Monthly Archives: August 2020

• Where we stand with the August patches

  Posted on August 31, 2020 at 18:41 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Lenovo warns about Win10 version 2004 patch problems; Win8.1 plays catch up – but clobbers Cisco Anyconnect; the 50^th reincarnation of an old “blast away the barnacles” Windows upgrade patch; and reported problems with printing in Win7 with the extra-cost Extended Servicing Updates.

  It’s a wild world out there – but Win10 version 2004 is starting to stabilize. Operative term: Starting.

  Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security August 2020 Black Tuesday

• Patch Lady – okay so maybe not quite so quiet

  Posted on August 31, 2020 at 17:49 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  #justthefacts:  Patch issues:  Business/Enterprise only impact:  VPN interaction, Home users on 8.1 should be fine

  Seeing several reports that the optional out of band KB4578013 for Windows 8.1/Server 2012R2 is interacting with VPN software.

  Shan on the patchmanagement.org listserve said that their Cisco Anyconnect client users in a specific domain was having issues.  He traced it down to a specific domain that had the group policy “Digitally encrypt or sign secure channel data (always):  set to enabled as causing the conflict. If it was set to disabled /or KB4578013 was uninstalled it worked.

  Anyone else seeing similarly? MJ had a similar report where it messed up remote access/vpn.

   

  Windows Patches/Security Patch Lady Posts

• Patching survey: Consumer — 2020

  Posted on August 30, 2020 at 21:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  PATCHING SURVEY

  By Susan Bradley

  Over 1,400 Windows and Office users contributed to our survey on the state of Microsoft patching.

  Consumers’ overall impression of keeping Win10 up to date was similar to that of business respondents: Microsoft needs to make the process easier to manage and more reliable. (If you missed last week’s article on our survey of IT pros and consultants, see “Patching survey: Business — 2020,” AskWoody Plus Newsletter 2020-08-24.)

  On the other hand, individual Office users were relatively comfortable with the patching process — among those who use the suite.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.34.0 (2020-08-31).

  Survey AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Consumer patching impressions, Office patching satisfaction, Windows 10 updating satisfaction

• August patching: One less thing to worry about

  Posted on August 30, 2020 at 21:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  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).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office updates, Out-of-band patch, Preview patches, Win10 2004 upgrades, Windows Updates

• Building your business website: Understanding the options

  Posted on August 30, 2020 at 21:05 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  SMALL-BUSINESS WEBSITES

  By Will Fastie

  Your company website is the centerpiece for your online presence. It should be welcoming, attractive, and effective.

  “Well, duh!” you might retort. But it’s amazing how many small-business sites fail at that simple task.

  So before you (or your consultant) lay down a single line of code for your new site, spend some time to consider its look and function. Done? Now you’re ready to dig into the mechanics of website development. Here are your options.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.34.0 (2020-08-31).

  Web Development AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Custom websites, Web hosting, Website builders, WordPress

• Freeware Spotlight — Fawkes

  Posted on August 30, 2020 at 21:00 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  BEST UTILITIES

  By Deanna McElveen

  Here’s a little experiment that’s both interesting and terrifying.

  Google “facebook facial recognition” or simply “facial recognition.” Those of us who’ve been around a while have been warned about transgressions of this particular technology in … oh … a dozen or more movies!

  But we can fight back in our own small way, and it won’t cost us a dime — or a bitcoin!

  The University of Chicago’s Security, Algorithms, Networks and Data (SAND) lab has created an amazing anti-facial-recognition program appropriately called Fawkes (as in Guy Fawkes). The app is designed to modify common images in order to defeat unauthorized facial-recognition (FR) activities.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.34.0 (2020-08-31).

  Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Facial recognition, Fawkes

• Microsoft re-re-re…releases KB 4023057, the “blast a way to the next version” patch

  Posted on August 28, 2020 at 11:49 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  And here we go again.

  Microsoft has just re-released KB 4023057, the “Update to Windows 10, versions 1507, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, and 1909 for update reliability” patch that’s gone through dozens of versions.

  The intent is quite simple: If you’ve done anything to prevent automatic installation of the next version of Windows (at this moment, version 2004), running KB 4023057 is intended to blast away all impediments to being force-marched onto 2004. Last time I talked about it in Computerworld was a little over a year ago.

  I don’t see it available on my production machines, but if you see it, you should studiously ignore it.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4023057

• Windows Latest: A fix for the broken Win10 version 2004 Drive Optimizer (Defrag) tool is being tested

  Posted on August 26, 2020 at 15:20 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Just in from Mayank Parmar at Windows Latest:

  According to the changelog of Build 19042.487, this issue has now been resolved in Windows 10 20H2*. After beta testing the patch with Insiders, Microsoft plans to roll out the same update to those with Windows 10… version 2004 later this week or before September 1.

  So it looks like we may see an “optional, non-security, C/D Week” patch for Win10 version 2004 (no surprise there) that fixes the defrag/Drive Optimizer bug. (The bug shows an incorrect date for the last defrag run.)

  *In case you haven’t been following the latest obfuscating changes in Win10 numbering conventions, Win10 version 20H2 is the next version of Win10 – the one that follows Win10 version 2004. Version 2004 is still having teething problems, like this one.

  Windows Patches/Security August 2020 Black Tuesday
• « Older Entries