Newsletter Archives

• MS-DEFCON 3: Some lingering problems, but it’s time to get Windows and Office patched

  Posted on July 26, 2017 at 11:25 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  It’s time to get the July patches rolled into your Windows and Office systems, in spite of a handful of niggling bugs.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security July 2017 Black Tuesday, MS-DEFCON 3

• .NET patches — manual installation only — released

  Posted on July 25, 2017 at 14:08 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Windows 7 and 8.1 non-security .NET updates are now available, but only through the Microsoft Catalog.

  Details on the Windows Software Update site.

  Windows Patches/Security NET

• KB 4025331 for Server 2012 and KB 4025336 for Server 2012 R2 breaking WSUS and SCCM

  Posted on July 24, 2017 at 12:28 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Summary from Günter Born on his BornCity blog.

  • KB 4025336 blocks the client’s connection to WSUS

  • After installing KB 4025331, no more Office and Windows updates could be installed from clients via SCCM.

  In both cases, uninstalling the updates solves the problems.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4025331, KB 4025336, SCCM, WSUS

• Consider a non-Windows OS for email security

  Posted on July 24, 2017 at 03:27 CDT by Kirsty • Comment in the Forums

  In closing a recent ComputerWorld.com post, Michael Horowitz concluded:

  “If you read email on a Windows computer, do yourself a favor and use a different operating system, at least for email.”

  The article was discussing Windows Scripting Host (WSH), JavaScript and VBScript malicious files, which have been associated with recent malware via emails.

  WSH can execute scripts written in many programming languages. Out of the box, it does JScript and VBScript but other languages, such as Perl and Python, can also be installed.

  Michael details how to disable the WSH component, and to have any such attachments to open in Notepad, which changes them from being script files. You can find the details here.

  Windows Patches/Security JavaScript, malware, VBScript, WSH

• Adobe: 64% of American computer owners say they apply updates immediately

  Posted on July 21, 2017 at 10:27 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Adobe just posted the results of their survey of 2,000 American adults. The summary is a bit different from the details, but here are the questions and answers that caught my eye:

  Q: Do you typically update the software on your computer when new updates are released?

  A: 64% said yes, 30% said “it varies” and only 4% said they don’t. Note that there’s no response available for “I apply updates but not when the manufacturer pushes them out.”

  Q: How do you typically update your software?

  A: 41% say they typically choose to be prompted when updates are available. 34% say that, when the software has the option to install updates automatically, they choose that option. 3% say they didn’t know there was more than one way to update software.

  Interesting report.

   

  Windows Patches/Security Adobe, Automatic Update

• More June security patching bugs: You can patch an IE security hole, or print inside iFrames – but not both

  Posted on July 19, 2017 at 13:21 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  The latest IE patching conundrum deals with a bug in the June patches that broke the ability to print in iFrames. Automatic Update flops between one choice and the other.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4021558, KB 4022714, KB 4022715, KB 4022716, KB 4022719, KB 4022724, KB 4022725, KB 4022726, KB 4022727

• What have you heard about KB 4033428?

  Posted on July 19, 2017 at 09:04 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  The KB article says it’s a “Windows Server 2012 R2 processor generation detection reliability update,” released July 18.

  Anybody have a clue?

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4033428

• Another bug in a security patch only fixed in a rollup

  Posted on July 18, 2017 at 15:27 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Looks like we have another one…

  I’m seeing reports that the IE 11 “doesn’t print iframe” bug, introduced in the  IE 11 security update KB 4021558, is only being fixed in the Win7 June Monthly Rollup Preview KB 4022168 and the July Monthly Rollup  KB 4025341 .

  English translation: If you’re in Group B, you’ll still see the bug, whereas those in Group A will not.

  It’s another example of how Group B is becoming untenable. Unless Microsoft fixes bugs in security patches with fixes in security patches, sticking to a security-patch-only regimen will ultimately leave you with bugs.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4021558

• Win10 Creators Update will not install on some Atom/Clover Trail computers

  Posted on July 17, 2017 at 09:00 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  A damning report from Ed Bott on ZDNet.

  UPDATE: Paul Thurrott has a contrary opinion in this tweet:

  “The following Intel processors are not CURRENTLY supported by the Win10 Creators Update.” Drivers ARE coming. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/intel-clover-trail-processors-are-not-supported-on/ed1823d3-c82c-4d7f-ba9d-43ecbcf526e9

  And Paul draws a sobering conclusion in his paywalled article Windows as a Disservice:

  Any company could, at any time, stop supporting any one component in any given PC. And if that end of support is serious enough—like Intel declining to update 3-to-4-year old bargain basement CPUs like those Atom chips at the heart of this matter—that means that Microsoft may be forced to no longer support Windows 10 on that PC. The lifetime of that device has come to a close.

