Plus, I bid farewell to the man who saved the Internet.

  As noted in my Alert last week, I’ve given the all-clear to install updates this month. The printing bugs have been squashed, and no other issues are apparent.

  If you have still not installed updates, review your deferral settings. If you’ve chosen to defer updates to a specific date, click on Start, Settings, Windows update. If updates are deferred, you will see a bold notice that updates are paused plus a Resume updates button. Clicking that button will clear any deferrals you have set.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.16.0 (2021-05-03).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Win10 1909, Windows Update

• Known Issue Rollback

  Posted on April 12, 2021 at 01:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Patches that fix themselves

  Every month we receive updates to keep us secure, but sometimes they cause other side effects. If only Microsoft had a mechanism to roll back the side effects of any update. But wait — at least for some updates, it does.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.13.0 (2021-04-12).

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

• Fixing a misbehaving computer

  Posted on February 8, 2021 at 01:30 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  Fixing a misbehaving computer

  By Susan Bradley

  Hitting the wall with Windows updates can be extremely frustrating and even scary. But machines that can’t install updates can be fixed.

  On occasion, computers decide to drive your life crazy. When it comes to installing updates, they can often throw off confusing and unhelpful error messages. In the Windows 10 era, the Windows update error log and component-based servicing logs (cbs.log) can be hard to understand; see Microsoft’s Analyze the log file entries that SFC.exe generates article (which is still relevant to Windows 10) for help.

  If you have a machine that is throwing off an error message when attempting to update, there are some paths forward.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

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

• Are we ready for the new Windows 10 1903?

  Posted on June 17, 2019 at 02:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  A Microsoft tweet announced that the company is now offering Win10 Version 1903 — but only to those who specifically seek it.

  Opening Windows Update and selecting Check for updates should trigger the Version 1903 download. If you clicked the button but did not receive the update, you probably have some sort of blocking condition. You’ll just have to wait — and you should.

  Out today in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.22.0.

  Patch Watch, Windows News, Windows Patches/Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office updates, Patch Watch, Win10 1903, Windows Updates

• Windows 1903 gets its first update

  Posted on June 3, 2019 at 02:19 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft’s most recent “feature release,” better known as Version 1903, received its very first patch — and it’s optional!

  What’s apparently fixed is the very thing that blocked my initial install of Version 1903. If an external USB device or SD memory card is plugged in, the device is reassigned to an incorrect drive letter during the installation process.

  See the full story in the June 3, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter (Issue 16.20.0)

  Patch Watch, Windows Patches/Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office, Patch Watch, patching, Windows

• Patch Lady: Many updates this month… including one for XP

  Posted on May 20, 2019 at 02:06 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Urp! Yes, XP.

  Here’s how to see if your Win7 or XP computer (or related Servers) is highly susceptible to the “wormable” Remote Desktop bug.

  Loads of new information about this month’s ground-breaking (and system-breaking) patches.

  All of the patching news from Susan Bradley, the inimitable Patch Lady, in this morning’s AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.18.0.

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, May 2019 patches, Patch Watch

• Patch Watch: A Japanese era begins – in Windows, over and over again

  Posted on May 6, 2019 at 02:06 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Patch Lady Susan Bradley steps you through all of the April patches — and gives you a look at all of the problems coping with the change in the Japanese calendar to the new “Reiwa” era.

  Succinct patch-by-patch advice for the April (and even early May!) patching mess.

  Out this morning to Plus members in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.16.0.

  Patch Watch April 2019 patches, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch
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