Four new Windows patches to avoid: KB 2952664, 2976978, 2977759, 3170735

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It looks to me like Windows Journal has finally gone to the bit bucket in the sky. InfoWorld Woody on Windows
[See the full post at: Four new Windows patches to avoid: KB 2952664, 2976978, 2977759, 3170735]

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Thanks for the heads up again. Not seeing the Windows Journal patch on Windows 7 64-Bit though.. Oh well, 2952664 got hidden again for the gazillionth time. Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us on botch-Tuesday.. Or the rest of July for that matter. Personally I wouldn’t install anything Microsoft throws out there before July 29th. But that’s just me, a disgruntled, fed up, betrayed and very annoyed customer.

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I’m with you – it’s best to wait and see.

I DO have 3170735, on my honeypot machines.

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KB2952664
KB2976978
KB2977759

These have been on my hide list for ages, and are auto (re)hidden by script.

If journal is EOL why not release an update that removes all journal code?

It sounds like they are saying “Journal is obsolete on windows everywhere, please upgrade to windows 10.”

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I have no idea why the roundabout approach to deprecating Windows Journal… assuming MS is, in fact, deprecating Journal. That’s still an unproven assertion.

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Woody,

Thanks for the heads up ! ! ! These have been RE-HIDDEN for the umpteenth time. Keep up the good work on the info for us.

Dave

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Woody

Re: Ur article

“Windows Journal has long been a thorn in Microsoft’s side. Attackers have found that jimmying the JNT file can take over a PC — if you double-click on a JNT file, your PC could be handed over to an exploiter. You don’t have to do anything other than open the JNT file.”

Didn’t know I had it on my win8.1 laptop. Never used it. Don’t need it.

Do you recommend uninstalling Journal?

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Naw. Ignore it. Just don’t click any JNT files!

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I had no idea it was on mine either but there it is.

On win 7 i see that it can be uninstalled through windows features (control panel > programs and features > turn windows features on or off) but it’s bundled under the tablet pc components suite so you have to remove all that to get rid of it. I’m on a win 7 desktop machine so have no use for tablet features, though i’d have to be a sadist to use win 7 in tablet mode anyway.

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Snipping Tool is part of the tablet features and this is a very useful tool for many people.

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I use the Snipping Tool all the time…

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Posting this here just so to report the event, not knpowing a better news items to place this in:

as I said earlier, since autumn last year I do not update my Windows 7 partition anymore and have deactivated backgorund tasks that link it to the internet, as far as I am aware of them. Patch status is early autumn last year, therefore, I keep several security scanners updated, avoid any work or surfing in W7, and use W7 exclsuively – and I mean that literally – as a laucnhing platform for severla simualators that are not Linux-compatible. Explorer of course also doe snot get used under W7, and its settings are set to maximum tightness that its options allow.

For any surfing, browsing, emailing, work, editiing, short: anything that is not laucnhing a lfightsim, I use Linux Mint. For EVERYTHING.

Today GWX Control Panel all of a sudden ran the alarm bells that – without me having done anything to W7 – W10 downloads had been switched to being allowed, and indeedf somethign got downloaded in the background. I jumped off my chair and to the router, and pulled the wire. I then checked in GWX Control Panel and made sure that blocking of W10 downloads got blocked again. Next I checked Temp Files and the history of KB updates whetehr any new item got added, i sreached ba date and also by some known dcriticla KB numbers.

I seem to have escaped doom because I physically interrupted internet access within only a couple of seconds after the alarm message popped up.

Luckily I had made a HD image just two days ago, so I nuked the second HD with the W7 installation and pulled over the image from external HD. Took some time, and then again a 5 GB download form Steam which i already had run last night, but so it goes.

What it means, is this: obviously Microsoft has managed to access my system once again and manipulating my download options although my installation is specifically designed and set up to prevent right this. Windows Updates are OFF, and since months. Still, some intruder snekaked past my defences, and made it through.

Thank you, Microsoft. You just drove another nail in your coffin, as far as I’m concerned.

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Addendum: another observation is that in Windows Update Options, my choosen setting of not having recommended updates presented in the same way like important updates, had been switched (box ticked) to “on” again, which of course I do not want, nor had I set it to on before. It was off since months and months.

I am fully alerted.

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Hi Woody,
Just noticed remarkable similarities between your article and that of ‘Techparse’ as below.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3091875/microsoft-windows/four-new-windows-patches-to-avoid-kb-2952664-2976978-2977759-and-windows-journal-3170735.html#comments

http://techparse.co.uk/2016/07/06/four-new-windows-patches-to-avoid-kb-2952664-2976978-2977759-and-windows-journal-3170735/

Maybe he’s a fan?