  As I’ve said many times before, subscribing to Paul’s Premium service is well worth the $48/year (initial offer).

   

  Windows News, Windows Patches/Security Clover Trail, Creators Update

• KB 4025341, KB 4025337 cause crashes on some older hardware running Win7

  Posted on July 14, 2017 at 15:48 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  There have been reports of BSODs after installing the July 11 patches on some older Win7 machines. Both KB 4025337, the security-only Update, and KB 4025341, the Monthly Rollup have been involved. Uninstalling the update fixes the problem.

  Many posters have reported successful installation of the updates. So it doesn’t appear that the updates themselves are broken, but, when combined with specific drivers, BSODs result. It is likely due to some of the changes Microsoft has made to Win7 via the patches. @NetDef reports that updating the Intel C600 chipset driver fixed the problem. Another report possibly points to AMD graphics drivers.

  If you have experienced a BSOD after installing the July 11 patches, your information would be helpful. The errors on the blue screen can pinpoint a conflict with a device. The Device Manager in the Control Panel is also an excellent source of information on installed drivers. What was the source of your drivers – from the manufacturer or were they Microsoft drivers?

  This is an example of the type of information that is useful:

  OS: Win7 Ultimate SP1 64bit
  PATCH: KB 4025337
  BSOD Info: STOP SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION 0x0000003b
  CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
  GRAPHICS: ATI AMD Radeon HD6450 v15.300.1025.0
  CHIPSET: Intel P35/G35/G31 r.10 (or version)
  FIX: Uninstalled update, or Rolled back HD6450 driver to n.15.200.1052.0, or Updated Intel chipset drive to…

  Any luck in identifying the the exact driver(s) involved would be most helpful to a lot of people.

  Windows Patches/Security BSOD, July 11 patches, July 2017 Patch Tuesday, KB 4025337, Win7, Win7 crashes

• July 11 security-only patch KB4025337 causes BSOD

  Posted on July 13, 2017 at 06:40 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  Poster @skunk1966 reports

  I just installed KB 4025337 for Windos 7 (x64). After rebooting my system I got BSOD. Started up in safemode and ran sfc /scannow. Rebooted in normal mode and again BSOD.

  In the end I couldn’t fix it so uninstalled KB 4025337 using wusa cmd. Rebooted in normal mode and all is fine again,

  The computer, running Win7 Ultimate has an older Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (Yorkfield) and ATI AMD Radeon HD6450 graphics.

  Is anybody else seeing problems with the July 11 Security-only patch for Windows 7?

  Windows Patches/Security BSOD, July 11 update issues, July 2017 Patch Tuesday, KB 4025337, Windows 7

• July 2017 Patch Tuesday rolls out with another load of updates

  Posted on July 11, 2017 at 15:05 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  On July 11, Microsoft has once again rolled out a deluge of patches for Windows and other Microsoft products.

  Martin Brinkmann at ghacks.net provides the full list. Here’s the summary.

  • Windows 7:  22 vulnerabilities of which 2 are rated critical, 19 important, and 1 moderate
  • Windows 8.1: 24 vulnerabilities of which 2 are rated critical, 21 important, and 1 moderate
  • Windows RT 8.1: 21 vulnerabilities of which 2 are rated critical, and 21 important
  • Windows 10 version 1703: 27vulnerabilities of which 2 are rated critical, 23 important and 1 moderate
    Note: Windows 10 version 1507 will no longer receive security updates.

  Other products affected:

  • Internet Explorer 11: 7 vulnerabilities, 5 critical, 2  important
  • Microsoft Edge: 19 vulnerabilities, 15 critical, 3 important,  1 moderate
  • Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2: 2 vulnerabilities, 2 important
    
  • Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1: 1 vulnerabilities, 1 important
  • Microsoft Office 2016: 1 vulnerability, 1 important

  Good news: supposedly the IE11 browser crashes have been addressed.

  It’s back!! Watch out for KB2952664 (Win7) and KB2976978 (Win8.1) reissued 7/11 with a metadata change. You may get it again!!!!

  UPDATE: Security patches for Microsoft Office are now available. Considering last month’s fiasco, it’s probably an excellent idea to let the lemmings (er…Guinea Pigs) jump off the cliff first. Unless you desperately need patches to fix patches to fix patches….
  Office 2007 (5), Office 2010 (3), Office 2013 (9), and Office 2016 (14)

  UPDATE: .NET Security and Quality Rollup updates for July 2017 are available for Win10 only. The update addresses CVE-2017-0248.

  Windows Patches/Security July 2017 Black Tuesday, July 2017 Patch Tuesday
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