Monthly Archives: January 2025

• Understanding CVE

  Posted on January 27, 2025 at 02:21 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Vendors track issues using the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database.

  Maintenance of the database is handled by the MITRE Corporation under the sponsorship of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of the US Department of Homeland Security. It has been operating since 1999. In 2021, MITRE launched a new website with the domain cve.org and with new features and capabilities.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.04.0, 2025-01-27).

  Patch Watch CISA, CVE, CVE-2025-21309, Documentation, Newsletters, Outlook, Outlook (classic), Outlook (new), Patch Lady Posts, Windows Mail

• When is a good time to replace?

  Posted on January 24, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  My sister has a guideline — never replace a device before you’ve paid it off. The phone companies will gladly let you trade in your phone for a new phone even if you haven’t fully paid off the old phone. But when should you replace a device?

  There are a few hard and fast rules:

  1. When the vendor stops supporting it or giving you updates, it’s time to seriously consider replacing it. Devices are app-driven and thus app vendors are bound by the restrictions the phone and device vendors put in place. Often older apps will no longer work. Not just unsupported, but flat out won’t work.
  2. When the device’s storage space is getting too full. If an iPhone’s free space gets too tight, updates won’t install. Patching devices that don’t have enough free space is a real hassle (ask me how I know).
  3. When the device can no longer hold a charge. For this you can opt for third-party solutions, available at local firms in the battery business.
  4. When it won’t support the application you are trying to download. This is typically related to number 1.

  For me, the most common reason is power. Batteries tend to go bad before the support for the operating system lapses.

  Apple Batteries, Patch Lady Posts, Phones, Support, updates

• Clean installs for 24H2?

  Posted on January 23, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums
  

  Microsoft’s notice regarding 24H2

  On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that eligible devices on both Windows 10 and 11 will be offered the 24H2 release. As you know, I’m still not recommending 24H2 and do not expect to do so until after April. Just another reminder: you can use InControl to keep your computer on Windows 11 23H2 or Windows 10 22H2.

  I chatted with my local computer firm, which says it is getting the best results when doing a clean install of 24H2. Ick. I’m not willing to do that, especially not going into busy season.

  Remember that the 24H2 release is a full install — not an incremental one — so it’s back to creating a Windows.old  folder and swapping out the operating system. 24H2 is not ready for prime time.

  Windows 11 Patch Lady Posts, Windows 11 24H2

• Have you tried out Strict?

  Posted on January 22, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums
  

  Example of standard security (click for larger)

  The other day I was on someone’s computer downloading a tool that I’ve downloaded from my own PC and saw a ton of banner ads on the website. I thought it odd that I never saw these same banners when I went to the site.

  In a business environment, I don’t like to install a lot of extensions because of the interaction with some business websites. But I do turn on Strict browsing. Of course, I then forget that I’ve turned it on my browsers until I go to another computer for someone and wonder why their website experience is so ghastly.

  The primary side effect I see with the Strict setting — which you can find under security in just about any browser — is that websites will complain about an ad blocker being enabled. Let them complain, I say.

  Most browsers ship with Standard privacy as the default.

  My recommendation? Try Strict mode. See what issues — if any — occur. Remember: you can always add exclusions as needed. You can also designate one of your browsers as more open, with the defaults, and use that browser when a site doesn’t like how your main browser is set up.

  Yes, I said “browsers,” plural. Everyone should have multiple browsers. Use one for your main browser and others as backups.

  Browsers Patch Lady Posts

• Don’t fall for the IRS scam

  Posted on January 21, 2025 at 03:03 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums
  

  IRS Scam received via text message

  This is a USA centric post, but it can be said for many things that get texted to you.  Lately I’ve seen texts regarding paying toll fees, post office misdelivered items and lately, the IRS – you will get a refund. In the US we have just entered “tax scam season”. From now until April 15th you will see any number of scams being thrown your way. I get even more scams thrown at me as a tax preparer. “I need someone to do my taxes….” and then they ask if I want to receive a link to their last year’s tax documents. It sounds reasonable until you look at the email address and often (and fortunately) they are from overseas domains or email addresses that just don’t look right.

  I hope that everyone seeing that text message will realize that the domain in question is NOT irs.gov but rather tax-popular. I also found it interesting to see that they know I’m on an iphone.

  For the record, if you are indeed eligible for a missed out Economic payment there is no action needed on your part.  This is not a new stimulus payment, rather it’s payments going to those that didn’t receive them based on their 2021 tax return.  If you are on a fixed income and did not file a tax return in 2021 you have until April 15, 2025 to file a return so that the IRS has you in their database. If you do not electronically deposit your IRS refund checks into your bank account, but instead receive checks in the mail, this is also the time to review your postal habits. We have mailboxes out on the street and typically they are not locked. This is the beginning of the time of year that people start driving around checking mailboxes at night to grab refund checks. My advice?  Consider a post office box, a postal service, or if you are geeky like me, a device such as a Ring mailbox sensor or similar electronic alert system.

  Security Patch Lady Posts

• Saying no to patches

  Posted on January 20, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.03 • 2025-01-20

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Both Apple and Microsoft are providing updates and options that are unnecessary.

  The good news for you Apple users is that the company is not taking a page out of Microsoft’s forced-change model and instead is letting us easily opt out of AI features. Clearly, it learned from its 2014 blunder — forcing the U2 album Songs of Innocence to iTunes on all iPhones.

  When you receive a pop-up on your Apple device that supports Apple Intelligence, you get a “Not now” option that allows you to easily dismiss the request. For now, Apple’s AI is still somewhat limited and covers only writing, email, and Siri. More AI capabilities are to come later, but it’s good to see that we can easily opt out.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.03.0, 2025-01-20).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch 0x80070643, Apple Intelligence, BitLocker, Copilot, CVE-2025-21297, CVE-2025-21309, Device Encryption, Drive Encryption, KB5050411, Newsletters, Outlook (new), Patch Lady Posts

• Looking back, looking forward

  Posted on January 20, 2025 at 02:44 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  The big tech story of 2024 was, by far, artificial intelligence.

  Although it was often portrayed as sui generis (Latin for “we’ve never seen anything like it, and we need to start thinking from scratch …”), the emergence of artificial intelligence into public use and consciousness highlighted (and added urgency to) old issues, more than it created any new ones.

  The questions — who owns personal information, where does the right to privacy begin and end, what are the limits of copyright’s fair use doctrine, to what extent can free speech be controlled in the interest of other rights (such as privacy or the protection of minors) — are not new, nor even recent.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.03.0, 2025-01-20).

  Legal Brief Adult websites, Artificial Intelligence, Chevron Doctrine, Data Privacy Act, Loper, Net neutrality, Newsletters, Privacy, TikTok

• A much better way to manage Excel formulas

  Posted on January 20, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Excel’s Advanced Formula Environment (AFE) is something that, once you get it, you will wonder how you lived without it.

  AFE gives a Visual Studio–like view of a formula and named elements, which is so much better than the formula bar.

  Even a simple formula can be hard to understand, especially if you didn’t write the formula in the first place.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.03.0, 2025-01-20).

  Microsoft 365 Advanced Formula Environment, AFE, Excel, Formulas, Microsoft Office, Newsletters, Python
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