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KB 3123862 reappeared in June on my 8.1 tablet. Did anyone ever figure out what it does? I couldn’t find out anything beyond Feb. with a google search. I can’t seem to hide it but it may the crappy mouse/touchpad system on the Asus.

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Marc:

I was just wondering if you had installed KB3035583. If not, I am assuming the KB was hidden. Had you installed and then removed KB3035583? I am just wondering how Microsoft was able to get past your defenses and be ready to install Windows 10? Because your backed up image would have the same problem just waiting to happen again.

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@Marc: Please check if one of your 3rd party security scanners did this. Some security companies have a horrible habit of taking everything Microsoft says at face value, then exaggerating it. For instance one otherwise trusted brand would indicate you were vulnerable to the first MS bulletin of month X if you had refused any MS update from month X. Maybe another such idiot added a “security fixing rule” to set Microsoft updates back to default because Microsoft advertising keeps telling people that is best for security.

Regarding Windows Journal: How hard could it be for a moderately competent MS team to rewrite MS Journal from scratch using a file format specification and a description of the user interface? Obviously, the original code is trash, but given that they have been shipping billions of copies of this program and kept it on end user computers for 15 years, there has to be a lot of valuable data stored in .jnt file format. And OneNote is not a good replacement for anything, with it’s inscrutable user interface and cloud centricity.

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I’m pretty sure it’s another snooping “enhancement.”

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Yeah, Techparse (and several other sites) scrape my stuff from time to time. Sigh.

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I’m not a knowledge computer person, but have been following your site trying to figure out how to keep Windows 10 off my computer. I have my update setting checked to check for updates but do not download or install. However, upon booting up my computer this morning, updates were automatically downloaded. How can I find out what was downloaded, and why? Would appreciate any help!

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Knowledgeable. I really can spell. I found KB3170735 on my computer, which is what prompted this message.

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The first thing you must do is run GWX Control Panel.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3000299/microsoft-windows/a-better-blocker-is-available-to-shield-you-from-coerced-get-windows-10-updates.html

There are instances of “Check but do not download” getting switched, but there’s always a rogue program at fault – antivirus programs, for example, my change the setting.

To check what was installed, look at your list of installed updates, in Windows Update.

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I appears that KB3173040 (GWX free upgrade notification) has been pulled. Gone from my queue.
Win 7 Ult x64

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Gosh, I’m gonna miss that….

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Still well and alive in WSUS.

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…and re-released.

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I do have GWX Control Panel, thanks. Just last night I shut down the computer and it said it was preparing to configure Windows. What exactly was it doing, as I hadn’t downloaded any updates? The last time it did this when I turned the computer ON, I did look thru installed updates and found nothing that was installed with that date.

Appreciate your help for this UN-computer person. I just wonder what’s going on, when I am trying so hard to keep any updates off the computer that I haven’t vetted first.

Thanks in advance! Love your website – it’s been a big help to me.

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Make sure you follow the instructions under the Automatic Updates tab at the top of this page to turn off Automatic Update. You should never see a message about preparing to configure Windows.

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Exactly why I’m confused. I did follow your recommendations when I first started checking updates…updates are marked “check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them”, Recommended updates box is unchecked. I just re-read your section on Automatic Updates as suggested, but don’t see what I’m missing. It worries me that unnecessary and unwanted updates are being installed without my being able to see what they are, and WHY it’s happening when I have my updating configured as stated above.

I won’t bother you with this again, but I thought maybe you would have an explanation for what is happening. Thanks for your time.

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I think preparing to configure Windows is the message showed when the user shuts down the computer with updates already downloaded and in the pipe to be installed. This happens with the WU setting configured on Download Updates but let me choose… The user still has an option to install or not at shut down.

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I don’t know why it happened. With “Check but let me choose” selected and “Recommended update” unchecked, you shouldn’t have any patches foisted on you.

If there’s a counterexample, I sure want to hear about it!

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Again, thanks for the help! I’ll see what happens in the future.

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This is a ROYAL pain for me because I have almost 23,000 Journal notes amounting to 1.7 GB, and I want to keep using Journal. How can I do this? I promise I won’t click on any Journal notes which aren’t mine.

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So far, Journal isn’t in the Anniversary Update.

I looked and can’t find a converter. There’s this note, but it doesn’t help:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OneNote/comments/2rmyfv/moving_files_from_windows_journal_to_onenote_2013/

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Just use the Journal as usual and do not install KB3161102.

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