Newsletter Archives
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End of the road for 2004
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
This is the very, very last patching month for Windows 10 release 2004.
If you are still on 2004, even if you are using the Education or Enterprise editions, you will receive no updates in January or thereafter. Updates for Windows 10 1909 for Education or Enterprise editions expire on May 10, 2022.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.49.0 (2021-12-20).
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Windows 11 is officially vulnerable
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Call me silly, but I never consider a Windows release as “official” until the first security updates come down on Patch Tuesday.
Windows 11 has 39 vulnerabilities; two of the fixes are deemed critical and 37 are important. KB5006674 also includes several fixes that, according to reports, impact performance on specific computers.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).
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Untrustworthy OEM updaters cause trouble
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
Keeping a PC up to date gets harder as the system ages, especially when OEM and vendor update tools start missing things entirely — or actively making bad suggestions!
Here are several ways to help ensure that your PC’s BIOS, hardware drivers, operating system, and software are getting all the updates they need — and not getting any updates they don’t!
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.28.0 (2021-07-26).
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Yet more Office 2010 updates?!
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Well … we thought we’d seen the last of Office 2010.
Last month (November), I was surprised to see updates for the then newly obsolete suite. (It reached its official end of support this past October 13.) But here we are again: Microsoft has released another round of updates for Version 2010.
Years ago, Office 2007 received a similar reprieve of additional updates for several months after its end of life. So we might see additional updates for Version 2010 in coming months.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.49.0 (2020-12-14).
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It’s the end of the line for Office 2010
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Microsoft is closing the book on two business workhorses: Office 2010 and Exchange 2010.
From a productivity-app perspective, 2010 was an excellent vintage for all Windows users from individuals to small businesses to the Enterprise. Whether it was managing email, building massive spreadsheets, or creating complex documents, Office and Exchange gave us an excellent foundation. But as of October 13, Microsoft dropped all support for both platforms.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.41.0 (2020-10-19).
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I’m almost ready for Windows 10 2004 … almost!
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
The fall release of Windows 10 — 20H2 — is rolling into the station. But we’re still waiting to board Version 2004.
If you’re a prudent patcher like me, you see a new release of Windows as the call to prepare for the most current release — i.e. Version 2004. As we’ve said more than once, even if you’re not ready to catch 2004, download a copy and save it for later. Next, take stock of your system and acquaint yourself with any Win10 2004 issues.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.38.0 (2020-09-28).
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August patching: One less thing to worry about
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
We may have numerous events keeping us awake at night — COVID-19, fires, hurricanes, elections, and more — but August patching isn’t one of them.
The Windows and Office updates I installed on my business and personal systems were well mannered: no printing issues, no blue screens of death, no major hiccups! It’s nice to have a break from month after month of patching issues.
Microsoft decided that enterprises need a break, too. It’s once again pushing off Windows 10 1803’s end of life (more info). The final security updates for business editions of Version 1803 will now be released on May 11, 2021 — not November 10, 2020.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.34.0 (2020-08-31).
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A new threat to the Windows print spooler
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
The 2020 virtual Black Hat USA 2020 and DEF CON 28 security conferences are now history.
These were two for the books: totally virtual conferences. Instead of masses of hackers, hacker wannabees, security researchers, and government employees gathering in hot Las Vegas, everyone was online and watching from home.
One of the highlights of these shows is the development and unveiling of new exploits — by security researchers, not malicious hackers. Typically companies such as Microsoft scramble to patch the vulnerabilities revealed at these two conferences.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.32.0 (2020-08-17).
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July’s Outlook Click-to-Run update lays an egg
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Yes, it’s a bit macabre, but I affectionately call the day after Patch Tuesday “dead-body Wednesday.”
I coined that term because Wednesday morning is when we get to see whether our systems survived the updates installed the night before. (These are, of course, my test platforms; I would never subject my production machines to immediate/automatic updating.)
There’s always some anticipation as to which Windows or Office component will be wounded by an update. This time around, it was Outlook’s turn to be placed on the life-support list.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.28.0 (2020-07-20).
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June updates crash printing
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
In a normal monthly Windows and Office patching cycle, I almost never roll out any optional updates that Microsoft releases between Patch Tuesdays.
It’s hard to say what’s “normal” with Windows updating, but June is atypical even by the usual patching tribulations.
Soon after the Patch Tuesday security updates dropped (on June 9), there were reports of printing failures. The problem hit close to home; after patching my systems, I could no longer print to any of my large multifunction Ricoh printers — a huge problem for my business. As a quick workaround, I updated the printer drivers from PCL5 to PCL6.
Subsequently, Microsoft posted optional fixes on the MS Update Catalog for Windows 10, Win8.1, and Server 2012.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.25.0 (2020-06-29).
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Windows 10 2004 is slowly rolling off the assembly line
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
The Win10 May Update is coming to a PC near you — sooner or later. Best to make it later.
The other news for June is vulnerabilities — lots of them. On June 9, Microsoft started sending out updates with an astounding 129 security fixes ranging from remote-code-execution threats to privilege escalations.
And yet the number of actual patches is virtually unchanged from previous months.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.23.0 (2020-06-15).
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Windows 10 2004 has left the barn
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Microsoft’s latest “feature” update is being offered up. Here’s my immediate recommendation: Don’t install it!
No newly released version of Windows has ever been problem-free, and Win10 2004 (aka May release) is no exception. For example, there are already reports of driver issues. As always, we need to give Microsoft time to iron out the wrinkles.
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.21.0 (2020-06-01).