Newsletter Archives

• Why don’t we patch?

  Posted on August 9, 2021 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The vast majority of 2020 and 2021 attacks were not from zero days, but rather were old vulnerabilities for which patches had been released months, or even years, ago.

  Recently, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a document about the top attacks in 2020 and those so far in 2021. Interestingly, many of these vulnerabilities used in attacks are not Microsoft-based but are vulnerabilities in tools we use to access networks.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.30.0 (2021-08-09).

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

• Patching printers

  Posted on July 13, 2020 at 01:30 CDT by Jamie • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  Patching printers

  The June bugs in Windows 10 that caused all of my PCL 5 printers to not print reminded me that there are several ways that printers need updating. The days when we could install a printer and never worry about it again are over.

  By Susan Bradley

  If you haven’t updated your printer lately, the first thing to review its printer driver. The older the printer, the more likely you will need something like a universal PCL 6 driver in order to have it work with Windows 10.

  Last and certainly not least, even in a home setting, I often have very good luck by setting up the printer on the wireless or wired network to determine the IP address assigned to the printer.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.27.0 (2020-07-013).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Security, Updates AskWoody Plus Newsletter, patching, printers

• A Win10 guide for Windows Update settings

  Posted on June 29, 2020 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  PATCHING

  By @PKCano

  For most PC users, the basic task of keeping Windows up to date involves a bewildering pantheon of terms.

  To make the process of patching Windows and Office a bit easier, here’s a simple summary of Microsoft’s updating system. This article isn’t aimed at business users who have the support of IT departments. It’s dedicated to consumers and small-business owners who strive to keep their machines safe from malware, operating-system flaws, and other threats. The descriptions below apply to Windows 10 Versions 1903 and 1909. I’m still looking at the updating-process changes in the new Win10 2004.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.25.0 (2020-06-29).

  Updates AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Feature updates, patching, Quality updates, Windows Update

• Has MS cleaned up its Win10-update mess? (Spoiler: No!)

  Posted on September 23, 2019 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH

  By Woody Leonhard

  Give Microsoft some credit: it keeps trying to improve patch quality.

  But in spite of two significant improvements to the patching infrastructure, it looks to me as though the process is getting worse, not better.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.34.0 (2019-09-23).

  Windows Patches/Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, patching, Windows 10

• Why I recommend pausing Windows updates every month

  Posted on June 24, 2019 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH

  By Woody Leonhard

  Yeah, I know I sound like a broken record. But the simple fact is that you have much to lose and little to gain by opening your system up to Windows’ automatic updating system.

  Rather than installing Microsoft’s patches as soon as they’re released, I believe it’s much safer to hold off, let the screams of pain die down, wait for MS to fix its problems, and patch a few weeks later.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.23.0 (2019-06-24).

  Office Patches/Security, Windows Patches/Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Master Patch List, patching, Windows Update

• 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

• The mechanics of Windows and Office patching — explained in plain English

  Posted on August 8, 2018 at 11:29 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  There’s a lot of confusion about “Week A” / “Week B” bafflegab and what constitutes a Preview. Microsoft’s explanations don’t make much sense.

  To top it off, the theoretical framework for Patch Tuesday and its precedents and antecedents varies wildly from how patches happen in real life.

  Here’s my attempt to untie the Gordian update knot.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security Patch Tuesday, patching

• Tell me again – how is the “new” Win10 updating method better than the old one?

  Posted on April 28, 2017 at 06:08 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Many of you know that I’ve been scratching my head about the announcement that the emperor has new… er, that Win10 1703 is getting a new layer of patches.

  I’m still scratching.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows with special thanks (once again) to Susan Bradley.

  Windows Patches/Security Creators Update, KB 4016240, patching

• It took MS eight days to fix an Office 2013 Click-to-Run bug

  Posted on February 22, 2016 at 06:25 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Not an auspicious precedent for Windows 10, and Microsoft-as-a-Service.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Office 2013 Click-to-Run, patching

• Windows 10’s aching Achilles’ heel: Patches

  Posted on February 2, 2015 at 06:49 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This has been bugging me for quite a while. New revelations about enterprise patching in Windows 10 are starting to reveal several disturbing congenital defects in Microsoft’s patching strategy.

  Have a look.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows Patches/Security patching, Windows 10

• Patching the future: How Microsoft can make Windows 9 simpler

  Posted on July 7, 2014 at 07:05 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  You and I both know that Microsoft never listens to me. Oh well. Ideas like “Patch Monday” could save all sorts of grief.

  Anyway, in the same vein, this is my attempt to show the powers-that-be a much simpler approach to patching the next version of Windows. More precisely, it’s a concise way to name patches, so people can figure out what they have and what they need.

  Chances MS will pick up on it? I won’t hold my breath.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News patching, Threshhold, Windows 9

• Best Practices for trouble-free Windows patching

  Posted on May 17, 2012 at 11:31 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Excellent Top Story by Susan Bradley, in this week’s Windows Secrets Newsletter.

  Windows Patches/Security patching, Susan Bradley, Windows Update
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