Newsletter Archives
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Businesses in the crosshairs
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
But first, a personal note.
As you know by now, the founder of this site, Gregory Forrest “Woody” Leonhard, passed away unexpectedly on March 8, 2025.
When Woody retired from freelance writing in 2020, he reached out to ask whether I wanted to take over the AskWoody.com site. He wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue other, personal interests. I didn’t hesitate for a second.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.11.0, 2025-03-17).
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To reboot, or not to reboot
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Why do we need to reboot our computers?
Why can’t they just run 24/7 without issue? And why is Windows more likely to require rebooting than other systems?
Normally, I take rebooting for granted, as a matter of fact. This dates very far back. I remember tech support agents on the phone, asking whether I had rebooted a PC and then — regardless of the answer — asking me to reboot again. Recently, I stumbled upon a bug that was interesting enough to cause me to raise this question.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).
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Patching embedded code
ISSUE 22.08 • 2025-02-24 PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
I’m here to state that patching firmware is easy.
Easy, that is, if you can get over a big hurdle — knowing what device you have and where to find the proper firmware update.
If you have a home-built or custom-built computer, often the hardest part is remembering which motherboard and accessory cards were installed. Then something turns out to be not quite right, and you’re in a pickle.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
February — Same number of patches, fewer bugs
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
This month we have a more “normal” patch release of 57 vulnerabilities.
Although that’s a “woo-hoo” for the security researchers, you and I will still see the same old security updates being offered. That is, we will see a Windows security update.
What also hasn’t changed is my stance toward Windows 11 24H2. If you buy a computer with it, stay there. If you are already on it and see no issues, stay there. But if you haven’t yet installed the 24H2 feature release on your existing Windows 11 23H2 machine, I still recommend holding back, especially for businesses. For consumers, the risk is less — as long as you are not a gamer.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).
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Understanding CVE
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).
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Saying no to patches
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. -
Closing the books on a buggy year
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
We’re closing the patching year with an AI-related bug that — fortunately — is not related to Copilot, Recall, or any other AI-related product released by Microsoft in the last few months.
In fact, you may not have heard of it at all. Called Microsoft Muzic, it’s a research project in understanding music via deep learning and artificial intelligence. It also introduced a vulnerability into your computer if you installed it.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.51.0, 2024-12-16).
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Patching that video card
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
This month, I want you to review what else you have installed on your computer besides the operating system.
Why? Because I want you to focus on your browsers and the software that is installed with your video card.
And why video cards? Because there have been several vulnerabilities specifically tied to the Windows graphics drivers released by NVIDIA.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.47.0, 2024-11-18).