MS-DEFCON 2: October updates right around the corner @ AskWoody

MS-DEFCON 2: October updates right around the corner

Posted on October 8, 2021 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

ISSUE 18.38.1 • 2021-10-08

MS-DEFCON 2

By Susan Bradley

Enjoy the fall season — take a break from patching!

With the October updates bearing down upon us, it’s time to take a break. Wrap up patching and updating from September, and prepare your PC to delay the upcoming patches.

For those of you still on Windows 10 2004, this is an excellent time to upgrade to 21H1 and let it settle in. As for Windows 10 21H2, we still don’t have a definite date.

Windows 10 will be fully supported until 2025, but it’s still unclear whether Microsoft will be switching to an annual feature-release schedule, as with Windows 11, or keeping the twice-per-year cadence we’ve had for the past five years.

Consumer and home users

Based on the information I have now, I will probably sound the all-clear for consumers to install this round of updates on or after October 26. Go into Start, Settings, Update and Security, and Advanced options. In the Pause Updates section, pick October 26 from the drop-down menu.

If you’ve installed the September updates for Windows 10 2004, 20H2, or 21H1, including KB5005565, you can turn your print spooler service back on and use your printer normally — Microsoft has finally fixed its Print Nightmare bugs. It’s safe to turn it on and leave it on (we hope).

Business users

For businesses, I’ll urge you to unofficially shoot for deploying updates a week earlier on October 19. Every time I’ve tried to urge businesses to patch earlier than consumers, we’ve hit side effects and needed to wait for workarounds.

This is also the time to be testing — but not deploying — Windows 11. Microsoft started releasing Windows 11 as it became Tuesday, October 5, in each time zone around the world. All the tools that help us control, patch, and deploy Windows 10 will also be used to control, patch, and deploy Windows 11. Microsoft is releasing much of its Windows 11 content and will be updating it as more information comes out. Tuesday marked the start of the 36-month servicing-support lifecycle for Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11. The Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, and Pro for Education editions of Windows 11 will receive 24 months of servicing support. But I see no need to rush into Windows 11 — it’s a time to watch for side effects and issues.

References

AskWoody Master Patch List

Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.38.1 (2021-10-08).

AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Plus Alerts, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10, Windows 11

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